Schor seeks LBGTQ inclusion in the Lansing city charter

WEDNESDAY, July 3 — Mayor Andy Schor has weighed in for the first time on changes he’d like made to the city charter,  which the review commission made public at its meeting last night.  

In a June 29 letter, Schor asked the commission to revise Article I, Chapter 3, to “add sexual orientation, identity, housing, and other factors to the nondiscrimination and civil rights clause.” He recommended “bringing in some diversity experts to discuss what should be included.”

Several commission members agreed with him, citing the need to modernize the charter by adding more inclusive language. Commissioner Ben Dowd, an organizer for Lansing Pride and an active member of the city’s LGBTQ+ community, was among them.

“I would make a recommendation that we hire an external firm that works with DEI language to go over our entire document. It wouldn’t hurt to have somebody go through and make sure that everything is consistent and precise within a DEI lens,” Dowd said.

Vice-chair Lori Adams Simon, who has worked in official DEI roles for over a decade, including through her firm, Simon Sez Consulting, offered to lend the commission her expertise.

“I’m not saying that I know everything, but I’m pretty well-versed in the area. So, if that saves us any money, I’d be happy to lend my skill set,” Adams Simon said.

The commission, meeting for the fourth time since members were chosen in a special election in May, began examining the charter article by article. The nine-member panel has about two and a half years to recommend changes to the governor, who will decide whether to allow them to be put on the ballot in Lansing.

Another change Schor proposed in his letter was to “remove boards and commissions from the definition of officer.”

 “They are volunteers and donate their time to help the city, but they are not city employees or elected officials and shouldn’t be considered officers of the city,” Schor wrote.

 The commission didn’t discuss his recommendation, and Schor was unavailable for questions today.

The commission also considered potential changes to Article I, Chapter 2, which defines terms like “person,” “officer,” and “ordinance.”

“We’ve got to keep in mind that this was done over 40 years ago. A lot of things have changed, and we need to be looking at this in light of the day and how we operate and either amend these or update them as we move forward,” Chair Brian Jeffries said.

Jeffries recommended reviewing the city’s human rights ordinance to promote consistency throughout the document and ensure that proposed revisions reflect similar language and considerations.

 Adams Simon came prepared with an idea for amending the definition of “person.“ Under the existing charter, which primarily features language from when it was first adopted in 1978, “person” “means both men and women and artificial entities, recognized as persons by state law.”

 “I would propose that it reads: ‘Person means a human being regarded as an individual.’ There are many people in our community who don’t identify as a man or a woman, they are nonbinary,” Adams Simon said.

 “It’s very important that we are in alignment with state and federal law,” she added, “especially with the governor’s mandates and the Elliot-Larsen Act as well,” referring to Michigan civil rights law. she explained, adding that taking out other references to “outdated” terms like ‘handicapped’ should also be on the commission’s radar.

 The commission won’t actually decide on any proposed changes as it reviews each section. Instead, it’ll take notes throughout the process to run by its attorney, whom it intends to hire this month.

On that front, Jeffries said the commission received two responses to its request for proposals for legal representation. While 30 firms requested a copy of the RFP sent out June 5 and due back June 27, only two responded: the Livonia-based firm, Cummings, McClorey, Davis and Acho, and the Kelly Firm, based in Auburn Hills.

 Jeffries noted that the meeting packet did not include the actual RFP responses from these firms in order to prevent one or both of them from gaining an advantage over the other before the commission could interview them.

“These documents are to be considered confidential and are not to be made public until after a decision is made,” he said.

The commission agreed to schedule a special meeting at 5 p.m. July 23 to review those proposals.

 Last night’s meeting also featured a notable rule change. The commission voted unanimously to add a second public comment period at the end of each meeting. Previously, speakers were allowed to speak for two minutes at the beginning of each session.

Adams Simon proposed the change, which extended the first public comment period from two to three minutes and initially allowed two minutes per person at the end of each meeting.

Commissioner Jody Washington said she wouldn’t support the motion as written.

 “I know this is a nod for the five minutes that I asked for. But not only did I not think three minutes isn’t enough, but I certainly don’t think two minutes is,” she said.

Commissioner Jazmin Anderson agreed and moved to amend the allotted public comment time at the end of the meetings to three minutes instead of two. It passed unanimously.

The commission also settled on one of three options for sending informational postcards to residents. The original plan of mailing one to each household with at least one active voter — about 40,000 in total — was dropped to send them to every address in the city regardless of voter status.

City Clerk Chris Swope wrote that this option would cost $19,510.23, but Jeffries rounded that up to $20,000. The motion passed 8-1, with commission member Liz Boyd voting against it in favor of the original plan.

According to Deputy City Clerk Zachary Lemaster, the commission has spent $94,308.09 of its $500,000 budget through June 30.