If voters approve the charter, which contains numerous other provisions in an all-or-nothing vote, these communities will lose their seat at the governing table of this important public utility.

East Lansing’s Charter Review Committee has proposed a charter amendment that seeks voting representation in any regional authority that provides services to or taxes its residents. While this would apply to other entities besides the BWL, it seeks not only to preserve a seat at the table, but also to have a voice in the process.

East Lansing’s process differs from Lansing’s, as the former’s city council may place each of twenty-three proposed charter amendments as separate questions on the ballot, versus just one question for Lansing voters to approve or reject a new city charter.

For Lansing voters, this is logrolling at work, a legislative tactic where drafters package together ideas that would not have much support on their own with other better ideas with more popular support. The result is the more unpopular ideas being enacted with the more popular ones.

In a perfect world, our law drafters wouldn’t engage in logrolling, so whether Lansing’s commission intentionally did that or not, the result is the same. Voters must adopt some poor ideas with some better ideas or adopt nothing at all.

But beyond logrolling is the fight for regionalism in mid-Michigan.

Local governments at the village, township, city, and county levels can work together to improve the quality of life of all area residents in ways that no municipality can do on its own. But with a few exceptions, Mid-Michigan has lacked the leadership and community vision to promote greater inclusion, collaboration, and economic integration amongst area inhabitants. 

The actions of the Lansing Charter Commission fail to uplift the spirit of unity this region needs to power forward to a better future. We should be advocating for more cooperation and more democracy in our local communities.

Ultimately Lansing voters must choose and vote their principles and balance the good and the bad together with this new charter. East Lansing voters have a better process afforded them in next year’s elections to choose a-la-carte improvements to their government. 

It is a missed opportunity that both communities didn’t coordinate a win-win solution to this problem that will remain unresolved regardless of how both cities' residents vote.

Jeffrey Hank is an attorney, former Vice Chair of the East Lansing Charter Review Committee, and proponent of regional voting representation on BWL’s Board. The views in this article are his own and independent of The State News.