IF YOU'RE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN EAST LANSING:
What's on the ballot
Voters will elect two of four candidates to fill seats on the East Lansing City Council and vote on two ballot issues.
City Council candidates
Kevin Beard, challenger Member of the East Lansing Planning Commission, involved with the East Village Master Plan team and worked with planning the Northern Tier. Wants to revitalize housing, stabilize neighborhoods and redevelop the downtown area.
John Fournier, challenger Member of the East Lansing Commission for the Environment and worked for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Also a political theory and constitutional democracy senior. Wants to help small businesses and increase access to wireless Internet in the downtown area.
Vic Loomis, incumbent Graduated from East Lansing High School and MSU, worked in banking and finance and has been on the East Lansing City Council for one term. Wants to maintain city services, continue balancing the budget without a tax increase and improve relationships between the city and greater MSU community.
Bill Sharp, incumbent Has spent 12 years on the East Lansing City Council and 12 years on the East Lansing school board and has lived in East Lansing for 57 years. Wants to continue growth of the downtown, improve neighborhoods and not have an income tax.
Issues on the ballot
A proposal to change the filing and withdrawal deadlines for city politicians to apply to run in city elections. The city's election laws are not consistent with state laws. This proposal would make the deadline coincide with Michigan's current election law.
The second proposal asks for voter permission to sell a piece of city land 5 acres in size bounded by State Road, Brown Road and property owned by the Department of Public Works at 1800 E. State Road.
IF YOU'RE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN LANSING:
What's on the ballot
Voters will elect a mayor, four Lansing City Council seats, a city clerk and three Lansing School Board members.
Mayoral candidates
Tony Benavides, incumbent He is 68 years old with a bachelor's degree from MSU in public administration. He was the director of Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing. He served for 22 years on Lansing's City Council and two years as Lansing's mayor.
State Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, challenger He is 41 years old with a bachelor's degree from Adrian College in political science. He was an aide to former Michigan Speaker of the House Gary Owen, a legislative aide to state Sen. Jim Berryman, D-Adrian, and served eight years on the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. He ran against Benavides for Lansing mayor in 2003.
City Clerk candidates
Debbie Miner, incumbent
Chris Swope, challenger
City Council candidates
2nd Ward
Sandy Allen, incumbent
Jonathan Solis, challenger
4th Ward
Geneva Smith, incumbent
Tim Kaltenbach, challenger
At-Large
Brian Jeffries, incumbent
Kathie Dunbar, challenger
John Pollard, challenger
Bob Johnson, challenger
Lansing School District Board of Education candidates
Hugh Clarke Jr., incumbent
Jack Davis, incumbent
Daniel Dillinger, challenger
Ken Jones, challenger
Details about voting in East Lansing and lansing
The essentials
Polls open at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m.
Find out where to vote visit www.michigan.gov/vote. East Lansing has 17 polling locations, located on campus and in the city.
For the Lansing ballot http://clerk.cityoflansingmi.com
For the East Lansing ballot www.cityofeastlansing.com
An ID might be needed to verify a voter's current address.
Getting there
Voters with valid voter registration cards can receive free bus rides from the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, today for Election Day.
The free rides are offered on the fixed-route service, Spec-Tran, Rural Service and Redi-Ride during the regular hours of service. Rides must be requested before 5 p.m. for Spec-Tran and Rural Service customers.
For more information visit www.cata.org or call (517) 394-1000.
