The Ypsilanti City Council tonight is expected to vote on placing two citizen-sponsored initiatives on the November ballot. They’re the same that were kept off the ballot two years ago due to a missed filing deadline.
One ballot measure asks Ypsilanti voters to switch to nonpartisan elections for Mayor and City Council. Supporters say it will lead to more public participation in local government.
Co-founder of the Ypsilanti Ballot Initiative Group, Brian Geiringer says with Democrats so prominent in the city, council elections are basically decided in the August primary instead of November.
“The people who decide who holds office are going to be a much bigger voter base than when it’s decided in August, which is how it currently is. We’re talking three or four times as many voters will have a voice in who is representing them.”
The other initiative would require a public vote prior to any increase in the police department’s budget.
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