Albert Wheeler

Influenced by experiences of discrimination at the university and in attempting to secure a home mortgage in Ann Arbor, Wheeler also worked as a civil-rights activist on campus and in the city.

He co-founded the Ann Arbor Civic Forum, which was conceived of and founded by Thomas S. Harrison, Jr., and which later became the city's NAACP chapter, and served as president of that body 1956-1957.

During the early and mid-1970s, the local, left-wing Human Rights Party (HRP) had gained a strong foothold in Ann Arbor municipal politics, electing several candidates to the city council.

With the introduction of a strong third party in Ann Arbor, concerns grew among Democrats and HRP supporters that the city's progressive vote would be split, thus allowing Republicans to win offices on pluralities.

To head off a repeat of this result, the HRP spearheaded a petition campaign to place the IRV system on the city ballot in spring 1974.

The election results, however, were challenged in court because twenty people who lived just outside city limits had voted without knowing that they were ineligible to cast ballots in Ann Arbor.

[7] As the court challenge dragged on through 1977, Mayor Wheeler agreed to a new citywide vote—in effect, a "re-do" of the contested election—in order to end the contentious legal process.