Mark Meadows has watched over East Lansing for more than 10 years, seeing the city through riots, civil disturbances and large redevelopment projects.

Under his direction, the downtown area has grown into a more urban environment, and concrete plans for future disturbances were created.

But as of Sept. 15, Meadows will no longer serve on the East Lansing City Council.

Meadows turned in a letter of resignation to East Lansing City Clerk Sharon Reid on Monday, concerned about how his position as the Democratic contender for the 69th District seat in the state House of Representatives could affect the council's decisions.

"I've spent 11 years on council, and I've really enjoyed almost every minute of it," he said. "I've got to do the right thing for the people of the city, not my own personal agenda.

"Rather than have people question the decisions of the council and whether it was influenced by my other partisan ambitions, I wanted everyone to be confident they have a nonpartisan council."

Two things Meadows changed during his time on council were the city's charter and housing codes. With Meadows' legal background as a former assistant attorney general for the state, making the alterations to the city was a breeze, City Manager Ted Staton said.

"We wrote much of the language of the city charter," Staton said. "I won't say he single-handedly rewrote the housing code, but he gave a lot of time to it. He was more than just a policy maker — he volunteered his valuable legal abilities to the city."

With more free time, Meadows, who served as mayor for eight years, said he will focus on his campaign, going door-to-door and mingling with members of the community.

"I'm not leaving town, but I'm hoping to have just a little more time to focus on the election," he said.

To fill Meadows' spot, the City Council will most likely use an open application process and review each candidate, Mayor Sam Singh said. A replacement could be chosen by the end of November, he added.

"He's a visionary leader and has taken the city to where we are today," Singh said. "We are going to miss his expertise and passion on the council. Mark and I were elected at the same time and had a very similar vision for the community. We had a vision of revitalizing our downtown and making the budget a budget we could be proud of. We took a strong team approach."

Hired by Meadows in 1995, Staton said he'll miss working with someone who approached public service with the same rigor he brought to the courtroom.

"He took the job as seriously as anybody has ever taken a job," Staton said. "He didn't accept answers at face value — he probed his questions. The accomplishments of the city during his tenure were nothing short of transformational. The city is 4 square miles larger, there's been a renaissance in the downtown and growth in the Northern Tier.

"At the end of the day, that made us all better."