If East Lansing is going to have a mayor, at least give him some power.

Sure, former Mayor Mark Meadows was the chairman of the independent commission that investigated the April 2-3 disturbances, but beyond his duty as a spokesperson of the East Lansing City Council, the mayor is essentially just another member of the council.

Students who were questioned in "Word on the street: What do you think the East Lansing mayor does?" (SN 11/16) weren't even sure what the mayor's duties are. Guesses ranged from "not too much" to being "a visionary," with one student admitting she didn't know who was the mayor of East Lansing.

Then again, the way the East Lansing government works is pretty confusing.

Council members are elected by the people for four-year terms. They in turn elect a mayor for two-year terms, who is largely a figurehead, to represent the council. Our mayor isn't even the head of the local government.

That responsibility goes to the city manager, Ted Stanton, who is hired by the council to advise them. The fact that the city manager position is a hired position rather than an elected one seems odd itself.

So why did it seem like such a big deal when Sam Singh was sworn in as mayor Tuesday? We don't know much about him aside from him being a former MSU student and the youngest member of the council. He seems genuinely concerned about student issues, but his position is mostly ceremonial.

Meadows compared being mayor to being chairman of the board, with the city manager being president and the council being the board of directors.

However, there seems to be little point to really having a mayor, outside of running meetings and cutting the ribbon when a new store opens downtown. If the city wants a leader, shouldn't that leader have more of a role in directing the council?

Voters shouldn't have to rely on blind faith that those who are mayor and city manager actually represent them. The leader of a government should be directly elected by the people. This is the model of our government at every other level.

Meadows said there should be direct elections and he is the only council member supporting a proposal that will grant the power of selecting a mayor to the voters.

The council might have a good idea where they want the city to go, but the council doesn't necessarily know what is best. There need to be checks and balances in the system. Right now, the mayor might as well be the president of the City Council, with the city manager being the mayor.

A potential scenario is the council nominates a city manager and a mayor and has voters confirm the choices.

It makes more sense than simply having the council hire someone to run the city while electing another person to hold the gavel.