Before the November election, someone in the know mentioned to me that being on City Council would provide me with a lot of perks. I was told I wouldn’t have to pay property taxes or be prosecuted for anything less than a Class D felony or pay the check at any restaurant or bar in Ward 3. For the most part, all of them have been true although I did get a bill for the last meal I ate in a Depot Town establishment which makes me wonder if I’ve been skipping out on the checks for the past two months or so.

Regardless, there are perks. And plenty of them.

Take for example the recent Tigers Caravan this past Thursday at the EMU Convocation Center. The American League champion Detroit Tigers were barnstorming the state last week and their only appearance in Washtenaw County happend to be here in Ypsilanti. In the spirit of Town / Gown relations, EMU invited anyone from City Council to join the Mayor on stage as he presented manager Jim Leyland with a proclamation naming this past Thursday as Detroit Tigers Day here in Ypsilanti.

We were even given VIP tickets to the after party. I’m telling you what. If EMU keeps inviting me to these kind of events that have open bars, I’ll vote to close off every street in Ypsilanti so they can build pedestrian malls all over the place, but I digress.

If you’re a baseball fan, it was pretty cool. We got to meet Jim Leyland and all of the players. After being on a bus all day, Mr. Leyland wasn’t into the small talk. He did ask us how many people the EMU stadium held. I was sort of disappointed because it didn’t give me an opening to talk to him about me pitching long, middle relief for the Tigers this year.

I was able to get a couple pictures of the event, but the photographer I hired took about fifty pictures of Justin Verlander instead of us. Although you have to admit he’s pretty dreamy.