Ann Arbor Faces Lawsuit Over Proposed City-Owned Electric Utility
A group funded by DTE Energy, the Ann Arbor Responsible Energy Coalition, is taking legal action against the city of Ann Arbor and its clerk, Jacqueline Beaudry. The lawsuit challenges Beaudry’s certification of petitions submitted by Ann Arbor for Public Power (A2P2), a citizens group advocating for a city-owned electric utility to replace DTE Energy.
A2P2 aims to introduce a charter amendment in November that would establish a Municipal Electric Utility Board, paving the way for the city to break ties with DTE Energy and create its own electric utility. However, the lawsuit alleges that the petitions lack sufficient valid signatures and that Beaudry improperly allowed the submission of supplemental petition sheets after the initial review.
According to the lawsuit, even with the additional signatures from the supplemental sheets, the petition falls short by nearly 200 valid signatures required for certification on the November ballot. Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that the proposed charter amendment violates the single-subject rule outlined in the Home Rule City Act by addressing multiple topics.
Despite the legal challenge, the city of Ann Arbor has yet to respond to the lawsuit. Brian Geiringer, the executive director of Ann Arbor for Public Power, defended Beaudry’s handling of the process, stating, “We’re confident that Clerk Beaudry followed procedures correctly. Her reputation for both rigor and fairness is impeccable. This groundless lawsuit is a direct attack on the will of the people to have an alternative to DTE on the ballot this November.”
