Tom Ivacko

Showing 61 - 90 of 158 results

News

Trust in government in a time of questioning: local governance leads the way

Dec 17, 2020

In a time of growing suspicion about the role of government at the state and national level, a good news story emerges when looking at local governance in Michigan. The conclusion of a new compendium study, The Functioning of Democracy: Insights...

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

In the Media

Ivacko comments on Michigan's tight Senate race in the WSJ

Oct 30, 2020 Wall Street Journal

“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...

Ivacko on federal infrastructure dollars in Michigan

In the Media

Ivacko on shifting political landscape in northern Michigan

Oct 29, 2020 Bridge Michigan

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...

News

Michigan local leaders trust their local democratic institutions far more than those at state or federal levels

Oct 27, 2020

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,...

More than half of Michigan local governments report personnel harassed, abused for doing their jobs

In the Media

Michigan is an outlier in electing university boards

Oct 25, 2020 Omaha.com

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News

98% of Michigan local officials are confident of accurate 2020 voting administration

Oct 5, 2020

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...

98% of Michigan local officials are confident of accurate 2020 voting administration

News

Ford School students help local townships navigate and adapt during pandemic

Sep 29, 2020

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...

Ford School students help local townships navigate and adapt during pandemic

News

U-M study aims to clarify 'communities of interest' as Michigan prepares for legislative redistricting

Sep 14, 2020 Michigan News

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...

U-M survey finds early lack of awareness among local leaders with state’s new approach to redraw legislative districts

News

Confidence in Michigan’s 2020 Census count among local officials slipping

Aug 25, 2020

Gathering 2020 Census data was always going to be complicated, as the U.S. Commerce Department varied its criteria and reduced the budget for in-person contact in the lead-up to the count. When the pandemic struck in March, just before the official...

Confidence in Michigan’s 2020 Census count among local officials slipping

News

Michigan local government leaders back expanded absentee voting, ballot reforms

Jul 28, 2020

Amid the national debate over the safety and efficacy of absentee voting, Michigan can offer an example of how election reforms will play out in the 2020 election. And the battleground state's local officials have an overall positive outlook about...

Michigan local government leaders back expanded absentee voting, ballot reforms

News

Local leaders' mixed messages and fading outlook in annual Michigan Public Policy Survey

Jul 20, 2020

Michigan local government officials’ attitudes about the direction of the state, and the performances of the governor and the legislature have improved from last year, but remain more negative than positive. The 2020 Michigan Public Policy Survey...

In the Media

Steep Revenue Declines Call for Innovation

Jul 1, 2020 MML Review

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In the Media

African American, an Army vet and a Republican. How will John James fare in Michigan?

Jun 29, 2020 Jewish Insider

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News

CLOSUP finds Michigan local government leaders report widespread crisis-level impacts from COVID-19 pandemic

Jun 24, 2020

Leaders across Michigan have reported problems supporting their communities in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic—with many saying they failed to get needed health or financial help in one of the hardest-hit states, according to a survey by...

In the Media

MSU and partners develop COVID-19 Fiscal Strategy and Resource Guides

Jun 9, 2020 MSU Today

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News

COVID-19 Fiscal Strategy and Resource Guides for Local Governments produced by CLOSUP and partners

May 11, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is having a dramatic impact on Michigan's local governments, and the fiscal implications — including emergency spending, revenue losses, and budget cuts — are already being felt. The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy...

COVID-19 Fiscal Strategy and Resource Guides for Local Governments produced by CLOSUP and partners

MPPS in the news

Government layoffs, service cuts start as coronavirus guts Michigan budgets

Apr 16, 2020 Bridge Magazine

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In the Media

Funding local government in Michigan: Broken system puts services at long-term risk

Feb 26, 2020 Mirage

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In the Media

Anti-Choice Legislative Majorities Could Be Vulnerable in Two Critical States

Feb 5, 2020 Rewire News Group

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News

Fiscal health: Mixed signals for Michigan’s local governments

Dec 11, 2019

ANN ARBOR—More than two-thirds of Michigan’s local government leaders rate their jurisdictions’ current fiscal stress as relatively low, according to a new survey by the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. On the...

State & Hill

CLOSUP’s Michigan Public Policy Survey turns 10

Nov 14, 2019

It’s been a tumultuous decade in Michigan: three governors, a cratered economy and its recovery, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a public health disaster in Flint, and more. Through it all, the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS)...

CLOSUP’s Michigan Public Policy Survey turns 10

News

MPPS finds divided government means divided opinions

Aug 15, 2019

With 2019 marking the end of eight years of Republican control of both the governor’s office and state legislature, a new University of Michigan survey shows divided opinions among Michigan’s local government leaders about where the state is...

MPPS finds divided government means divided opinions

In the Media

As Democrats debate in Detroit, Trump faces stiff Michigan challenge

Jul 30, 2019 MarketWatch

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In the Media

Experts: Duggan's denial of facial recognition software hinges on 3 words

Jul 16, 2019 Detroit Free Press

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MPPS in the news

Michigan Struggles With Legal Pot

Jun 21, 2019 UrbanMilwaukee.com

Tom Ivacko, a researcher on all things policy-related in Michigan, described 2019 as a “haze” as officials scrapped one process for regulating marijuana and are implementing a new one before recreational cannabis hits the streets legally, probably...

News

Ivacko makes sense of the recreational marijuana ‘haze’

Jun 18, 2019

As Michigan goes through the transition after voters said “yes” to legalizing recreational marijuana last November, there’s a bit of a “haze,” as the Ford School’s Tom Ivacko puts it, on policy in "‘Haze’ abounds as Michigan struggles to regulate...