The Commission has its own webpage at cityofdearborn.org/chartercommission and includes information about its nine commissioners (and how to contact them), the meeting schedule, minutes of the meetings, and information about how to access live meetings through Zoom and Facebook.

Next meeting scheduled is Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.

The City of Dearborn is preparing to make key updates to its Master Land Use Plan, a policy document used by elected and appointed community leaders to guide land-use decisions across the city including those impacting transportation, development, recreation, the economy, natural resources, and arts and culture. Read here for more information, including a survey due by May 5.

Here is LWVDDH's Position on Dearborn's City Planning:

DEARBORN CITY PLANNING

A. PLANNING PROCESS

1. Citizens should participate in the planning process.

Citizens should be independent and strong members of the City Planning Commission involved in determining goals for the Master Plan and plans for local neighborhoods.

2. Education of the public toward an understanding of city planning and the Dearborn Master Plan is important. The Zoning Board of Appeals and the City Plan Commission should work together, perhaps as part of the same department.

B. MASTER PLAN

1. There should be a Master Plan that is a meaningful, vital part of the total community planning process [incorporating universal design principles]

2. A Master Plan should be developed that has goals in all major areas, including:

a. Transportation, both public and private

b. Commercial development

c. Natural environment

d. Cultural recreation for all ages

e. Public facilities of all types

f. Historic preservation

g. Multi-unit housing

h. Convalescent and retirement facilities

i. Neighborhood community concepts reflecting current situations

j. These goals cannot be static but should change and should be adopted by the City Council.

3. The Master Plan should be developed from input secured from persons in many areas.

4. Zoning should be coordinated closely with the goals of the Master Plan. A public official should have the responsibility for seeing that this is done.

Here is link to other the local positions.

Community conversations are a chance to discuss the issues facing our state with your legislator. Rep. Erin Byrnes will be holding her next Fireside Chat on Monday April 22 at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Library Fireplace from 2 - 3 p. The library is located at 24602 Van Born Road in Dearborn Heights.

MICRC commissioners Anthony Eid, Cynthia Orton, and Brittni Kellom will discuss Michigan's unique redistricting process and the upcoming state senate map redraw.

Click here for more information.

LANSING, Mich. – Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson today [March 22] announced that Michigan has been ranked second in the nation for election administration by the Elections Performance Index (EPI) released by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab. For the 2022 midterm elections, Michigan scored 88% on the EPI, which provides an objective measure of the election performance of every state for federal elections.  

In the last midterm election measured by the EPI in 2018, Michigan ranked 31st with a score of 74% and in the last federal election in 2020, Michigan was ranked 7th with a score of 87%.  

“When I first took office, Michigan’s elections were ranked 31st in the nation, today we are number two,” said Secretary Benson. “We’ve reached this incredible achievement thanks to the outstanding work of Michigan’s clerks and poll workers, who administer safe, secure, and accurate elections. I’m grateful to the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, for its data-driven work to improve elections across the country. We won’t rest until Michigan is ranked number one.”  

The 2022 EPI found that Michigan scored better than the national average on key metrics like voter registration rate (91%), voter turnout (60%), and average voting wait time (3.7 minutes). 

The top five states in the 2022 EPI are: New Mexico (88%), Michigan (88%), Colorado (87%), Vermont (87%) and Nebraska (87%).

EPI launched in 2013 and tracks data as far back as 2008. It provides a comprehensive, nonpartisan, data-focused assessment of how election policy and administration operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  

The full 2022 EPI is online at the MIT Election Data and Science Lab website. For more information about voting and elections in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/Vote.  

New Report: Vast Majority of Great Lakes Litter is Plastic / Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Read here.

Revisions to OMB's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity / OMB, 3/29/24. Read here.

Total Garbage: How We Can Fix Our Waste and Heal Our World / Edward Humes.

"An investigative narrative that dives into the waste embedded in our daily lives--and shows how individuals and communities are making a real difference for health, prosperity, quality of life and the fight against climate change, by a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist".

Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism / Stephen Breyer, 2024.

"A provocative, brilliant analysis by recently retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer that deconstructs the textualist philosophy of the current Supreme Court’s supermajority and makes the case for a better way to interpret the Constitution".

Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present / Fareed Zakaria, 2024.

"The CNN host and best-selling author explores the revolutions―past and present―that define the polarized and unstable age in which we live."

Overheated: How Capitalism Broke the Planet--And How We Fight Back / Kate Aronoff, 2021.

"This damning account of the forces that have hijacked progress on climate change shares a bold vision of what it will take, politically and economically, to face the existential threat of global warming head-on."

American Public Television has released Divided We Fall: Listening with Curiosity , a new documentary, in time for National Week of Conversation (April 14-21). Eight Americans - equally divided red/blue - came to Colorado for a live screening with an audience and Q&A discussion. Airing expires 6/8/24. Watch here.

Wayne County residents can take advantage of free Household Hazardous Waste Days in 2024, sponsored by Wayne County. All events are open 8 am - 1 pm.

June 29 - Henry Ford College, 5101 Evergreen, Dearborn

August 31 - Westland Shopping Center, 35000 W. Warren Rd.

October 19 - Wayne County Community College, Taylor

A partial list of acceptable items: Paints, stains, dyes; floor wax, floor care products, carpet cleaners; pharmaceutical waste (non-controlled substances); antifreeze, motor oil gasoline, automotive batteries,; cell phones, telephones; and smoke detectors, fire extinguishers. A partial list of UNACCEPTABLE items: Refrigerators, microwaves, ammunition, guns, tires, shingles, and concrete.

Dearborn Public Library is conducting a survey due May 10. Here is the link.

April 14/21 - National Week of Conversation

April 19/25 - National Voter Week

April 21/27 - National Volunteer Week

April 22 - Earth Day

June 20 - LWVDDH Annual Meeting

Check our website for more calendar items.

The League of Women Voters Dearborn-Dearborn Heights is a member organization with affiliation with LWVUS and LWVMI. Membership dues run from July 1- June 30. Dues are $70.00 for individuals, $105.00 for households, and $10.00 for students . To join or renew online, please go to www.lwvddh.org and click "Join/Renew" on main page.  An application form can also be found there and can be mailed to LWVDDH, 120 N. Military, Dearborn MI 48124.  Please make check payable to League of Women Voters Dearborn-Dearborn Heights. Thank you.

Alicia Mazurek, Co-President

Jennifer Oliver, Co-President

Karen M. Jones, Vice-President

Colleen Kurecka, Treasurer

Geraldine Grunow, Secretary

Mariam Bazzi, Director

Geri Biggs, Director

Betsy Cushman, Director, Voter Services Co-Chair

Laura Dudgeon, Director

Mary Jo Durivage, Director, Membership Coordinator

Marlyne Kilbey, Director, Allegria Village Liaison

Connie Mitchell, Director

Jennifer Teller, Director, Assistant Treasurer

Barbara Wallace, Director