Social worker Amanda Bernés is running for the 4th ward seat on the Lansing city council up for grabs this year. Incumbent Jessica Yorko decided not to run for re-election.
Bernés says she thinks her career in social work will help her serve the residents of ward four. She earned a Master's Degree from Michigan State University in 2010 and has worked with the Ingham County Health Department and as a teacher. For now, she's focused on her campaign.
Bernés earned access to the ballot by circulating petitions rather than paying a fee, as a way of learning what the voters want. As a result, she says those voters told her that her priorities should be openness, education and infrastructure.
Her idea of openness is bringing residents to the table, "having them tell us more what they think is important."
Supporting education in Lansing can help keep people in the city, she adds.
Bernés concludes that infrastructure means more than roads. "It really involves foresight," she states. "If we're going to put in a new structure, where would the best possible place be where people would utilize that structure, where it would not be in the way, where it would not take away the natural beauty of the city?"