Center for Local State and Urban Policy

Showing 31 - 60 of 181 results

News

Ford School experts available for Michigan election 2022 analysis

Nov 3, 2022

The eyes of the country are on Michigan, as voters consider ballot initiatives on whether to enshrine abortion rights into the swing state's constitution and expand opportunities to vote. The highest offices in the state are also up for grabs, with...

The impact of Michigan’s redistricting efforts on the 2022 midterms

News

Former Michigan legislators overwhelmingly favor reforming or abolishing term limits

Nov 1, 2022

As voters in Michigan consider a ballot measure to change the state's legislative term limits, a survey of former legislators shows overwhelming support for reforming or abolishing the limits. The survey, conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills,...

Former Michigan legislators overwhelmingly favor reforming or abolishing term limits

In the Media

Fair elections on the ballot - Ivacko

Oct 31, 2022 CBC

CBC: Tom Ivacko at the University of Michigan says the fair administration of elections is absolutely an election issue this fall. Yet it's unclear how many Americans care: Ivacko noted polls indicating that 70 per cent view democracy as under...

News

Ivacko discusses voter priorities in 2022 election

Oct 30, 2022

Ahead of the midterm election, Tom Ivacko, executive director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, joined WXYZ Detroit to discuss what's on voters' minds. "This is a very interesting election cycle. Typically, the economy is one of the...

Ivacko discusses voter priorities in 2022 election

News

Michigan State-Michigan collaboration to measure Partisan Advantage in redistricting

Oct 27, 2022

The effect of redistricting will be a major topic as the results of the 2022 elections are analyzed in the weeks and months ahead. In some states, districts were drawn by partisan legislatures; in others those maps were challenged in the courts with...

Michigan State-Michigan collaboration to measure Partisan Advantage in redistricting

In the Media

Ivacko breaks down Michigan Public Policy Survey for MLive

Oct 27, 2022 MLive

Tom Ivacko, MLive: "We released a report recently that found over half of Michigan local governments reporting their personnel have been harassed or abused by the public in the last few years, and much of what passes for public discourse on national...

Publication

Local government officials offer mixed reviews to Michigan's new approach to redistricting

Oct 26, 2022

Local officials in Michigan have rendered a mixed verdict on the state's new constitutionally mandated approach to redrawing electoral maps with the goal of reducing gerrymandering and promoting fairer elections. Only 24% of local officials are...

Local government officials offer mixed reviews to Michigan's new approach to redistricting

News

Michigan local government officials cite good rapport with each other and public, despite divisive discourse

Oct 13, 2022

Michigan’s local government leaders report generally good relationships among officials and residents, despite well-documented examples of coarsening discourse and antagonism in public gatherings, according to a new University of Michigan...

News

Ivacko provides advice to local officials worried about election tampering

Oct 9, 2022 Michigan Advance

With less than a month until the 2022 election, local officials are worried about election fraud conspiracists sabotaging the election. Tom Ivacko, executive director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, gave advice to concerned...

Publication

Confidence in election security high, according to Michigan local government officials, disinformation causes concerns

Sep 22, 2022

Michigan township and city officials are now even more confident in their jurisdiction’s election security and ability to administer an accurate election than they were when asked a similar question in 2020, when confidence was already high,...

News

"Democracy in Crisis" series taps award-winning journalists for insights

Sep 16, 2022

U.S. democratic institutions are under attack. While law enforcement agencies and a Congressional committee still work to investigate the January 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol, a wave of subsequent efforts have continued to seek to undermine the...

"Democracy in Crisis" series taps award-winning journalists for insights

News

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

Sep 8, 2022

A majority of Michigan's local governments are experiencing some form of harassment or other abuse from the public, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Michigan. Officials from 53% of jurisdictions report harassment,...

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

News

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

Aug 30, 2022

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the fall 2022 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. We are hosting distinguished policymakers, scholars,...

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

In the Media

Macomb County government turmoil reflects statewide trend: Ivacko

Aug 30, 2022 The Detroit News

A conflict between Macomb County's executive and prosecuting attorney, from different political parties, reflects statewide trends in the deterioration of relationships between elected officials and their own confidence in Michigan's democracy,...

In the Media

Leiser on building a better local government financial reporting system

Aug 23, 2022 The Bond Buyer

Through a Michigan pilot program, Stephanie Leiser and the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy are building a taxonomy for machine-readable local government financial documents. "Transparency into local government fiscal health is needed to...

Leiser on building a better local government financial reporting system

Publication

CLOSUP survey reveals Michigan communities' priorities for spending COVID-related federal relief funds

Jul 28, 2022

A survey of Michigan local government leaders on the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding and uses finds the top spending priorities are on capital improvements, infrastructure and public safety. Further, the state's largest jurisdictions are...

CLOSUP survey reveals Michigan communities' priorities for spending COVID-related federal relief funds

Publication

U-M study finds discussing carbon dioxide removal does not limit climate policy support

Jul 22, 2022

How should scientists, advocates, and others communicate to the general public about new geoengineering technologies that mitigate climate change? Specifically, does the discussion of climate change technologies create a moral hazard effect, in...

U-M study finds discussing carbon dioxide removal does not limit climate policy support

Publication

Local leaders' pessimism about Michigan's direction continues, eases slightly from last year

Jul 6, 2022

More than 60% of Michigan's local government leaders say the state has gotten off on the wrong track—down slightly from last year yet still among the most pessimistic responses since tracking began in 2011. According to those local leaders...

News

CLOSUP in consortium launching review of Flint government financial data standards

Jun 15, 2022

Governments, standard setters, regulators and analysts encouraged to provide input A pilot project involving the University of Michigan and others is exploring whether a new fiscal reporting mechanism for governmental entities can help create...

CLOSUP in consortium launching review of Flint government financial data standards

News

A 20-year review of Flint finances shows consequences of lack of investment

Jun 8, 2022

The turmoil surrounding the City of Flint, MI – most infamously the Flint Water Crisis – has become a cautionary tale for other Rust Belt cities struggling to balance their budgets, provide services, and attract new business. A 20-year review of the...

A 20-year review of Flint finances shows consequences of lack of investment

News

CLOSUP survey looks at online government meeting quality, service disparities

May 26, 2022

More than half of Michigan's local officials say that moving government meetings online during the pandemic decreased the overall quality of such gatherings, according to a University of Michigan survey. The finding comes from the spring 2021 wave...

In the Media

Leiser comments on state disinvestment in local government

May 9, 2022 Michigan Radio

Michigan Radio reports that disinvestment in Michigan's local governments has had a direct effect on the deterioration of basic infrastructure, especially water and sewage systems. Stephanie Leiser, who leads the Michigan Local Government Fiscal...

In the Media

Michigan Radio amplifies CLOSUP report on recycling

May 2, 2022 Michigan Radio

A recent CLOSUP report shows growing enthuiasm for and access to recycling services among Michigan's local governments. Michigan Radio interviewed Debra Horner, one of the report's authors, about the findings: "It’s not so much that there’s a lack...

Michigan Radio amplifies CLOSUP report on recycling

Publication

North American Colloquium publishes eight reports on climate policy analysis after a year of collaborative work

Apr 29, 2022

The North American Colloquium (NAC) is a forum that strengthens a wider North American conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the U.S., led by the International Policy Center at the University of Michigan’s...

North American Colloquium publishes eight reports on climate policy analysis after a year of collaborative work

News

Michigan’s state and local governments strongly support recycling efforts, and work to confront structural and engagement challenges

Apr 27, 2022

Recycling remains popular with local government leaders in Michigan, and the state has established a goal of tripling the state’s current recycling rate. Yet those leaders often encounter difficulties in implementing their programs, tied to costs,...

Michigan’s state and local governments strongly support recycling efforts, and work to confront structural and engagement challenges

In the Media

Ivacko and Bednar comment on issues surrounding Ford's Tennessee investment

Mar 20, 2022 The Detroit News

“There’s a lot to learn from what’s happened in Michigan. We’ve experienced … state takeovers of minority communities,” said Tom Ivacko, executive director of the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, on Tennessee’s takeover of a...

Ivacko and Bednar comment on issues surrounding Ford's Tennessee investment

News

Michigan's local leaders express importance of recycling as state has fallen behind national average

Mar 17, 2022

The majority of Michigan local leaders report recycling is somewhat or very important to their community members, with 65% of officials from the state's largest jurisdictions saying recycling issues are very important in their communities, according...

Michigan's local leaders express importance of recycling as state has fallen behind national average

In the Media

How we should think about the government's budget - Leiser

Mar 14, 2022 WXYZ

Many Americans use the analogy of a pie to think about the government budget. But, Sarah Leiser, lecturer of public policy and leader of the Michigan Local Government Fiscal Health Project at CLOSUP, says there's another way to think about it. "It...

In the Media

Ivacko weighs in on 2022 Secretary of State election

Feb 7, 2022 HOUR Detroit

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is preparing for the 2022 election. So far, her Republican opponents don't seem viable based on their extreme views. “If the GOP nominates QAnon conspiracy theorists, Benson will have an easier path...

News

Ivacko debates 2022 hot topics

Jan 5, 2022

Selected as a panelist for Hour Detroit's 2022 political predictions, Tom Ivacko, Executive Director of CLOSUP, weighed in on some of the most burning questions about Michigan's 2022 elections. The first question: How would Roe v. Wade, and...