And while the mayoral position is a great stepping stone for furthering one’s political career, the council needs to cement someone into that position to remain consistent in its decisions. The mayoral election is internal, meaning city council members elect the candidate, not voters. While such a setup tends to keep the process less partisan and political, residents should have the opportunity to choose a mayor, which is something Meadows pushed for when he was in office.

The mayor of East Lansing is a representative of the city council and serves as a glorified spokesperson for the council, while the city manager performs the daily operations.

Singh is well-liked, approachable and present around the city — an MSU graduate himself, he set a good example by interacting with students. However, his term has been low-key — he didn’t do anything particularly drastic or memorable. Granted, there were no riots and not much has happened during his term. But he’s done a good, reliable job as East Lansing’s mayor, and he’ll be missed.

East Lansing would not be the city it is today without the university and the students, and the new mayor needs to remember that. He or she needs to keep MSU and student interests in mind with every decision.

Whoever fills Singh’s shoes needs to work to make East Lansing and MSU one integrated community. There is an unfortunate divide between permanent residents and students. Both the university and the community would benefit from focusing on cooperation and growth instead of bickering about noise violations and student housing. The new mayor will need to keep an eye on city projects to keep them in check — for example, the city’s Virginia Avenue project is already millions of dollars over budget and needs to be reigned in. Although the mayor’s position is more ceremonious, the city’s new mayor should have ideas about city improvement and follow through with them.

Good-bye Mayor Singh, we wish you all the best.