Editor's note: This is the third in a series of articles profiling Lansing's six candidates for mayor.
Vietnam veteran Leon Black says his lack of political experience is exactly what Lansing needs in a mayor.
One of four of Lansing's six mayoral candidates with virtually no experience holding any public offices, Black says he is planning to bring honesty and integrity to his home city.
"I'm not a career politician," said Black a self-proclaimed "strong conservative."
"Though, I think that I'm the one - the long shot that I am," he said.
After an unsuccessful run against former Mayor David Hollister two years ago, Black, 59, is once again trying to win the top job in the more than a 120,000-person city.
Black will be competing against five other candidates for a spot on the November ballot at the primary election on Aug. 5. The top two candidates from that race will compete for mayor at the general election held on Nov. 4. Candidates will finish out the remaining two years of Hollister's four-year term.
Councilmember Tony Benavides began filling in as mayor when Hollister left office to work in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration. The mayoral position pays $107,000 per year to manage the city's $100-million budget.
If elected, Black said he plans to attempt to attract more small businesses and housing to the city in hopes of resulting in more business revenue rather than fee-based revenue generated from code violations and ticketing. Black said he would also work to have more Lansing-based businesses contracted for city repairs, goods and services.
A retired computer analyst with the state, Black also worked in real estate, which he says will help him turn Lansing's nearly 50 percent rental rate into single-family owner-occupied homes.
"There's no way the city of Lansing is ever going to be considered a classy city or a world class city, unless single family houses become owner occupied," he said.
While other candidates are creating and toting their visions, Black says he's working to form plans.
"I have an ethical administration I will bring in," he said. "I'm ready to go right now."
But as far as his campaign goes, Black is using only his mouth and ears to connect to voters.
While eating dinner at a restaurant, grocery shopping or taking his two-year-old granddaughter swimming at the YMCA, Black said he talks to everyone in order to gain support from citizens, rather than special interest groups.
Black painted his one and only campaign sign that sits in front of Classic Arms Company, a Lansing gun shop. A supporter of citizens' rights to carry guns, Black says his conservative view will reduce crime in the city.
"When a community has a right to bear arms, crime goes elsewhere," he said. "It moves to someplace where people are not allowed to be armed."
But Councilmember Sandy Allen strongly disagrees.
"It would take some extensive studies to convince me that that's the right thing to do," she said. "People would come to depend on guns as a means of protection rather than rely on the traditional means of protection, like our police department."
Black said he realizes he and the three other inexperienced candidates are the underdogs in this race. He said if his efforts prove unsuccessful again he'll try just as hard in 2005 to implement his plans again.
"To quote Arnold (Schwarzenegger), 'I'll be back,'" he said.
