Lansing Charter Commissioners elected Tuesday will include familiar names
LANSING — The nine Lansing City Charter commissioners elected Tuesday ultimately will include some familiar names.
According to county figures, with about 7,500 of the roughly 11,100 votes cast reported, Joan Bauer, a former city council member and state representative, had 6,216 votes, more than anyone else.
The other top vote getters, in descending order, were former councilman Brian Jeffries, school board Trustee Guillermo Lopez, Elizabeth Driscoll Boyd, Lori Adams Simon, Muhammad Qawwee, Jody Washington, Jazmin Anderson of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership and Ben Dowd.
Commissioners will have a year or more to look at the blueprint for the city and recommend potentially sweeping changes to Lansing's operations.
A November election - with 17% turnout, 7,211 yes votes and 6,762 no votes - began a three-year clock for the charter revisions.
It was the first time since 1978 that an effort to restructure the city won approval, although smaller revisions to the charter have been made periodically.
Voters will ultimately get their say once more, possibly more than two years away, when they get to accept or reject any proposal. The commission is expected to have many public meetings and discussions.
Michael Wiser voted at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, where he was the 25th person to vote in person around 5:30 p.m.
"I always come to vote in local elections," Wiser said.
Shortly behind him, also voting at one of the six precincts at the church, was Spencer Simmons, another regular local election voter.
He said he urges people to be involved in local elections, where their voice can be heard.
The commission members will meet soon. City Clerk Chris Swope will temporarily preside until the commission picks their own chairperson. They will set a meeting schedule and will begin the process of reviewing the charter, which guides city government.
Commission members will be paid $200 a meeting, up to 90 meetings, or a max of $18,000, according to a city resolution.
They will have about two and a half years and the commission will need six members to agree before they can recommend the revisions to the city charter. The changes would need to get state approval to qualify for the ballot.
Voters would then approve or reject the proposal as a whole, but not specific suggestions a la carte.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing charter commissioners elected Tuesday will include familiar names
