One element of the struggle for economic equity in Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities is the intentional denial of support networks that provide funding, customers, connections or other resources for businesses and...

An Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission will redraw state and federal legislative districts in Michigan in 2021 with a mandate: The districts must reflect the state's diverse population and communities of interest. The requirement is one...

Only five percent of local officials in Michigan surveyed have expressed strong confidence in the Census’ completeness or accuracy, according to the Spring 2020 Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), which is conducted annually by the Center for...

Four teams of undergraduate and graduate Ford School students embarked on research and engagement projects this past summer to help the Michigan Township Association (MTA) better understand the state of affairs for local townships and the challenges...

Few local governments in Michigan report collaborating with another community on energy and sustainability issues, but nearly half expressed interest in teaming up with others to pursue opportunities, according to survey results released today by...

Confidence in running accurate elections among Michigan local government leaders remains very high, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and an expected high voter turnout, according to a survey released October 5 by the the Center for...

More than half of local government officials in Michigan see improving energy efficiency for local businesses or residents as relevant to their jurisdiction's government, according to a survey by the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban...

The political adage is that “All politics are local.” The same could be said of how local leaders feel about the health of democratic governance.  That is according to a report on Michigan’s local leaders released today by the Center for Local,...

Speaking about a recent racial incident in the Leelanau Peninsula to  Bridge Michigan, Tom Ivacko said that the growth of Traverse City and the area’s influx of vacationers and retirees are shifting local politics. “If this pandemic pushes that even...

“Going into this election season, he was not particularly well-known,” said Tom Ivacko, referring to Mr. Peters. At the same time, Mr. Ivacko said Mr. James’s 2018 challenge helped him build “some name recognition fairly recently,” he said. He lost...