Wanted: Candidates for Lansing's charter revision commission

FRIDAY, Jan. 5 — With the candidate filing deadline for the Lansing Charter Revision Commission just 18 days off, only seven people have done so.

As of today, in order of the date they filed, the field comprises Julie Vandenboom, Jody Washington, Nick Zande, Randy Dykhuis, Heath Lowry, Michele Fickes and Ted O’Dell.

The commission, which will consist of nine members to be chosen in a special election on May 7, was established when voters approved it by 51.61%, or 7,211 votes, on Nov. 7. The question has been on the ballot in Lansing every 12 years since 1978, but it had never come close to passing prior to last year.

While the field hasn’t reached the minimum number of candidates yet, City Clerk Chris Swope said he expects that to change ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline on Jan. 23.

“I know of several people planning to file and am confident there will be more than nine,” Swope said.

Candidates have two options for how they can file. The seven who have already done so opted to pay a $100 filing fee. The other method is to collect over 400 signatures. So far, Swope said he knows of just one potential candidate taking the latter route.

That would be Ross Yednock, a legislative liaison for the Michigan Insurance and Financial Services Department, who has been gathering signatures since mid-December. So far, he said he’s about 200 away from the 400 he needs to be added to the ballot. With that said, he said he’s already surpassed a personal goal for how many signatures he felt he’d need to justify entering the race via the $100 fee, were he to fall short.

“I think more people should collect signatures because it involves going out and talking to people. I'm knocking on doors of not just regular voters, or people who voted in the November election, but also people who may have just registered. As I’ve done that, what I'm finding is a lot of people still don't know what's going on,” Yednock said.

Voter awareness is an ongoing concern. In some cases, Yednock said his door-to-door visits have marked the first time some citizens had even heard about the revision process.

Other candidates have had similar experiences.

“There are a lot of people that still don't know there’s even going to be an election, so there’s definitely still work to do,” Vandenboom said. “If they didn't vote in November, it’s likely that they're not going know about it.”

Lowry, a staff attorney at Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence by day, agreed.

“It's one of those things that I think snuck under the radar a lot with the November election. It also doesn't help that this is going to be a May election, which has historically had a smaller voter base,” he said.

“As far as educating the public, I believe that's largely the job of the candidates,” Lowry added. “We need to be making sure we relay to people just how important this is and how this can shape the future of the city very concretely.”

Vandenboom, a program reengineering specialist with the Michigan Health and Human Services Department, said she’s spoken with all but two of the candidates she’ll be running against, including Lowry and Yednock.

“At this point right now, I would say it is a collaborative field,” she said.

But is it competitive?

“I still kind of feel like there might be some big money candidates that have not declared. There might be somebody backed by the chamber or some of the Realtors in the area — the big money people,” Vandenboom said.

“There also might be some people who just haven't decided yet,” she added. “I have talked to a couple of people that want to wait and see if there's nine people they can support. If so, they're not going to run.”

Lowry also said he expects the field to grow in the coming weeks.

“It’s worth taking that time to really evaluate whether someone is willing to put in the effort, because it's a quick campaign, but it's going to be very effort-filled time,” he said.

There is another concern with how the race is shaping up, however.

“I want to see a list of candidates that are representative of Lansing. Right now, it's a little unbalanced, demographically speaking,” Lowry said.

Yednock seconded that take.

“Racially, economically and in terms of gender, the generation who will be living under this charter is going to be the most diverse generation we've ever had,” Yednock said. “We need more candidates from different life perspectives for the commission to work as intended. I want people who don't just agree with me, but people who are bringing up different points of view.”

Lowry remains optimistic that the commission can enact positive change.

“We can build something that can last through generations, regardless of who's in power, either as mayor or with the City Council. We need a system of government that makes sure that people feel heard, and that builds a collaborative atmosphere.”

After the May election, the commission will have three years to propose a revised charter and send a draft to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for approval. If it gets the go-ahead, the revised charter would then be put on the ballot, where voters would have the final say.