A group of East Lansing residents quietly are making preparations to run for city council this fall, pitting themselves against three one-term incumbents.
East Lansing resident Don Power leads a coalition of three challenging candidates for the open positions, who are racing to get the 50 required petition signatures each before the Aug. 16 filing deadline.
The group is attempting to oust Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris, Councilmember Roger Peters and Councilmember Nathan Triplett, all of whom are fighting for re-election this year.
“The plan is to basically run as a combination slate,” Power said, although he would not yet disclose the identities of the other two candidates, simply saying they were “in discussions,” and would not give details on their platforms or qualifications.
However, Power said both carry extensive experience in the public and private sectors, and one of the prospective candidates is a woman — a move most likely aimed to siphon Goddeeris’ voter base.
The group plans to hold a press conference on Aug. 11 to officially announce their candidacy.
Goddeeris — who is planning to file her candidacy officially this week — said the council successfully has kept city programs during her term — despite a shrinking city budget — and said more challenges are to come in the future.
“We positioned our city in a good place compared to a lot of cities in our state,” Goddeeris said. “We’ve at least held our city up.”
Goddeeris was first appointed to the council in 2006, after Mark Meadows vacated his council seat to serve as state representative.
Political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore Matt Needham, who also is president of the Michigan State College Libertarians, said the council should focus on further educating students about local laws and court processes.
“I think there are a lot of students who feel the laws are unfamiliar to them,” Needham said.
Although he remained tight-lipped regarding the “combination slate,” Power has been openly critical of the council regarding the city’s new medical marijuana ordinance, which allows dispensaries to open in B4 business zones.
Power protested outside city hall with several other residents earlier this year, arguing the ordinance is not strict enough, and dispensaries will cause the erosion of the business and neighborhood climates around them.
He also has said in the past the group will protest any new dispensary that opens in the city.
While not referencing the other potential candidates directly, Triplett said the most important quality of a councilmember is acting as a “generalist” who can make a variety of decisions rather than running to influence a few, select issues.
Triplett was first elected to the council at 24 — tieing him with state representative candidate and former East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh as the youngest councilmember in history.
Triplett currently is a student at MSU’s College of Law — an aspect he said provides an edge with bridging the gap between East Lansing and the university community.
“It’s a delicate balance, but it’s a balance overall the city has to maintain,” Triplett said.
Peters could not be reached for comment.
Power also is a leading member in the East Lansing Citizen’s Alliance, a small coalition of loosely connected residents whose mission is to “improve citizen awareness of critical issues facing our local governments and to increase participation in the debate(s),” according to a release issued in April.
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One other man not affiliated with Power also took out a petition, although he could not be contacted to verify is candidacy.
