Lansing has elected nine candidates to its city charter commission, kickstarting the next phase of the process to revise the Capital City's primary governing document.
Voters went to the polls Tuesday after the city moved last November to authorize the first revision of Lansing's City Charter in more than 40 years.
A crowd of 36 candidates were in the running to serve on the charter commission, which will be responsible for leading community engagement and proposing changes to the rules that organize Lansing's local government.
Based on unofficial results from the Ingham County Clerk, the following candidates have been elected to the commission, presented here in the order of most to least votes received:
- Joan Bauer, former state representative and former member of Lansing City Council
- Brian C. Jeffries, lead attorney for Student Legal Services at Michigan State University and former member of Lansing City Council
- Guillermo Z. Lopez, Lansing School Board of Education member
- Elizabeth Driscoll Boyd, head of Liz Boyd Public Relations and former press secretary for Gov. Jennifer Granholm
- Lori Adams Simon, interim director of equity and inclusion at Lansing Community College
- Muhammad Qawwee II, president of United Auto Workers Local 4911 for University of Michigan Health-Sparrow
- Jody Washington, former member of Lansing City Council
- Jazmin Anderson, director of equitable economic development with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership
- Ben Dowd, associate director and chief operating officer at the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan
Ballots cast in Tuesday's race were spread across the 36 individuals vying for seats on the commission. No candidate cracked more than 10% of the vote, and Bauer, the top vote-getter, received just over 6%.
The Lansing Regional Chamber PAC endorsed a slate of nine candidates in the race. Six members of the group were elected to the commission.
A separate group calling itself the Lansing Community Alliance also campaigned together to respond to "the influence of special interest groups." Of that slate, only Anderson was elected to the body.
Turnout in the special election was around 12.5%, according to unofficial results.
Election officials have acknowledged the race was a challenging one for voters.
“It's not like a presidential election, so there's not as much information available easily to voters, they do have to do a little bit of homework," said Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope ahead of the May 7 race.
The commission's first meeting will occur in two weeks on May 21. The group will address a number of tasks, including electing a chair and vice chair.
Swope said the group will receive a presentation on what their role is as a charter commission, as well as training on the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act.
"There's going to be a lot thrown at them that very first meeting that they'll have to wrestle with," he said.
