Three of the seven Board of Trustee positions at Lansing Community College were up for grabs until 4 p.m. Monday, and only three candidates registered for the jobs.
Trustees Mark Canady and Katherine Pelleran, whose terms expire June 30, filed for both six-year positions. Local theater producer Todd Haywood, an LCC alumnus, applied for the two-year position.
Haywood, 31, could succeed Trustee Charlie Creamer pending a decision from the Ingham County Clerk’s Office.
“He’s clearly someone who’s interested in LCC and concerned about how things are done and how money is spent,” Creamer said of Haywood.
Creamer decided not to run when his business, Midwest Transaction Group, took off this year.
“I owe it to my employees, my investors and my family to adjust my priorities,” Creamer said.
Trustees are elected by the greater Lansing area and retain positions for six-year terms.
“I’m really surprised that this happened,” Haywood said. “I expected to have a real campaign on my hands.”
Haywood, who could take office in July, has actively protested many of the board’s actions in the past few years, like its recent decision to modify six of its college programs.
“I was very against their program review decisions,” he said. “Now we’re all going to have to sit down and talk and figure out how to bury the hatchet and come together.”
Haywood said his priorities lie in the best interest of the students and he’ll focus on faculty equity, the school’s entire budget and the relevance of LCC’s virtual college.
“We need to look over all our priorities and re-evaluate them to be negotiating in full faith,” he said.
If more than three of the applicants would have applied, voters would be asked to make a decision in June.
Canady, a partner at Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., a Lansing-based law firm, said he was disappointed so few people filed for the positions, but he’s looking forward to the years to come.
“I’ve always had a belief that people should engage in public service,” said Canady, who is a former Lansing City Council member.
Canady also said he’s not concerned about Haywood’s acceptance on the board.
“I think everybody deserves a chance and let’s wait and see how he does,” he said.
