Jermaine Ruffin has officially announced and begun his campaign for East Lansing City Council. Ruffin is a 2007 graduate of James Madison College at MSU and has lived in East Lansing for 15 years. He graduated with a degree in social relations and policy after transferring to MSU from Lansing Community College.
“I think we need somebody who is going to listen to the community, bring together partners to also listen to the community and develop a vision for what East Lansing can be and what it should be,” Ruffin said.
Ruffin said he believes he can make this possible through addressing a number of issues. The city council candidate would first like to engage the community to create a vision for what residents would like to see the city become. Ruffin said he wants to know what residents want regarding education, city growth and the development of downtown Lansing.
“Once we develop our vision, everything else kind of falls in place because then we begin to attract the type of development that we want,” Ruffin said.
He has had plenty of experience with community building in the past as an urban revitalization analyst for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and is currently a place-making policy specialist.
Ruffin was also a regional field organizer for the Florida Democratic Party as part of the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
He said he would like to engage students to the point where East Lansing is a viable city for them to live and work post-graduation. He believes keeping students in East Lansing after graduation is a way to keep talent and ensure growth for the city.
“To not engage students is a missed opportunity,” Ruffin said. “They may not be able to vote today, and if I lose the election by engaging the students too much then so be it. (But) I want to be able to say that I tried my absolute best (to encourage) students to stay here.”
Ruffin cited the fact that many students have graduated from MSU and gone on to build successful businesses outside of East Lansing. He said he believes the next Dan Gilbert — founder of Quicken Loans Inc. and an MSU graduate — could be on campus right now, and that economic and community growth can be achieved through retaining students and keeping their success local.
Other issues Ruffin said he would like to address if elected are development challenges such as those in the Park District, as well as infrastructure issues. He would like to improve infrastructure in the city with a major focus on the roads. Being able to bring together different partners from businesses, philanthropy, the university and other areas of the community to help address these issues is a skill Ruffin insists he has.
“I have been able to successfully bring together those types of partners to have a dialogue about what could be done to push particular communities or projects forward,” Ruffin said.
If he is elected, Ruffin would be the first black councilmember on East Lansing City Council. The election will take place Nov. 3, with three positions open. The Council will also appoint a new Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem following the election.
Ruffin said he believes East Lansing can become one of the premier Big Ten communities if these issues are addressed and if the community’s vision is first, taken into account, and second, made a reality.
