On Tuesday, Aug. 8, Lansing voters will go to the polls for a primary election to pick among candidates running to represent them on the City Council.
Two incumbents are retiring and leaving At-Large seats on the council up for grabs. Additionally, a Ward 1 councilmember is facing off against two challengers.
WKAR’s Politics and Civics reporter Arjun Thakkar joined Morning Edition host Megan Schellong to talk about the candidates and where they stand on the issues.
Interview Highlights
On the candidates running for Ward 1
Incumbent Councilmember Ryan Kost, he won a special election to represent the first ward last year. And he's now running to earn a full term on the council ... And he's facing off against two challengers. One of them is Michael VandeGutche. He's a team leader with Meijer and a former security officer for Sparrow ... The third candidate is DeMarco Taft, but he'll appear on the ballot as D. Taft. He says he's a church owner ... So, voters will you know, on the August ballot, pick one candidate, and the one with the fewest votes out of those three will kind of get knocked out.
On the race for Lansing's two At-Large seats
There are two At-Large seats up for grabs, and there's no incumbents running in the race because, you know, Council President Carol Wood and Councilmember Patricia Spitzley are both bowing out at the end of their current terms. So that leaves us with, you know, eight candidates on the ballot next week hoping to succeed those two ... Voters essentially will pick two candidates on the ballot in August, and the four candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election.
On improving the city's affordable housing conditions
That's an issue that's really received a lot of attention on the council in recent months, you know, they've been talking about warming and cooling centers and supporting the unhoused community. So, all the candidates are proposing different solutions to addressing housing. But you know, as we've reported in the past, housing safety and addressing red-tagged housing is a really complicated issue. And there's seems to be an acknowledgement or kind of a consensus that there is no easy or immediate fix to addressing unsafe housing in Lansing.
Interview Transcript
Megan Schellong: Next Tuesday, Lansing voters will go to the polls for a primary election to pick candidates running to represent them on the City Council.
Two incumbents are retiring and leaving At-Large seats on the council up for grabs. Additionally, a Ward 1 councilmember is facing off against two challengers.
WKAR’s Politics and Civics reporter Arjun Thakkar joins me now to talk about the candidates and where they stand on the issues. Thanks for being here.
Arjun Thakkar: Of course. Thanks for having me, Megan.
Schellong: So, let’s start with Ward 1. Who are the candidates vying to represent Lansing’s Eastside?
Thakkar: Sure, yeah. Voters have three candidates to choose from: incumbent Councilmember Ryan Kost, he won a special election to represent the first ward last year. And he's now running to earn a full term on the council. While on the council over the past year or so, he's focused a lot on issues with infrastructure, you know, improving sidewalks and roads in Lansing as well as parks and recreation and addressing housing issues in the city.
And he's facing off against two challengers. One of them is Michael VandeGutche. He's a team leader with Meijer and a former security officer for Sparrow. His priorities include promoting economic development and growth in Lansing, as well as, you know, strengthening public safety and mental health programs.
The third candidate is DeMarco Taft, but he'll appear on the ballot as D. Taft. He says he's a church owner. And he's also involved in a lawsuit with the city over a policing incident in alleging, you know, racial discrimination. He's running a campaign that's really primarily centered on public safety and using technology to reduce violent crime.
So, voters will you know, on the August ballot, pick one candidate, and the one with the fewest votes out of those three will kind of get knocked out. And the other two will kind of move on in a head-to-head race in the November general election.
Schellong: And Arjun, what about the At-Large races? Who is in the running to fill those two seats on the council?
Thakkar: Yeah, so there are two At-Large seats up for grabs, and there's no incumbents running in the race because, you know, Council President Carol Wood and Councilmember Patricia Spitzley are both bowing out at the end of their current terms.
So, that leaves us with, you know, eight candidates on the ballot next week hoping to succeed those two.
And so for example, some have been frequent voices at city council meetings like Nicklas Zande. He's a student at [Lansing Community College] who's worked in the City Clerk's Office, and there's also Jody Washington, who's a former city councilmember. They've been much more vocal in, you know, voicing criticisms against ... Mayor Andy Schor, and his administration, and they've especially been critical with you know, where spending is directed on the city budget and also enforcement to address red-tagged housing.
Essentially, all the candidates have experience working in some way within the Lansing community. There's Missy Lilje. She's a special education paraprofessional and a member of the Lansing Board of Education and also noteworthy is that she has been endorsed by Mayor Schor.
There is Tamera Carter, a member of the Downtown Lansing Inc. board. And there's also Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu, she serves on the city's board of ethics, and the Cristo Rey Community Center Board of Directors.
There's a few other candidates. It'll be difficult to, you know, go through all of them but all voters should be aware that there is one candidate named Olivia Vaden. She is not seeking the seat anymore, even though her name will be ... on the ballot.
So, you know, voters essentially will pick two candidates on the ballot in August, and the four candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election.
And it's worth noting that these are elected officials who will be serving until 2027. So, even though it's an off year from, you know, the state and federal elections, it is really consequential and to see what will happen with development in the city with this election.
Schellong: So, you alluded to some problems with unsafe housing conditions, and that's been, you know, one of the biggest issues to come before the council this year. What do the candidates have to say about that?
Thakkar: Yeah, there's really you know, an array of opinions here, they essentially all do acknowledge that some changes need to be made to, you know, address issues with housing and affordable housing and unsafe conditions.
You know, some like Nicklas Zande and Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu they emphasize code enforcement and holding landlords accountable.
Many of them also do discuss the need to expand affordable housing options, you know, just really make the cost of, you know, being housed less expensive. And some also point out the need to support the city's unhoused community, you know, Jody Washington and Missy Lilje, for example, have brought that up.
That's an issue that's really received a lot of attention on the council in recent months, you know, they've been talking about warming and cooling centers and supporting the unhoused community.
So, all the candidates are proposing different solutions to addressing housing. But you know, as we've reported in the past, housing safety and addressing red-tagged housing is a really complicated issue. And there's seems to be an acknowledgement or kind of a consensus that there is no easy or immediate fix to addressing unsafe housing in Lansing.
Schellong: Now, I understand that Lansing’s Ward 3 councilmember is also up for re-election. Is that race also going to be on the August primary ballot?
Thakkar: Well, no, it won't be on the August primary ballot because there are only two candidates running for that seat. There's incumbent Councilmember Adam Hussain and also King Robertson. Because there's only two individuals seeking that seat, they automatically will advance to the general election. So you know, voters in Lansing southwest area won't weigh in ... on their council member during the primary in August but they will be making a decision obviously come November.
Schellong: Arjun Thakkar is WKAR’s politics and civics reporter. Thanks for being here, Arjun.
Thakkar: Thank you, Megan.
Schellong: WKAR sent a questionnaire to each of the candidates about their stances on the biggest issues in the city and their priorities if elected. You can find their responses at wkar.org. And you can follow WKAR for more election coverage ahead of the August 8 primary.
