Votes for Quinney, Neuner, Martinez are votes for consensus building

Carol Wood brings to mind Groucho Marx in the movie “Horse Feathers” when he sings:

I don’t know what they have to say

It makes no difference anyway

Whatever it is, I’m against it!

No matter what it is

Or who commenced it 

I’m against it!

Your proposition may be good

But let’s have one thing understood

Whatever it is, I’m against it!

And even when you’ve changed it

Or condensed it 

I’m against it!

Whether it was her opposition to historic districts 10 years ago, improvements for Francis Park two years ago, Waverly Road sidewalk improvements last year and a ballot initiative this year to get the ball rolling on developing the Red Cedar Golf Course property, Wood has consistently voted against progress. While she tries to portray herself as issue-oriented, Wood’s real role is to oppose the administration and its allies on the Council. In other words, “Whatever it is, I’m against it.” Witness how often the media turn to her for comment on new proposals by the administration: They know they can count on her to argue against them.

Moreover, Wood shies away from taking a leadership position where she could do the most good. She brags now about having a pro-millage sign in her front yard, but where was she in the crucial weeks leading up to the vote in May? When this city needed Wood to bury the hatchet with Mayor Virg Bernero and Kathie Dunbar to get this year’s millage passed, she was nowhere to be found, playing coy with her true position on a proposition that raised the taxes of few Lansing residents while saving the jobs of the policemen and firefighters she claims to support.

Had she used even an ounce of her political capital right off the bat, this city would not be minus two fire stations and 44 cops.

To see Wood get away with a no-vote on the needless restrictions to the growing medical marijuana businesses when she led the charge on clipping this necessary service was nothing short of infuriating.

Lansing voters, by a wide margin, said loud and clear in November 2009 that they want Bernero as opposed to the visionless Wood as its mayor. Yet, she steadfastly refuses to meet him even halfway on major issues.

Communication goes both ways and Bernero can be prickly to deal with, but Wood has turned down opportunity after opportunity to be the bigger person.

Instead of giving Wood a fourth term, we would urge Lansing voters on Tuesday to vote for incumbent Derrick Quinney and newcomer Rory Neuner for the two open At-Large seats on the Lansing City Council.

We haven’t always agreed with Quinney. Pushing the pause button on the Red Cedar Golf Course sale because he “lacked information” was a cop-out. His office is one floor away from the mayor: Go find out what you need to know.

That said, Quinney stood tall on the Market Place project. If taxpayer money is going toward a private project, the least we can expect is decent wages for our skilled tradesmen and women. 

Quinney also understands that 63 percent of Michigan voters in 2008 said “yes” to legalized medical marijuana. Sure, regulations are needed, but they should not be disguised as a backdoor attempt to shut down honest entrepreneurs.

For the second At-Large seat, we enthusiastically support Neuner. The Yale and University of Chicago graduate has a strong grasp on progressive public policy. The 31-year-old provides a sound, thoughtful, well-studied mind who will approach each decision through the lens of what’s best for the city of Lansing as opposed to what’s best for her.

Neuner is a consensus builder. It isn’t her way or the highway. As project coordinator for the Transportation for Michigan Coalition, she’s needed to meet people partway on issues. We’re convinced she’ll do that on the Council.

We appreciate the enthusiasm of Common Wealth Enterprises CEO Tom Stewart. We’re hesitant about his lack of experience with city of Lansing issues, having moved into the city less than a year ago. He is someone to keep an eye on, though.

John Krohn also is right on some issues, but his “no vote” on the millage is too troubling to overlook. We’re afraid he may not have a full grasp on the complexity of the city’s funding troubles, particularly with Gov. Rick Snyder eliminating statutory revenue sharing in favor of his new “best practices” scheme. A world-class city can not offer third-rate services.

Carol Wood has to go. A lot of her strength lies in her willingness to help neighborhood groups and other organizations with their special needs. But voters need to look beyond their narrow interests to what will help the city overall. Fortunately, the city has two excellent choices for the two At-Large openings on the Council in Neuner and Quinney. Voting for them and not for Wood in Tuesday’s primary election will lay the groundwork for defeating her in the November general election.

1st Ward

With Councilman Eric Hewitt thankfully opting not to seek re-election, voters in the 1st Ward have an opportunity to send to City Hall an experienced hand who has made a career of building bridges as opposed to walls.

Lynne Martinez, a former county commissioner and state representative, is even-tempered, responsive, balanced and progressive. When it came time to push for the millage increase, Martinez was there to lend a hand. She understands what needs to be done to run an effective city and has the connections to make things happen.

She’s not where we’d like to see her on the medical marijuana issue, but at least she’s not lining up with Neogen executive Jim Herbert and his ilk and their wild accusations that medical marijuana and crime go hand-in-hand.

Candidate Jody Washington steadfastly believes there’s a link but can’t produce a thread of statistical evidence to back the claim. For being a professed non-politician, Washington is doing a fine job learning the trade with her overly massaged positions on the Market Place vote and whether she would have voted for a higher millage rate had she been on the Council.

Harold Leeman’s experience and progressive outlook might be grounds for returning him to the Council, where he served 12 years representing the 1st Ward. But his rude combativeness toward other candidates in this race and his effort to shut down being videotaped at a public forum suggest an unattractive personality change from his former affability. After nearly five years of the Bernero v. Wood silliness, a premium must be put on diplomacy.

Joe Manzella is an ideological soulmate with the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, which should be enough to give anyone pause. And we’d encourage political neophyte Phil Damico to vote in a millage election before anyone casts a vote for him.