Lansing Mayor Andy Schor delivered his 2023 State of the City address Tuesday night at Lansing Everett High School. All the while, the Merica 20 to Life podcast hosted The People’s Council of Lansing Councilmember Rachel Diskin as a guest to discuss the “state of the people” and the council’s priorities moving forward including a shift towards a city manager-focused system of local government.
The Fledge CEO Jerry Norris also appeared on the podcast as a co-host. The Fledge is a social activist organization in Lansing watching local government policy decisions that have had "a lasting impact on equity, equality, opportunity, health issues, gun violence and many more things that represent the war on the poor." The organization has previously hosted the People's Council of Lansing's meetings.
The People’s Council of Lansing was formed in July 2022 in response to frustration expressed by residents about the Lansing City Council.
“The People’s Council is a group of folks who are interested in seeing the city do better and living up to the potential of what Lansing can be,” Diskin said in the broadcast. “One way folks can get involved is attending meetings and helping us streamline.”
Among the frustrations expressed by The People’s Council regarding the City of Lansing was the structure of power within the city government.
“Part of the problem with Lansing is that we have a strong mayor system," Diskin said. "The mayor really does have the say over pretty much everything that happens. It’s very complicated.”
She said shifting the Lansing City Council’s structure from a mayor system to a city manager-system would increase civic engagement along with checks and balances for city officials.
“We need to open this up for a vote to be able to talk about changing the charter so that we have a city manager-system in Lansing, which holds our elected officials more accountable,” Diskin said.
Currently, Lansing does not have a city manager among the council's staff.
Diskin outlined several of the council’s priorities for the upcoming calendar year, such as getting information out and being a trusted source of information for the city of Lansing.
“We want people to know if they come to us, they’re getting the real scoop,” Diskin said.
Norris and Diskin discussed the accessibility of Lansing’s City Council. Norris said the city of Lansing makes civic engagement harder than it needs to be.
(Diskin 39:23) “There are so many reasons why it’s hard to get in the door of City Hall at 7 o’clock on Monday night,” Diskin said. “Everyone deserves a fair chance to be there."
