Lansing city officials were surprised and pleased with the amount of interest shown in two of the city’s open positions.

The Lansing City Council reduced the candidate pool for a new Fourth Ward council member and city clerk from 16 applicants to six. The final decision about the new staff will be made at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Councilmember Sandy Allen said she and other council members were satisfied with the number of applications they received - eight for each position. The reasons for applying, she said, range from financial points to a desire to help.

“I think people saw it as an opportunity,” Allen said. “It’s less rigorous and less expensive to be appointed than to campaign.

“They feel a strong commitment to the city of Lansing. They want to mold Lansing’s future and preserve its past.”

The remaining possibilities for the Fourth Ward councilmember are Kris Nicholoff, the government director for the Michigan Dental Association, Edwin Thomson, an engineer for General Motors Corp. and Rev. Lester Stone, the pastor for Friendship Baptist Church.

The top candidate for the job will replace former council president and state Rep. Michael Murphy, D-Lansing, who was elected to the state House on Nov. 7.

The remaining three candidates for city clerk are Mary Kay Scullion, a lawyer who teaches college government classes, Monica Zuchowski, a legislative liaison for Michigan Government Television and Steven Dougan, a retired city employee.

Allen said the selection of the top candidates for each position was difficult because so many of the applicants were previously acquainted with the board members.

“Most of the candidates were well-qualified and they had extensive backgrounds,” Allen said. “Most of them I know, and other council members know as well.

“When you have a level playing field of qualified people it makes it difficult to choose.”

Former Lansing City Clerk Marilynn Slade retired from the position in December. Deputy City Clerk Debbie Miner has been running the clerks office.

Miner applied for the position herself. But since she has not lived in Lansing for a year, which is required by the city charter, she was not eligible to apply.

Both the Fourth Ward council seat and the city clerk’s position will be up for re-election in November.

Miner said while there are always several candidates applying for city clerk, the number of applicants only benefits the city.

“Lansing is fortunate to have such a large base of community activists,” Miner said. “Historically, it’s someone with experience within the office that moves up to the clerk’s position.”

Of the three remaining choices for city clerk, only one has any experience working in Lansing city offices.

“It’s a very labor intensive job,” Miner said. “I don’t think anyone could have an accurate feel for what the job requires until they’ve held the position.”

Although the appointment process is running smoothly, some residents are unsure of the technique used to choose the new city officials.

Lansing resident Christine Timmon said she is concerned with the possibility of too much agreement on the city council.

“It’s their job to incite arguments,” Timmon said. “You do that to avoid a totalitarian government.”

Timmon said she hopes to see people on the city council who will reduce fines, improve education and listen to residents. Timmon has attended every council meeting for the last three years.

“I don’t like the idea of the council picking who it is going to sit with because they didn’t pick it in the first place,” Timmon said. “They’re elected positions. They should have called a special election for both offices.”