The East Lansing City Council in November elected George Brookover as its next mayor.
Brookover is the son of former East Lansing Mayor, Wilbur Brookover, who served in the role during the 1970s.
George Brookover is a graduate of East Lansing High School and University of Michigan Law School. He was elected to the city council in 2021.
Brookover has spent almost 50 years working in law. WKAR's Megan Schellong sat down with Brookover to discuss his vision as mayor.
Interview Highlights
On the three largest problems he sees in East Lansing
I think that the city has to continue to be observant with regard to public safety, people have a right to be safe in their houses and apartments. The second thing is I think we have to be always very vigilant in terms of the use of taxpayer monies. And the third thing is that I think, at least at this point, given the events of the last couple of years, I think it's important to try to seek stability in the city government.
On his vision as mayor of East Lansing
This is a city manager form of government. So to the extent the mayor has a vision, I really can't say I have a vision. My thought is that I need to be the kind of mayor that the city charter requires, which is I have a limited role. I want to facilitate other council members in terms of their thoughts and views of the way the city should develop as well as the new city manager and city employees. So my goal is to simply be a facilitator so that the government can work for the taxpayers and the voters.
On his plans to address public safety in East Lansing
We have vacancies on the police force, we need to support the police force with intelligence in terms of diversity and enforcement of laws. So the first thing is to hire more police. So we have a fully staffed police department. Neighborhoods are very significant in East Lansing. And I think that it's very important to be cognizant of neighborhoods interests, and the way neighborhoods fit in in terms of the ebb and flow of the city. So I've always tried to be very conscious of zoning decisions and planning decisions with regard to neighborhoods.
Interview Transcript
Megan Schellong: The East Lansing City Council in November elected George Brookover as its next mayor. Brookover is the son of former East Lansing Mayor, Wilbur Brookover, who served in the role during the 1970s.
George Brookover is a graduate of East Lansing High School and University of Michigan Law School. He was elected to the city council in 2021. He has spent almost 50 years working in law and joins us now to discuss his vision as mayor.
Thanks for being here.
George Brookover: Thank you for having me.
Schellong: So, you’re a long-time East Lansing Resident. What are the three largest problems you’ve observed during your time here and your plan to address them?
Brookover: Good question. I would go back to some of the things that I stated during my campaign. I think first of all, there's more than three things, but three of the things that come to mind are I think that the city has to continue to be observant with regard to public safety, people have a right to be safe in their houses and apartments. The second thing is I think we have to be always very vigilant in terms of the use of taxpayer monies. And the third thing is that I think, at least at this point, given the events of the last couple of years, I think it's important to try to seek stability in the city government.
Schellong: Speaking of your plans, what's your vision for the city as mayor? And how do you plan to balance continuity with the previous council's vision while working with the newly elected group?
Brookover: Well, I think you overestimate the significance of being mayor, this is a city manager form of government. So to the extent the mayor has a vision, I really can't say I have a vision. My thought is that I need to be the kind of mayor that the city charter requires, which is I have a limited role.
I want to facilitate other council members in terms of their thoughts and views of the way the city should develop as well as the new city manager and city employees. So my goal is to simply be a facilitator so that the government can work for the taxpayers and the voters.
Schellong: You are now 72 years young, is that correct?
Brookover: No, actually, ma'am, I'm 73 years old.
Schellong: 73. So you're 73 years young, you've got a full career in law. And some might ask the question, well, why not look forward to retirement? Why did you decide to accept the position of mayor?
Brookover: Retirement is not a word that's used in my family.
Schellong: Speaking of family, your father, Wilbur Brookover, was mayor in the 1970s. What advice about public service have you learned from your father? And have you picked up any lessons about public service from his experience working for the city?
Brookover: Well, more significantly, you skipped over the fact that my father was a longtime professor at Michigan State University. So to the extent I learned anything my from my father, it was probably that you need to be aware of the symbiotic relationship between the university and the city. And frankly, you have to listen to people.
Schellong: When you last ran for city council in November 2021, you ran on a platform of addressing retiree debt. What’s the status on that right now, plus your plan to whittle it down?
Brookover: Well, I think the plan remains the same at the City Council for the last several years before I was elected. It has used some of the income tax money to whittle that down, which is required by the ordinance that we passed for the income tax.
And secondly, we've attempted to put additional monies against that retiree debt. So the debt still exists, we've whittled it down, but I think that's a high priority and is within the category that I indicated before, which is to be smart about the use of taxpayer funds and taxpayer monies. Our retirees deserve to have that debt expire.
Schellong: You also expressed in 2021 the need to quote “respect the diversity” of East Lansing when it comes to budgeting, how will you propose allocating funds to address racial disparities in the city?
Brookover: When I think the same way that we have been for the last two years the prayer council was very cognizant of that, and I think the sensitivity to those issues from a budgetary standpoint will continue with this council and certainly it'll continue for me.
Schellong: And in the past, you've made a point of advocating for the “protection” of East Lansing’s neighborhoods. What do you mean by that? And what’s your plan to address public safety?
Brookover: Well, I'm gonna take the second part of that question first. The reality is, and I think people that follow things in East Lansing understand that we need more police, we have vacancies on the police force, we need to support the police force with intelligence in terms of diversity and enforcement of laws. So the first thing is to hire more police, so we have a fully staffed police department.
Neighborhoods are very significant in East Lansing. And I think that it's very important to be cognizant of neighborhoods interests, and the way neighborhoods fit in in terms of the ebb and flow of the city. So I've always tried to be very conscious of zoning decisions and planning decisions with regard to neighborhoods.
Schellong: What's your approach to handling disagreements with the City Council moving forward as mayor?
Brookover: It's a city manager form of government, the city council is a democracy. As mayor in one of my jobs in this limited definition of the mayoral office is to run council meetings that are fair to everybody's viewpoints. And in the end, we vote and decisions are made according to how people vote. So I guess that would be my plan, if that's the question you're asking.
Schellong: George Brookover is a long-time East Lansing resident and practicing lawyer. He was elected to the position of Mayor in November. Thanks Mr. Brookover.
Brookover: Thank you. Thanks for having me this morning. I appreciate it.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.