2026 Election Questionnaire - Ward 1
Neighbors for More Neighbors A2 is a group of Ann Arbor area residents who have come together to work toward a more inclusive Ann Arbor. You may have seen our purple lawn signs around town. We created and circulated a questionnaire for candidates running for city council and mayor in the primary on August 4, 2026. We hope that this information is useful to all Ann Arbor voters as they prepare to vote this summer.
Our goal was 100% participation, and we are disappointed to not have answers from every candidate. We invited all candidates to our general meeting in April to meet our members and learn about our organization. Our board then sent the questionnaire via email to all candidates on April 24.
In our communications with candidates, we committed to publishing their answers unedited and in full, and we have done so below.
We followed up with those who had not replied on May 15, and then again on June 12. We made every effort to contact candidates directly using the information from their nominating petitions filed with the city clerk, their campaign website, and social media. We also encouraged members of the public to reach out to all candidates directly to encourage their participation, and many did so.
What you see here is exactly what candidates submitted verbatim. We have noted when no response was received or when a candidate declined our invitation.
1. Candidate's Housing Story
How has your housing story shaped your views on housing and land use in Ann Arbor? (i.e., how did you come to live in Ann Arbor, what type of housing have you lived in, how did you acquire your housing, how have your or your family's experiences with housing and neighborhoods shaped your approach to policy?)
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
I was born and raised in Ann Arbor. This is my city. And I watched it change in ways that hurt my community. Friends, family members, people who looked like me — pushed out because they couldn't afford to stay. That's not abstract for me. That's personal.
As a Black woman who grew up here, I saw firsthand how neighborhoods were shaped by forces most residents never had to think about — who could buy where, who got priced out, who got left behind as the city grew wealthier around them.
That's what brought me to council. Not a policy paper. A lived reality. I came to the table because there was nobody there who looked like me, who carried that experience. Housing isn't a line item to me. It's the difference between a community that holds together and one that quietly disappears.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
2. Neighborhood Businesses
2a: Do you support zoning changes to allow neighborhood businesses (e.g. Jefferson Market, Argus Farm Stop, Washtenaw Dairy) across all of Ann Arbor? (Y/N)
2b: Please explain your stance.
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
2a: Yes
2b: Yes, I support zoning changes to allow neighborhood businesses across all of Ann Arbor. I voted for this change and believe it improves our neighborhoods and makes our communities more walkable and accessible for all residents.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
3. Tenant Protections
How can the city better protect renters and ensure they have safe, dignified, and stable living conditions?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
Ann Arbor can better protect renters by continuing to strengthen enforcement of housing safety standards, increasing transparency in leasing and rental fees, expanding affordable housing options, and ensuring tenants have meaningful rights and support when dealing with landlords. This includes the work we are already doing in cracking down on hidden fees, improving inspections and compliance systems, and supporting our Renters Commission.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
4.Three Homes Per Lot
4a: The City’s new Comprehensive Land Use Plan calls for allowing at least three homes per lot citywide. Do you support this change? (Y/N)
4b: If not, where do you think it should be illegal to build three homes on a lot?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
4a: Yes
4b: n/a
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
5. Ending Ann Arbor's Housing Shortage
What roles should market-rate housing, public-private partnerships, and public housing each play in ending Ann Arbor’s housing shortage?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
Addressing Ann Arbor’s housing shortage requires using each and every one of these options. Market-rate housing helps increase overall supply and reduce pressure on existing neighborhoods, especially when paired with zoning reforms to allow more varied housing. Public-private partnerships help Ann Arbor incentivize the creation of mixed-income and permanently affordable housing more quickly and efficiently, while also expanding our tax base (similar to market-rate). At the same time, investments in public housing are essential to ensure that low-income residents, seniors, and working families are not priced out of the community. We must continue to use all options available to end Ann Arbor’s housing shortage.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
6. Public Housing
6a: Do you support building more public housing in Ann Arbor? (Y/N)
6b: If so, approximately how many units would you aim to build over the next decade; and how, specifically, would you pay for them?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
6a: Yes
6b: Given federal policies that are projected to cause a significant increase in homelessness countywide, unit production in Ann Arbor could range from 1,200 to 2,400 units or even more. With 1,200 units in the pipeline in Ann Arbor, just 6 years into the Affordable Housing Millage, and with the AAHC pioneering new public-private partnerships that maximize the number of units those dollars can support, the city’s capacity may be greater than initially estimated within the scope of the current millage. Still, the deficit is so great that whatever gets built is unlikely to meet the growing need. It will be important to set expectations for renewal of that millage and communicate the success AAHC is having with the current one.
Funding for our affordable housing should come from Ann Arbor’s Affordable Housing Millage, any federal and state grants we can secure, public-private partnerships, and more. We should continue to support market-rate development that pays into our Affordable Housing Fund or builds affordable units, and we should be eager to support projects like that of the new Ann Arbor District Library, which leverages air rights to create more housing, including affordable units, at no new cost to our taxpayers.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
7. 2025 Prop A & B (Library Lot) Vote
7a: Did you support Props A & B in 2025 to expand AADL’s Downtown Branch into the neighboring lot and build housing above it?
7b: Please explain your stance.
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
7a: Yes
7b: I was proud to endorse and vote for these proposals, both on the council floor and on the August ballot, and I am always excited at the prospect of supporting our Ann Arbor District Library and building more housing.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
8. Addressing Housing Injustice
8a: Do you believe that Ann Arbor's housing history – including racial covenants, exclusionary zoning, and the displacement of Black communities – should influence the city’s decisions about housing? (Y/N)
8b: What are your specific proposals to address historic and ongoing harms caused by the city’s housing policies in an equitable and restorative way?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
8a: Yes
8b: Ending exclusionary zoning practices and ensuring that communities of color are advocated for is pivotal. Our housing crisis was built through deliberate policy. Black families were legally barred from entire neighborhoods. When Fair Housing laws finally came, Ann Arbor waited two more decades for local protections. That delay has a paper trail, and that's why I sponsored the Reparations Study Resolution. What we passed in June 2024 directs the city to fund a feasibility study and produce a documented harms report. You cannot repair what you won't name.
Reparations aren't just a check. They mean ending exclusionary zoning, using city land for below-market housing, and demanding anti-displacement protections — so we don't 'improve' neighborhoods by removing the people already pushed out.
This is all the same work. It must be led by the community most harmed, not designed by city staff and handed down. Truth first, then repair, with Black residents at the center of every decision.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
9. CLUP Recommendations
9a: Which 1-2 recommendations of the new Comprehensive Land Use Plan do you most strongly agree with, and why?
9b: Which 1-2 recommendations of the new Comprehensive Land Use Plan do you most strongly disagree with, and why?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
9a: Gentle Density in Single-Family Neighborhoods:
This is personal for me. I grew up here. I watched friends, family, people who look like me get pushed out of Ann Arbor because they simply couldn't afford to stay. The fact that over a third of this city's land has been locked into single-family-only zoning — and that we now know that zoning has roots in racially exclusionary policy — that's something we have a responsibility to fix. Allowing duplexes, triplexes, ADUs, cottage housing on those parcels isn't radical. It's correction. It's how we tell the next generation of Ann Arborites, regardless of their income or the color of their skin, that they are welcome here. I've been saying since my first campaign that we need more gentle density, and I'm glad this plan finally puts that into the land use framework.
9b: Restricting Housing in Employment and Innovation Zones:
I have to be honest about this one. The plan as drafted wanted to limit or exclude residential use in certain Employment and Innovation districts — places like the North Campus area — in order to protect the commercial tax base. I understand the fiscal argument. But I fundamentally disagree with the premise that we should be drawing lines on a map and saying 'no homes here.' The Planning Commission pushed back on this too, and they were right to. In a city with a housing crisis this severe, where cost-burdened renters make up nearly two-thirds of our renter population, we cannot afford to take land off the table for housing on the theory that it might someday generate more tax revenue as a lab or an office. Jobs matter. But so does having somewhere to live near those jobs. I want housing permitted citywide — full stop.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
10. Transportation and Housing
How would your transportation goals and housing goals inform each other to create cohesive policies for both?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
Transportation and housing policy should work together to serve our residents and create a more affordable, connected, and sustainable Ann Arbor. We need to build more housing, and we can do so in areas that are served by public transit and are accessible to residents.
Coordinating density with transit helps reduce traffic congestion, lowers household transportation costs, and supports Ann Arbor’s climate goals. By considering the needs of renters, seniors, students, and more in our housing and transportation planning, we can create a vision that is more sustainable and affordable, while ensuring accessibility and equity across the board.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.
11. Policy Implementation Timeline
How would you ensure that City Council’s housing and transportation policies are implemented in a timely manner?
Cynthia Harrison (incumbent)
I would continue to work with City Staff and community stakeholders to ensure our projects are moving along swiftly. In addition, I would continue to support funding for quick builds, which helps to identify and address issues and safety concerns rapidly.
Rebecca Arends
Candidate declined to respond.