Polygon, the Dancing Bear

Occasional notes on politics, history, technology, architecture,
and the life of a county clerk

Monday, July 14, 2008, 3:52 pm

From the Clerk-Register. Today's message for my staff.

Where I grew up, there was a busy boulevard through the center of town, with a broad median strip. One year, there was a very serious project to display large works of sculpture in this median.

They set up a committee and a jury of experts and obtained funding. Pretty soon, a series of abstract artworks were installed at intervals along the boulevard, each one with a sign announcing its title. There would be, say, a whole bunch of rusty metal shards bolted together, with a title like "Aurora of Happiness." Or a pile of huge glass balls labeled "Aggressive Ennui." Nobody but the artist understood what that was about, but the whole town was very pleased with itself over this wonderful display of Art.

A couple weeks later, another sculpture came along, which got a lot more attention than all the others put together. It was installed in the median in the dead of night by persons unknown, and consisted of what appeared to be a well-made set of wooden porch steps, nicely stained and varnished, with the title "Mother and Child."

You can imagine the cries of outrage at how some trickster or amateur had invaded the haughty circles of Art. Yes, right there on the highway median. Others thought it was a hilarious parody on the whole concept of abstract sculpture. I don't think they ever found out who was responsible.

The moral of the story is that we shouldn't pay too much attention to what is, or is not, "Art". Professors and art critics claim to have a monopoly on the definition, while others dispute it, and still others push the envelope, seeking official recognition for all kinds of odd objects and antics. If you dare to disagree with any of these folks, without holding an advanced arts degree, you'll be dismissed as ignorant and immoral.

With half a million people poised to descend on our community this week in search of Art, we're likely to hear a lot of these arguments going on.

My advice is, when somebody announces they know what Art is, or what it is not, just smile politely and back away.

Instead, let us appreciate the Art Fairs not for what they claim to represent, but what they are: an amazing display of human ingenuity and effort.

As in past years, Clerk-Register staff are invited to take a two-hour lunch break on one of the Art Fair days. You can arrange this with your supervisor.

Let's have a great week, and enjoy the weather.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Thursday, July 10, 2008, 2:39 pm

From the Clerk-Register. Yesterday's email message to my staff:

Late one night last week, when a big storm blew down branches and trees, the power went out at our house. From what we could see, the whole neighborhood was dark.

Some hours passed, while storms came and went. I lay awake in bed, listening to the rumble of thunder and the insistent drumming of heavy rain on the roof.

I thought, there's no way we'll have power back before morning. After all, who's going to climb up a utility pole at 1:00 am, in the middle of a lightning storm, to reconnect high voltage electric lines?

Just then, the power came back on.

Somebody DID climb up that pole, wherever it was.

It sounds terrifying, but the utility worker probably thought of it as just another day on the job. We don't think of those folks very often, but they make our modern lives possible.

We [in the Clerk/Register's office] may not be splicing electric cables in the rain after midnight, but we also do important work. People rely on us — whether they think about it or not.

Remember to take pride in everything you do.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Friday, June 27, 2008, 10:43 pm

From the Clerk-Register. This afternoon's email message to my staff (who work in various separate spaces in three different buildings, one of them four miles away from the other two, and rarely gather together in one place in person):

(1) Next Friday (one week from today) is the Fourth of July. Instead of having a Casual Friday on a day we're not here, the short week of June 30 through July 3 will be Casual Attire Week.

(2) My daughter sometimes complains about being teased by her classmates in elementary school. Like many parents, I have taught her to calmly respond with "That's your opinion." They're trying to get a rise out of you, I explain. The teasers win if you get mad or upset. You win by not rising to the bait.

Those conversations come back to mind when I hear about customers who are not only rude, but actively bait us, muttering or whispering personal insults as they stand at our counters, or openly sneering at our competence. Each of our offices has certain customers who come with a lot of attitude, people who you dread seeing come through the door.

Stop. Take a deep breath. Don't let them know how you feel. Take pride in your professionalism. All customers are entitled to courtesy and respect, even snarling ogres and crazy people. Suppress your instinct to reflect back their rudeness; instead, kill them with kindness. Don't give them the slightest excuse to complain about our attitude. Let them be the ones who would look ridiculous to any outside observer.

It's not easy. But you win, we all win, when this office is known for being unfailingly polite. People take notice, believe me.

Have a great weekend.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Thursday, May 1, 2008, 1:47 pm

More Bad Economic News from the Deeds Office

A "sheriff's deed" is recorded when a mortgage has been foreclosed and the property sold at auction. Hence, the number of sheriff's deeds recorded in the Register of Deeds office is a precise indicator of distress among homeowners in that county.

By that standard, things are looking grim here in Washtenaw County, with the number of sheriff's deeds reaching previously unheard-of levels. There were 1,151 in calendar year 2007, compared to 703 in 2006 and 433 in 2005. And so far this year we already have 500.

Here's the data by month and year since 2002:

Month	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Jan	15	21	25	33	32	88	106
Feb	9	17	22	28	54	99	126
Mar	16	10	31	38	59	103	123
Apr	13	37	23	27	46	72	145
May	20	11	29	40	53	75
Jun	25	26	13	40	69	76
Jul	19	21	29	41	30	113
Aug	23	29	22	27	68	78
Sep	20	17	21	42	63	85
Oct	19	25	22	42	59	108
Nov	24	20	21	20	93	107
Dec	28	31	30	55	77	147
Totals	231	265	288	433	703	1,151	500

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Monday, March 31, 2008, 11:25 pm

Speaking at the Ypsilanti school board meeting

This evening, the Ypsilanti school board took up the issue of selling the long-closed Ardis school on Ellsworth Road to the Hidaya Community Center/Michigan Islamic Academy, which has offered $3.9 million for it. Earlier, sale of the property to the Salvation Army fell through.

The proposed sale had aroused some opposition, some of it frankly anti-Muslim, and flyers were distributed in the neighborhood. About 300 people were at the meeting, and some 20 spoke during public comment (each with a gently but firmly enforced 3 minute limit). Here's what I said:

Good evening. I'm Larry Kestenbaum, Washtenaw County Clerk and Register of Deeds. My office is at 200 North Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

I'm not a resident of the Ypsilanti school district, but you're all part of my constituency, and my office serves the entire county when it comes to vital records, elections, court records, and deeds. I'm very interested in intergroup relations in Washtenaw County.

Myself, I'm Jewish, and an active member of Temple Beth Emeth, Jewish congregation, and my wife is on the board of trustees.

The closing of a school is always painful. Generations of students share memories of their formative years in those rooms. The elementary school I attended was closed some years ago, amid bitter controversy. But that school building still exists and contributes to the community, under different ownership, as a community center.

Accordingly, I am here to support the recommendation to sell Ardis School to the Hidaya Center, which I am sure will put the building to good use and benefit the whole community.

Let me share just a couple of brief anecdotes to make my point.

First, some years ago, when I was the youngest member of the East Lansing Planning Commission, we received a site plan for the MSU Islamic Center, across the street from the MSU campus, but also adjoining a single-family residential area.

The plan was approved, and East Lansing has never had cause to regret that decision. Nearby homeowners, folks I grew up with, people I represented as county commissioner, say the Islamic Center is a very good neighbor.

Second, when Ann Arbor had to close a school, they made a decision similar to the one I hope you will make tonight. They sold the Clinton Elementary School, and it became the Jewish Community Center of Washtenaw County.

As a member of the JCC organization, I view this facility with some pride. It houses a school, day care center, and meeting rooms for community events. Just yesterday afternoon, I took my daughter Sarah, who happens to be here tonight, to her Girl Scout troop meeting there.

The Washtenaw County Jewish community is still grateful for the consideration we received to purchase and reuse Clinton School. I urge you to give the Islamic community the same consideration in its bid to purchase and reuse Ardis School.

Census estimates show that Washtenaw County is growing, even as the state's population is declining. People are coming here because of our economy, still the best in the state, and because of the things this area has to offer.

A growing and thriving community naturally becomes more diverse, including religiously diverse. Yes, we'll have more Catholics and Baptists and Lutherans. But we'll also have more Jews, and Mormons, and Buddhists, and Hindus, and Muslims. And all of these groups need to build and nurture their community institutions.

That religious development is inseparable from economic development, which means: more talent, more business, more jobs, and a better future for everyone in Washtenaw County.

Thank you.

I'm happy to report that the school board approved the sale.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Monday, February 25, 2008, 4:42 pm

Some thoughts about campaign spending.

(Also posted to Michigan Liberal.)

In Jess Unruh's famous formulation, money is the mother's milk of politics. Nobody in a political campaign can be unmindful of this. Still, wealthy self-funded candidates such as Dick DeVos and Mitt Romney have demonstrated that it's not possible to simply buy electoral victory.

Perhaps this is an awkward subject to raise in an election year where Democrats, for once, are raising more money than Republicans. But if we and our candidates are to make the best use of this advantage, we need to understand that a well-funded campaign has its own set of risks and pitfalls.

My own cynical rule of thumb is that, the more money a campaign has, the higher the proportion that is wasted. In other words, when money is not a constraint, a big campaign stays in better hotels, eats better food, has a nicer headquarters in a more expensive neighborhood, etc., etc., things which do almost nothing to actually win the election. That's why, contrary to conventional wisdom, shoestring campaigns often beat well-funded campaigns.

Recent news coverage of one of the presidential campaigns highlights lavish spending on catering and luxury hotels, and brings this issue to the forefront.

Now, carping over specific items in one campaign might be a little unfair. Many of us have direct experience of the difficulties of quickly creating a large and temporary organization, when the tactical objectives are constantly changing, and all the participants are amateurs.

But more than that, a large organization is inherently less efficient than a small one. The bigger the entity, the higher the overhead costs, the transaction costs, the communication costs. A great metaphor for this is construction. You can build a hundred identical houses cheaper per house than you can build one house. But a skyscraper costs enormously more per usable square foot than a one-story office building.

In tangible political terms, what's necessary and what's wasteful depends critically on the context. A typical city council campaign doesn't need office space, but a gubernatorial campaign can't do without.

When planning your campaign this year, or any year, here are a few thoughts I would suggest you bear in mind.

1. The big picture. A political campaign is brought into being to win an election. Don't lose sight of the main goal when making decisions on campaign activity and spending.

2. Ethic of frugality. Don't spend campaign money on a new coffeepot, when a volunteer could loan you one for free. Spend money on voter contact instead of creature comforts. Be a good steward for the money entrusted to you by your contributors.

3. Maintain some objectivity. When you're the candidate, it's easy to see each and every manifestation of the opponent as a personal attack that has to be "answered". All too often, when the candidate sees the other side has a radio ad, or a billboard, the budget goes out the window. Sure, sometimes the campaign plan has to adapt to circumstances, but don't waste money trying to keep up with your opponent's waste of money.

4. You can't keep it secret. As soon as you file each campaign finance report, people are looking at it. You may think that the thousand dollars spent at Victoria's Secret is buried at the bottom of page 137, but it may be in the blogs the next day -- or in your opponent's next attack piece.

5. Volunteers and candidate effort are more important than money. No amount of money can buy enthusiastic support. Paid staff are easier to control and direct than volunteers, but if you can't recruit and motivate volunteers, you're not going to win.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Sunday, February 17, 2008, 8:12 pm

Presidents Day Fundraiser

My term as County Clerk is up at the end of the year. I love the job and I've accomplished a lot, but there's lots more to do.

Hence, I'm seeking re-election in the August primary and November general election. I have no definite word on who my opposition will be, but there have been plenty of rumors, and I need to be ready.

My campaign committee is holding a Presidents Day Fundraiser on Monday, February 18, 5pm, at Leopold Brothers Brewpub, 523 S. Main Street, in downtown Ann Arbor.

Many of us are mourning the impending loss of this place; here's a chance to visit Leopold's before it closes.

Alternatively, if you can't make it on Monday, but wish to contribute to the campaign, make checks to Kestenbaum for Clerk-Register and send them to P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106. No cash or corporate checks.

What happens at a political fundraiser? Essentially, people come in, drop off a check in a bowl near the door, mill around, eat, drink, and talk about politics or whatever. At some point, somebody stands up and introduces all the politicos who are present, and I make a very brief speech. Food is free, alcohol costs. Pretty much like a party, other than that.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Monday, January 14, 2008, 5:30 pm

Presidential Primary: Two Dramatic Updates!

First, I was sued this morning. Nothing personal, though. Local Libertarian Party activist and attorney David Raaflaub sued the Secretary of State, the county Election Commission, and the County Clerk, asking for the presidential primary law to be declared unconstitutional, and for an injunction against holding the primary.

Mr. Raaflaub argued that being required to disclose which party primary he is voting in is a violation the Michigan Constitution's guarantee of ballot secrecy.

(I know those of you in states with party registration will find this hilarious.)

This afternoon, Judge Timothy Connors dismissed the suit.

Second, we have heard from the state Bureau of Elections that, due to an error in ballot programming, Uncommitted and Write-in votes will be counted together in many counties. In order to untangle the mess, they will have to do hand counts.

Here's a pretty good, but probably not perfect, list of the affected counties:

Alger, Alpena, Antrim, Arenac, Baraga, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Gogebic, Grand Traverse, Houghton, Iron, Jackson, Keweenaw, Leelanau, Lenawee, Luce, Mackinac, Manistee, Marquette, Montmorency, Ontonagon, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Schoolcraft, Wexford.

Bottom line, if this is a close election, it will be a very long night.

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 4:44 pm

Today's message to my staff: polls and New Hampshire.

After yesterday's startling result in New Hampshire, inconsistent with all the polls, the news media are asking what went wrong.

Similar questions were raised in the last Detroit mayor's race, when every poll showed that the challenger was way ahead - but the incumbent won by 14,000 votes.

The problem is that accurate opinion polling is harder and harder to do.

The mathematical theory behind polling is that you can talk to a random sample of the entire population, and come up with a pretty good estimate of what the entire population is thinking.

However, if the people in your sample are not a random sample of the relevant population, the whole concept fails.

In past times, almost everybody had a Bell System home telephone, and almost everybody answered the phone when it rang. Polling was comparatively easy then.

Nowadays, with answering machines and Caller ID, we all have more control over who we spend time talking to. Years of unwelcome interruptions from telemarketers have taught us to screen our calls.

More and more people are choosing to delist themselves from the telephone directory, or not to bother with a "land line" at all. For most purposes, these people are lost to polling.

With two-career families, longer commute times, growing use of restaurants for meals, taking kids to more and more extracurricular activities, etc., it's harder for pollsters to find people at home at all.

And there's another problem. A poll-taker who reaches a voter by phone has to cajole participation in a sometimes lengthy interview. Willingness to do this is on the decline. After all, it's an unsolicited call from a stranger asking personal questions - no surprise that people often say "no".

When a population is very heavily polled (like primary voters in New Hampshire?) the weariness with all the calls really sets in. And the more people who decline to participate, the less accurate the results will be.

On the other hand, if political activists and people with strong opinions are more inclined to say "yes" - that means those folks will be overrepresented, and the overall poll result will be skewed.

The growing disconnect between poll results and reality comes back to haunt us as election officials, since the media and the political campaigns rely heavily on polls for news. It's taken for granted that polls are accurate. When the election turns out differently than polls, we may even be accused of some kind of chicanery.

During this frenetic election year, with media outlets constantly trumpeting their latest surveys, don't forget the old campaign cliché: "The only poll that matters is the one on Election Day."

....Posted by Lawrence Kestenbaum —

Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 10:50 pm

Bad Economic News from the Deeds Office

Here's the data by month and year since 2002:

Month	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Jan	15	21	25	33	32	88
Feb	9	17	22	28	54	99
Mar	16	10	31	38	59	103
Apr	13	37	23	27	46	72
May	20	11	29	40	53	75
Jun	25	26	13	40	69	76
Jul	19	21	29	41	30	113
Aug	23	29	22	27	68	78
Sep	20	17	21	42	63	85
Oct	19	25	22	42	59	108
Nov	24	20	21	20	93	107
Dec	28	31	30	55	77	147
Totals	231	265	288	433	703	1,151