On Monday, Lansing will get its first new mayor in a dozen years when Andy Schor takes the oath of office. Virg Bernero’s 12 years in office will come to an end at 11:30 a.m. on New Years Day. Politicians have their supporters and they have their detractors, and Virg Bernero might have as wide a range of descriptions as anyone in Lansing history. While some admire his drive, others criticize his sometimes brusque demeanor. In anticipation of his departure from office, WKAR sought out a cross-section of the Lansing community to look back at Virg Bernero’s time as mayor.
We wanted spontaneity, so the people we spoke with were not told in advance what we wanted them to do: give us one word to describe Virg Bernero, and explain that choice.
Here’s the result: the voices of Andy Schor, Debbie Mikula, Guillermo Lopez, Loretta Stanaway, Tim Daman, Emily Dievendorf, Tony Baltimore, David Hollister, Carol Wood, and lastly, Virg Bernero.
Andy Schor replaces Bernero as mayor of Lansing on Monday.