2026 Election Questionnaire - Ward 4
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?)
Aidan Sova
My housing story began on the South Side of Jackson, Michigan, in a low-income, single-parent household. I remember rain falling from our indoor ceilings, the sight of rust in our tub, and the visceral terror of bullets striking through the walls of our home. For my family, an apartment was not an asset or a sanctuary. Rather, it was a fragile barrier against a world that felt increasingly indifferent to our safety and dignity. This upbringing taught me early on that housing is the bedrock of human stability—and that when the system fails to provide it, the human cost is immeasurable.
I came to Ann Arbor as a first-generation college student and lived in a dormitory at no cost thanks to the Go Blue Guarantee. Later, I moved to the Ivanhoe Apartments, where I relied on the proximity of the bus line and Esch Park. Today, as a homeowner in the Fourth Ward, I recognize that my ability to live here should not be a statistical anomaly. My experience has shaped a policy approach rooted in the belief that we can, and must, be better.
We care for our neighbors by legalizing the types of density—duplexes, triplexes, and missing middle housing—that allow a single parent or a low-income worker to find a safe, dignified home in a high-opportunity city like ours. I will work to modernize our land-use policies so that no child has to grow up in the conditions I did. By embracing thoughtful growth and diversifying our housing stock, we move beyond building simple structures to enabling opportunities. We must boldly position Ann Arbor as a community where belonging is a right, not a luxury. If we want to be the inclusive city we claim to be, our zoning must finally reflect our values.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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.
Aidan Sova
2a: Yes
2b: I wholeheartedly support zoning changes to allow small-scale neighborhood businesses across Ann Arbor. While establishments like Jefferson Market, Washtenaw Dairy, and Argus Farm Stop are retailers, they also represent the essential social fabric of our community. Integrating these businesses into residential areas strengthens these local economic threads and provides a necessary loom for entrepreneurs to thrive.
This shift improves both convenience and sustainability. Residents can meet their daily needs within walking or rolling distance of their front doors, reducing car dependency and fostering deeper neighborhood connections. These small businesses actually enhance the very character that restrictive zoning often stifles. A vibrant, walkable street corner with a local market adds far more vitality than sterile exclusivity. We must move toward a more flexible, inclusive model where commerce and community exist in harmony for every resident of the ward.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not respond.
3. Tenant Protections
How can the city better protect renters and ensure they have safe, dignified, and stable living conditions?
Aidan Sova
Protecting renters requires a commitment to both physical safety and legal empowerment. I support the Right to Organize ordinance to ensure tenants can advocate for better conditions collectively without fear of retaliation. We must also fully implement the Green Rental Housing Ordinance, which guarantees that every unit meets baseline standards for health and energy efficiency, thereby lowering utility costs and improving air quality for renters.
Recent bans on pre-tenancy and hidden mandatory fees further enhance stability, ensuring that the advertised price of a home is the price people actually pay. Beyond this, we should expand funding for eviction prevention programs and support the Renters Commission in auditing our enforcement processes. Modernizing our code enforcement and providing clear, accessible resources through a central renters’ hub ensures that living in Ann Arbor is defined by dignity and security, rather than administrative hurdles or landlord overreach.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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?
Aidan Sova
4a: Yes
4b: n/a
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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?
Aidan Sova
Ending the housing shortage requires utilizing every tool. Market-rate housing, public-private partnerships, and public housing are not competing interests; they are essential, complementary components of a comprehensive housing suite. We must reject the false choice between these models.
Market-rate development is necessary to increase overall supply and ease the filtering effect that drives up costs in our older housing stock. Without a steady stream of private investment to meet high demand, we simply cannot build our way out of this crisis. Public-private partnerships allow us to leverage private expertise and capital to deliver units—like the missing middle—that the market might otherwise overlook. Public housing also ensures a permanent safety net for our most vulnerable neighbors. However, these units are monumentally difficult to build because they require complex, long-term subsidies and incur high costs for land acquisition and specialized construction in an expensive market.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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?
Aidan Sova
6a: Yes
6b: It is monumentally important that Ann Arbor’s public housing stock is expanded, but it should be noted that this endeavor is a difficult and expensive undertaking. While we should aim to add hundreds of new municipal units over the next decade to meet our most urgent needs, the high cost of land and construction—compounded by restrictive funding mechanisms—makes this a steep uphill battle in a market like Ann Arbor.
Funding this growth requires a sophisticated, multi-layered strategy. We must continue to maximize our local Affordable Housing Millage, but that alone cannot meet the scale of the crisis. We need to aggressively capture federal and state resources, specifically through the HUD Choice Neighborhoods program and MSHDA’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Additionally, utilizing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and exploring the creation of a local housing trust fund can provide the flexible capital needed to fill funding gaps. Even with these tools, public housing remains a significant fiscal challenge that demands constant innovation and a relentless pursuit of intergovernmental partnerships to sustain.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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.
Aidan Sova
7a: Yes
7b: I enthusiastically supported Propositions A and B in 2025. As Vice President of the Library Board at the time, and now as President, I was one of the architects of this vision. This project represents exactly the kind of innovative, multi-use development Ann Arbor needs. By expanding the Downtown Branch into the neighboring lot and integrating housing above it, we are maximizing the utility of public land to meet two critical community needs simultaneously.
This initiative is a testament to what we can achieve when we think creatively about density and public-private partnerships. It transforms a single-use footprint into a vibrant hub for literacy, community gathering, and much-needed residential space in our urban core. My leadership on the board was driven by the belief that our public institutions should lead by example in addressing the housing crisis. This proposal served as a model for how the city can leverage its assets to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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?
Aidan Sova
8a: Yes
8b: Ann Arbor's housing history—marked by racial covenants, exclusionary zoning, and the displacement of Black communities—must be a primary driver of our current policy. We cannot claim to be an inclusive city while ignoring the legal and administrative tools that were historically used to manufacture segregation.
My proposals focus on restorative growth. We must legalize missing-middle housing in every neighborhood, effectively ending the exclusionary mandates that were designed to keep certain people out. Furthermore, we must invest in homeownership programs specifically for first-generation buyers to bridge the racial wealth gap created by decades of denied equity. In prioritizing density and affordability in high-opportunity areas, we can begin to dismantle the geographic barriers that have limited access to Ann Arbor’s prosperity for generations.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not 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?
Aidan Sova
9a: I strongly support ending exclusionary zoning to allow for more housing variety and creating dynamic transit corridors. Moving away from a one-size-fits-all mandate brings back cherished options like accessory dwellings and neighborhood-scale apartments in every ward, broadening our community's reach. Focusing growth along main routes like Washtenaw and Plymouth provides homes that are naturally more affordable and accessible for neighbors who want the freedom of living without the high cost of a car.
9b: Overall, this plan moves Ann Arbor in the right direction; we clearly need more housing diversity and walkable neighborhoods. However, we must ensure this growth doesn’t come at the expense of our canopy. Ann Arbor is Tree Town, and our trees are essential infrastructure that manage stormwater, provide cooling, and improve air quality. As we integrate duplexes and triplexes onto existing lots, we must write stronger protections for mature trees on private property directly into our zoning code. Density and canopy do not have to be a tradeoff, but we must establish the rules to ensure they are not. We can build the housing we need while protecting the environmental fabric that makes Ann Arbor home.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not respond.
10. Transportation and Housing
How would your transportation goals and housing goals inform each other to create cohesive policies for both?
Aidan Sova
Housing and transportation are two sides of the same coin; an affordable home is only truly accessible if the resident can afford the commute. I approach these goals through a unified lens of smart density and mobility, ensuring that our growth is concentrated along the corridors where our transit investments are strongest. This synergy is fundamental to our Vision Zero commitment. In building more homes in walkable, transit-rich environments, we naturally reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled and minimize the conflict points between cars, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Prioritizing mixed-use developments and missing middle housing near our core reduces the necessity of high-speed transit through residential areas. This cohesive approach turns our transportation network into a service for people rather than just a conduit for vehicles. Integrating these goals allows us to build a city where mobility is safe, sustainable, and inextricably linked to where we live.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not respond.
11. Policy Implementation Timeline
How would you ensure that City Council’s housing and transportation policies are implemented in a timely manner?
Aidan Sova
Implementation requires a shift from passive approval to active oversight. My perspective is shaped by my role as President of the Ann Arbor District Library Board and as the youngest Black person ever elected to public office in our city’s history. My ambition for others is fueled by lived experience; I know that for a family in precarious housing, timely implementation is a matter of survival. We cannot allow bureaucratic inertia to stall the progress residents needed years ago.
I will ensure accountability by setting clear, public-facing benchmarks for every major housing and transportation initiative. This includes streamlining the site plan review process to prevent the administrative friction that often stalls affordable projects. I also support empowering city staff with the resources to expedite Vision Zero infrastructure and transit-oriented zoning. If we treat our housing shortage as a true crisis, we can finally deliver the safe, dignified homes our neighbors deserve.
Dave Zeglen
Candidate did not respond.