Robocalls

Fear-mongering misses the point.

by Eve Silberman and John Hilton

posted 11/3/2009

According to a series of anonymous phone calls blanketing the city in October, "Soon, you won't even know if they're trying to raise your millage." That would come as a surprise to Ann Arborites engaged in a hot debate about the proposed schools "enchancement" tax (see Millage Fight). Even more surprising: the fear-mongering calls targeted a seemingly innocuous pair of measures on the Nov. 3 ballot that would let the city publish proposed ordinances on its website instead of buying ad space in newspapers.

According to the Ann Arbor Chronicle, the Michigan Newspaper Association is behind the calls--its members stand to lose business if the proposals pass. But even newspapers don't shed much light at the moment. Under current law, a paper must be in business at least a year and publish at least weekly to run such "legal notices." Since the Ann Arbor News closed, the only publication that qualifies is the Washtenaw County Legal News--whose circulation is less than 1,200 copies.   

[Originally published in November, 2009.]