At-large
Which City Council hopeful won´t make the first cut?
One of the five at-large Lansing City Council candidates will be knocked out by the Primary Election vote, putting the political futures of 70-year-old City Hall “regular” Mary Ann Prince and one-time City Council President Harold Leeman Jr., 57, in jeopardy, if history is any guide.
Two at-large City Council seats are up Nov. 3, the one held by incumbent Carol Wood, who is seeking a fifth term, and the one held by Vincent Delgado, who isn´t seeking election after being appointed to finish off now-Register of Deeds Derrick Quinney´s last year on the Council.
The top four vote-getters in the August primary will advance to the general.
The plainspoken Prince and the relentless Leeman are no strangers to the ballot, both having run a combined 16 times since 1987, but neither has tasted success in the last 10 years.
Despite having been elected to the Lansing City Council three times between 1995 and 2003, Leeman´s latest bid for public office had him finish last, behind fellow alsoran Larry Hutchinson in an Ingham County state Senate seat.
Prince´s quixotic write-in mayoral campaign in 2013 yielded no more than 166 out of 13,893 votes cast.
Neither Prince nor Leeman has raised any money of note for their latest venture. Prince filed a campaign finance reporting waiver with the Ingham County Clerk´s office, confirming her vow that "I don´t take money from anyone."
"I pay for my own campaigns or I don´t run," Prince said.
Likewise, if Leeman spends more than $1,000 to win this seat, he´ll need to change the documents he filed with the clerk.
Neither is exactly raking in public endorsements. Prince never returned the questionnaire sent out by the Lansing Association for Human Rights (LAHR), a group that even gave Leeman a "very positive" rating.
For Prince, a retired state employee of 26 years, it´s a return to the type of campaigning she practiced when she finished fifth out of six listed mayoral candidates in 2003. At that time she refused to spend money or send out the mailers that she did in her 1993 mayoral run, in which she failed to make it out of the nine-person primary.
A Shiawassee County native who moved to Lansing in 1965, Prince is a Lansing Community College graduate who´s proud of her record of attending every Lansing City Council meeting in the last two years.
She doesn´t think the city of Lansing is on the right track. She doesn´t "buy that line" that the city is at risk of going bankrupt, as stated by Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. And Prince doesn´t see a point in conducting a study on the feasibility of selling the Lansing Board of Water & Light when "we will not sell" it.
Bernero has suggested studying the sale of the city´s publicly owned utility as a possible way to cover the $600 million in employee retirement costs a 2013 report says are sitting on the city´s books.
But the way Prince looks at it, "The mayor already has complete control" of the BWL, having the power to appoint the commissioners to the city-owned utility. "What more does he need?"
Meanwhile, Leeman is an eastsider who saw an opening created when Delgado opted against a run. Despite losing re-election in 2007 and seven more times for a variety of offices after that, Leeman is counting on name recognition to put him back in office.
Outside of Wood, no candidate in the five-person field has the experience on the City Council he does. From his standpoint, experience is what´s needed in these tough financial times.
Leeman put up a vote in 1996 for tax incentives supporting General Motors and the UAW because he saw it as a way to get business and jobs into Lansing.
"I was always there to move the city forward and get things done with my ward," Leeman said. "I do everything I can in representing the whole city to make the whole city better."
Meanwhile, the other three candidates seeking the two open at-large seats are running the types of traditional campaigns often seen from winning bids.
Wood, 65, scored a huge boost when the Greater Lansing Labor Council, the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters and several other unions endorsed her candidacy. Like Leeman, she earned a "very positive "rating from the Lansing Association for Human Rights.
As she´s run in the past, Wood is not running as a tandem with anyone. Not known as a ferocious door-knocker, Wood has raised $5,585 and will count on her regular formula of social outreach, telephones and mail to get her message out.
She´s never gotten along well with Bernero, creating a division that´s been evident in Lansing politics for nearly as long as the more than 10 years he´s been in office.
Wood´s political strength comes from treating the part-time Council position paying $22,200 a year as a full-time sounding board for neighborhood organizations and residents with regular public lighting, street, sidewalk or garbage pick-up issues.
While she´s never had the political pull to topple Bernero for the city´s top spot, voters tend to treat her as the ying to Bernero´s yang. The check-and-balance Wood provides on the Lansing City Council creates an effective tension between the two bodies based on her being the top vote-getter in her last two reelection campaigns.
Asked if the city was headed in the right direction or going off track, Wood admitted Lansing has seen businesses "reinvest in our community" and a "resurgence of people moving into the city," but stressed the key to improving Lansing rests with better neighborhoods as opposed to concentrating city resources on the downtown.
Bernero´s preferred candidate is 51-yearold Patricia Spitzley, an attorney and a redevelopment manager for Racer Trust, which is cleaning up old General Motors properties. A former Capitol lobbyist and spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Quality, Spitzley is the mother of two who has raised more than $3,000 for her race and benefited from a Bernero robocall.
Spitzley also has the support of Delegado, Sheriff Gene Wrigglesworth and former City Councilwoman Alfreda Schmidt. She sees the city as being "on the right path" despite the recent recession and the "significant" economic impact it´s had on the city.
She´s the only candidate of the five who is open to conducting an immediate audit on BWL, although she said she does not favor selling the utility. Spitzley was a member of the 2014 BWL Citizen´s Review Team and has served on both the area´s parks and airport boards.
The city´s progressive community is gravitating toward Emily Dievendorf, who recently stepped down as the executive director of Equality Michigan, an advocacy group for the state´s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.
Dievendorf, 36, earned the endorsements of the 4th Ward Progressives and the MI List pro-choice political action committee for women. She was the only candidate to receive an "extremely positive" rating by LAHR-PAC, the gay rights organization.
She brought more than $7,000 into her campaign from such notables as Bernero, Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope, former state Rep. Lynne Martinez, City Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar and former Councilman Tim Kaltenbach.
A former legislative staffer originally from Kalamazoo, Dievendorf said Lansing is "mostly on track," but sees studying a BWL sale only as a last resort if other budgetary stabilization efforts prove ineffective.
"All of the time we have before that decision needs to be made should be used to find out if that´s absolutely necessary," she said of a potential BWL sale.
—Kyle Melinn
AT-LARGE CANDIDATES
EMILY DIEVENDORFAGE: 36 • Unemployed • single • no children
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
Lansing is committed to building a thriving city rooted in creativity, sustainability, and cutting edge industry that attracts and retains our best and brightest and cares for our most vulnerable. While Lansing is mostly on track, much work remains to be done to give every resident an opportunity to succeed.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
Any discussion of the sale of BWL, one of our greatest assets, should be considered a last resort and doesn’t need to be studied seriously before exploring alternative solutions. We should focus first on evaluating current spending to identify different strategies that could allow for the continual support of our citizens and businesses.
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
It would be irresponsible to ignore a prediction of financial crisis without doing a careful examination to determine whether our current way of functioning is sustainable. If it isn’t we will have to roll up our sleeves and make changes to get back on solid footing for the long term.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
MI List%u20284th Ward Progressives%u2028Rated “Extremely Positive” by LAHR PAC
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
There exists a disconnect between our diverse community and decision makers that hinders the harmonious growth of the City. Through more strategic collaborative working groups with community members we can find solutions that work for businesses, workers and neighborhoods alike.
Let’s get past the gridlock of single issue solutions, personal agendas and grudge matches and get to work.
Mary Ann PrinceAge: 70 • Retired Michigan Bd. of Ed/Community Health worker • Single, no children
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
I realize the Mayor thinks we are on the right track. I disagree. I believe we are going in the wrong direction.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
I have said in several meetings, DO NOT SELL BWL. We the public users have owned BWL since 1885. We should not have to pay for a study when we will not sell. I don´t take this bankruptcy threat seriously.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
I have not received any endorsements. I get courage to hang in there from family and many friends.
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
No response
HAROLD LEEMAN JR.57 • Single • no children • Retired
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
“Right” track in regard to downtown development & regionalism. Need to have a “better relationship” with Lansing Twp. Need to do a better job on “basic” city services.
1. Code enforcement 2. Fixing of sidewalks & trimming of trees & road maintenance 3. Paying attention to all areas of the city in regard to economic development (small business) etc.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
NO! I’m against selling the BWL! This issue has been handled very poorly by the mayor’s office. I’m for coming up with a plan to build upon the BWL of today – it’s a great asset!
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
Yes, I take this issue seriously! I helped balance the budgets for 12 years (1996- 2007). Limit pre-debt.
Have you received any endorsements and who is encouraging you to run?
NO! I, Harold J. Leeman Jr. encouraged myself to run for this “open seat” along with many friends that live in the city of Lansing.
Patricia SpitzleyAge: 51 • Attorney, Racer Trust redevelopment manager • Single • two children
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?Absolutely the right direction. As a council member I will continue to support investment in this city working with council and this administration to diversify our economy to attract economic development opportunities while protecting and enhancing the environment and quality of life for all residents.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water and Light should be studied? Why or why not?
No. I believe that our locally owned utility is an asset that attracts new growth and economic development to our community. However I support an audit of the BWL that not only looks at financials of the utility but also the administrative efficiency.
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about the potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
I don´t believe bankruptcy is an imminent threat to the city. However much work needs to be done to balance current incoming revenue with current expenditures necessary to provide quality public services to Lansing Residents. Unfunded pensions for our public servants remains a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
Lansing residents who have contacted me and believe in the importance of growing a diverse economy, and uplifting our neighborhoods support me. I have received formal endorsements from Sheriff Wrigglesworth, City Council At-Large Vincent Delgado, Ms. Alfreda Schmidt, Mayor Bernero and positive rating from the Lansing Association for Human Rights.
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
Making Lansing the best it can be by working with the City Council and the Administration in a positive, cooperative manner to attract diverse economic development opportunities that will bring jobs to this community and increase the quality of life of current and future Lansing residents.
Carol Wood (Incumbent)Age: 65 • Consultant • Single, 3 children
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
Recovering from the economic down turn in Lansing we have watched businesses reinvest in our community creating new job and retain others. There has been a resurgent of people moving into Lansing. We must continue to look for ways to stabilize neighborhoods especially improving the quality of life in them.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
It is irresponsible to continue the uncertainty of a vital asset which is used to attract businesses to invest in Lansing and the region. BWL increases our economic stability by reducing a community’s reliance on the whims of private businesses. Will businesses feel confident to invest with this drama going on?
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
Are there issues with legacy cost, yes. Do I believe the City is on the verge of bankruptcy, no. If so why did Mayor negotiate contracts that would create additional legacy cost; why would the City take on additional debt with the improvements to the stadium. You cannot have it both ways.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141 Greater Lansing Labor Council Teachers & School Personnel of ICEPAC, MSU-APA PAC, LCC PAC International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324 IBEW 352 International Association of Fire Fighters Local 421 Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 333 “Very Positive” rating from LAHR-PAC Numerous elected officials and most importantly the residents of Lansing.
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
Stabilization and revitalization of neighborhoods, creating jobs that support working families, creating a more transparent government that is inclusive of all residents and listening to their voices as we make decision for Lansing.
3rd WARD CANDIDATES
A’Lynne Boles (Incumbent)Age: 46 • Married, one child Owner, Kaleidoscope Productions
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
I believe we have a lot of work ahead of us as we continue in the right direction.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
Yes, it is important that we have all of the necessary information to make the best decision for the citizens of Lansing.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
N/A
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
Branding SW Lansing the "Hub of cultural diversity" and building economic development around the needs of " The Hubs" reresidents.
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
Yes, the possibility still remains a concern. Careful planning and an enormous amount of work has gone into making sure we move further and further away from the possibility of bankrupcy. I take it very seriously.
Ryan EarlAge: 34 • Married, one child • Staffer for Democratic state Rep.
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or headed in the wrong direction?
Lansing is heading in the wrong direction. There is a lack of job growth in South Lansing, crime rates are high, and there is a lack of investment in our neighborhoods. We need a Council that will focus on the important issues that impact our entire community.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
We should study the issue. Our city faces significant structural issues that has led to tough budget decisions in the past and could require even more dramatic decisions in the future if we continue to ignore them. All options must be considered in order to provide core city services that residents demand. BWL may be a luxury that we may not be able to afford considering all our current and future needs.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
My campaign was rated “Positive” by the Lansing Association for Human Rights Political Action Committee. I hope to earn the endorsement of the 3rd Ward.
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
Lansing’s potential bankruptcy is possible as there are significant pressures due to unfunded city liabilities that will eventually come due including retiree health care, pension costs, BWL investments, and our city’s infrastructure. We must address this while improving essential city services at a time of decreased property values and inadequate state funding.
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
The lack of economic development in southwest Lansing is my biggest concern. It is clear our 3rd Ward has been neglected. Jobs are not coming here, buildings remain vacant and our neighborhoods and shopping areas have blight. We need to make our neighborhoods a better place to raise our families.
Adam HussainAge: 33 • Married, three children Waverly Middle School history teacher
Do you think the City of Lansing is on the right track or going in the wrong direction?
We have not approached development and advancement in a balanced manner and large parts of Lansing are being left behind. Downtown, Old Town and Reo Town have long been priority, with the hope that vibrant districts would bolster the entire city. It hasn’t happened and in fact, things have grown worse in South Lansing.
Do you think the sale of the Lansing Board of Water & Light should be studied? Why or why not?
No- a public utility is critical for the entire Lansing region. Public utilities makes decisions based on public good, not shareholder returns. Consequently, rates are kept affordable, workers are compensated fairly (money stays local), and service is superior. The attraction and retention of residents and businesses rely heavily on these deliverables.
Do you think the City of Lansing should be concerned about potential bankruptcy and if so how seriously do you take this threat?
I don’t believe the threat is immediate. Regarding the structural deficit, the Police and Fire Retirement System is nearly 90% funded and the Employment Retirement System is close to 80% funded. Everyone took a hit during the recession but return on investments are up, and city workers have made incredible sacrifices the past several years.
What endorsements, if any, have you received and who is supporting your candidacy?
I have endorsements that are currently pending.
What is the biggest issue you are concerned about?
The neglect and abandonment of Southwest Lansing. Our corridors are crumbling, businesses are leaving in droves, crime is up, neighborhoods are feeling unsupported, and many residents are feeling hopeless. We have waited patiently as other parts of Lansing have been moved forward. It’s our turn.
Shared economic progress
Can the Third Ward rebuild in a post-recession economy, candidates ask
The three candidates for the Lansing City Council from the Third Ward, which represents the southwest part of the city, agree that economic development is a key to restoring the area. But how to redevelop the area is the point of conflict between the three.
One candidate wants to encourage new, young business owners to locate to the ward through incentives. Another wants to see the power of the city’s economic development programming harnessed with a priority towards developing the economic vitality of the area. The third candidate wants to look at creating new, though unspecified, incentives for the ward.
The candidates are two-term incumbent A’Lynne Boles, 46; and challengers Adam Hussain, 33, and Ryan Earl, 34. Boles runs a her own small business offering communications advice. Hussain is a history teacher at Waverly Middle School. Earl is a staffer for Democratic State Rep. John Chirkun.
Southwest Lansing is an area that was hit early and hard by the housing foreclosure crisis. Businesses also folded, leaving empty strip malls. That is part of the story of southwest Lansing, the three candidates said.
“The story is a story of neglect and abandonment,” said Hussain. “We have resources. We have economic development teams in place. We have things that are in place and relationships that need to be built that we can leverage some of this part of town, but for whatever reason, that’s not happening.”
He said he wants to see economic development officials from the Lansing Economic Area Partnership focus in on targeting already existing tax credits and development programs to the ward. “For whatever reason, I don’t think we’re in anyone’s plan or part of anyone’s vision,” Hussain said.
“We can look around and see the blight,” said Earl. “We can see the empty buildings all around.”
That blight, Earl said, reflects a lack of investment in the area. He wants to lure “young entrepreneurs” to area with targeted marketing and tax offers.
“I don’t believe it to be a lack of interest in doing business here,” he said. “I think we need more policies that encourage businesses to be started here.”
Boles takes a slightly different approach.
“There are problems,” she said. “We acknowledge that, but I’m not going to harp on that. I’m on the other side. Let’s find out what the solution might be.”
And she acknowledged economic development strategies can often be “slow and strung out.” In part, she said because city officials do not have the ability to force business and property owners to do anything or to take any tax incentives.
As an example she talked of trying to get incentives to redevelop Logan Square early in her first term. The property owner, she said, had just sunk money into the property updating its facade and simply was uninterested in doing anything else. He also, at the time, rebuffed offers to develop the parking lot with restaurants. Boles said that idea is now being reconsidered with the shutdown of the fast-food places along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the plaza.
“We are just starting to see a movement in the right direction,” she said. “We’re seeing building permits pulled for old car dealerships. So we are seeing some of the type of activity that we need in the Third Ward, but it’s still a challenge. There’s no question about that.”
Part of the problem in economic development, Boles contended, is that the Lansing Economic Area Partnership — the regional economic development agency — doesn’t have the tools necessary for the area.
“I don’t think they have abandoned us,” she said of the agency. “I think they have exhausted their tool kit. So my conversations now are what other options can we as a city put in place.”
Boles’ claim was flatly denied by Steven Willobee, LEAP’s chief operating officer.
In an email to City Pulse, he listed eight different economic development tools the agency regularly uses, among them small business loans and brownfield credits.
“These programs are available to assist any business or developer seeking to invest in Lansing.” Willobee wrote. “These programs are not ‘exhausted.’” Hussain said he thinks LEAP staff have not been engaged properly — and have abandoned the area — but does believe the right people are in place. Those economic professionals are in need of “the right leadership,” basically, Hussain said, “some one to pound the drums” for southwest Lansing.
For Earl, LEAP has not neglected the area so much as failed to make it a priority. He points to the focus on the Michigan Avenue corridor, downtown and Old Town as examples of what happens when economic development is strategically targeted to an area.
“I don’t think southwest Lansing has been a priority,” he said.
Willobee challenged that assessment as well.
“Over the last 10 years the LEDC has assisted 22 economic development projects in South Lansing attracting $164 million of private investment creating 1,825 jobs and retaining another 343 jobs,” he wrote in an email. “LEAP is currently working on four South Lansing projects. The entire city is a strategic priority for economic development, but it is important to understand that LEAP does not direct private investment to specific locations within the city. The economic development process is driven by private sector investment decisions. LEAP presents opportunities to developers and business throughout the City, but ultimately the decision lies in their hands. We promote every part of the city.”
—Todd Heywood
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