chapter 5

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Most of the politics in Michigan lean conservative, though Traverse City has a liberal contingency, but this is a very small percentage of the population when the surrounding counties are tallied. There is a small group of environmentalists in Leelanau County who are trying to restrict the sprawling tendencies of suburbs (advocating “smart roads,” smaller housing etc.) but the resistance is strong. The emphasis is on no taxes, and intense individual property rights, and welfare ideas are reluctantly considered. In the large, anybody running for office in the county or townships in and around Traverse City run as Republicans.
Traverse City uses the mayor-council system where the mayor is the chief executive over a six person City Commission. The Mayor has a vote in the proceedings, but no veto power.
The city has very little hard-core big-city crime. Usually crimes are related to poverty and other social issues such as child support, alcohol and drug abuse. The courts in the area tend to be punitive and there is a high recidivism rate.

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