The only thing Jane Lumm is ‘independent’ of is Ann Arbor’s values
Jane Lumm, incumbent candidate for Ann Arbor’s city council in the 2nd Ward, ran as a Republican from 1993 until 2011. Tuesday, she’ll be on the ballot as an “independent.”
You may not have believed Maya Angelou when she said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” But you can probably believe there’s a reason that the chairman of the Michigan GOP and his wife donated $400 to Jane Lumm’s campaign this year.
And it’s not because she’s an independent.
Lumm’s history of political donations also gives you a good idea of where she stands. She gave money to Rick Snyder’s campaign. Bill Schuette’s, too. And she served on the GOP Washtenaw Executive Committee for George W. Bush.
In April, Lumm cast the only no vote against an ordinance which would limit when police and other public servants could ask about someone’s immigration status. And though pretending to be fiscally responsible, she was the primary force behind Ann Arbor’s deer cull, spending more than half million dollars (thousands per deer, even) without data to prove it was even needed for anything other than her neighbors’ lawn care.
As the only member on Ann Arbor’s city council who was reluctant to support a resolution to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day, Lumm said last year she hoped the city could find a way to honor both—and “not one at the expense of the other.” Like Columbus honored indigenous people?
Fortunately for Lumm, she’s been able to run under the independent moniker on odd-year elections, while gathering coffers fit for a Republican. This period, she’s received over $27,000 in campaign contributions. Her Democratic opponent? $6,360.
I received a notice from the so-called “Democrats for Jane Lumm,” but it seems like if she were honest, she’d run under the party that accurately reflects her stance on immigrants and Columbus. And these so-called Democrats would look into her values a bit more.
But that would mean valuing honesty. In the 2015 campaign, Lumm said, “This is the last time I’m going to run.” She’s saying it again, this year.
