Republican Peter Wright Seeks City Council Seat

Peter Wright, a former Third Ward Republican chairman, today announced he will seek the GOP nod to run for City Council from that ward. A 39-year-old Ford Motor Co. executive, Wright lives at 2140 Needham Rd. He is the first person to announce intentions to run for the seat currently held by Democrat Nicholas D. Kazarinoff. Kazárinoff will not be seeking re-election because he is to move to Buffalo, N.Y. next f all. Wright's likely Democratie opponent in April is Nelson K. Meade who made a bid in November for the county Board of Commissioners. In announcing his candidacy, Wright criticized the present Democratie administration, charging "the citizens of Ann Arbor have lost faith in their city government. In the past two years, under a Democrat controlled council, Ann Arbor taxpayers have been short-changed. They pay more for services and receive less." Wright added, "When Mayor (Robert J.) Harris and his council majority took over, the city was living within its revenue and there was a surplus in the treasury. Today, we are on the verge of a financial crisis. The reasons for this are obvious. The business of the city has not been managed efficiently. "Mayor Harris and the Democrats have overspent in many areas where the benefit to the citizens of Ann Arbor has only been incidental and have failed to put ávailable tax monies into programs and areas which would most directly benefit the average citizen. "For instance, burglaries and armed robberies are reaching epidemie proportions. However, instead of putting more money into programs to insure the safety and security of the citizens of Ann Arbor, the Democrats have poured it into areas which have much less priority," Wright charged. "I am also disturbed over the growing I problem of environmental erosión," Wright said. "There is a strong need to take positive action at the local level if we are to meet our responsibility of passing on a better world to our children. City government can and should be doing more in this area." Wright further charged the present council "has also lagged in eliminating discrimination in city government. One of the most glaring deficiencies is the absence of women at top mangement levéis. Our city has a large number of capable women whose talents are being seriously under-utilized. While some action has been taken to correct racial discrimination, we must actively work to increase the opportunities for women." Wright is married and has two sons. He attended Ann Arbor High School and received his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University. A Korean veteran, Wright is supervisor of employment policies and analysis at the Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn. He is a member of the Industrial Relations Research Association, the Industrial Relations Association of Detroit, and the j ment Management Association. Wright has also had experience in labor negotiations. I