Shanna Draheim

Draheim has been a resident of East Lansing for eleven years, saying she fell in love with the wonderful community and its relationship with MSU during her time at the university as a student.

Currently holding a position as a board member for Michigan Energy Operations and her past experience as the commissioner of the East Lansing Environmental Commission, Draheim certainly has a background that is heavy in environmental sustainability.

To improve East Lansing’s impact on the environment, Draheim has plans to bring recycling to multi-family complexes in the city that lack on-site recycling as well as improve the city's fleet so there are more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly vehicles on the streets.

When it comes to the relationship between the students of MSU and the permanent residents of East Lansing, Draheim believes that it is a two-way street.

"Relationship building is really important," Draheim said. "It goes both ways; it's not just having students understand who the permanent residents are, it's how the permanent residents can remember who the students are and all the energy and vitality that you [MSU students] bring to us to."

It's for these reasons The State News Editorial Board endorses Draheim, as her vision and attention to sustainability are both things that will positively affect students.

Mark Meadows

As a former City Council member, Mayor of East Lansing, and representative in the Michigan House of Representatives for the 69th District, Mark Meadows certainly has enough experience to be a strong, positive influence on the East Lansing City Council.

Meadows has made some moves in the area of alcohol abuse on the campus of MSU and in the city of East Lansing, supporting legislation during his time as a representative which allowed for medical amnesty in some incidents involving alcohol and minors.

Meadows has also said that there are too many minor in possession tickets being given out in East Lansing, and in some situations it would be better to take the minor home instead of giving a ticket.

While we believe these stances to be good ones to take, Meadows also lobbied for the Keg Tag law in East Lansing, requiring people who purchase kegs to register them. This drastically changed the way students partied and added more liquor into the mix. Repealing this legislation would make Meadows an even friendlier candidate to students and hopefully reduce binge drinking and alcohol-related injuries to students.

Nathan Triplett

Triplett is the current mayor of East Lansing and the only incumbent running in this year's election and his track-record shows he has certainly had a positive impact on the community.

The incumbents says he is running again to further improve on the financial foundation that he has helped build for the city, earning East Lansing a AAA credit balance and investing in infrastructure.

Environmentally, Triplett has already made strides with a large solar energy project which will serve not only as a source of energy for homes and businesses, but also a place where people can go to learn about renewable energy.

Triplett also concerns himself with building a relationship between MSU students and the families in East Lansing, saying there needs to be a "constructive engagement" between the two groups.