At the Heart of Local Democracy, Two Sisters Lead
While some siblings desire space as they age, the Gordon sisters have only become closer.
Born and raised in East Lansing, Emily, 30, and Amy Gordon, 28, now team up to run a critical city department. Officially, Emily is East Lansing’s city clerk and Amy is the chief deputy city clerk, but each considers the other equal.
Their jobs require them to be jacks of all trades, serving as election administrators, record holders, and Freedom of Information Act coordinators, while facilitating city council meetings and overseeing city boards and commissions. Because there’s no traditional path to becoming a clerk, the Gordons learned from city clerks they worked under.
“They are exceptional for any age,” said Marie Wicks, who retired from her position as city clerk in 2024. “I think it’s extraordinary that they’re doing this really important work for our democracy and for our city. I’ve never seen anyone work harder. They both work so hard.”
Both have several years of experience working in city government. After graduating from Elmhurst University with a degree in communications, Emily moved back to East Lansing and took a temporary staff role in the Department of Public Works in 2017.
Six months later, there was an opening for the assistant to the city council. She was pulled to the new role before leaving to serve as an election specialist in Rochester, and then deputy clerk at Meridian Township. By September 2025, Emily was back in East Lansing as the new city clerk.
Amy moved back to East Lansing after graduating from the University of Alabama with a major in public health. She first got involved in the clerk’s office in 2020, when she started working on elections. In 2023, Wicks hired Amy as her deputy clerk.
Clerks juggle several year-round responsibilities. For the sister clerks, election season is like preparing for a soccer game: a feeling they describe as both exciting and addictive.
“You’re building up to this big event, the teamwork and collaboration and the excitement that goes into it and the nerves, all of these things playing into each other, and it becomes addicting,” Emily said.
Changes to Michigan voting laws, including the implementation of same-day voter registration and early voting, have only increased election administration responsibilities. The Gordons stress the importance of cross-training staff to ensure they know the ins and outs of elections.
“We’ve worked elections where you’re working 26, 27 hour days…you have to train your staff because you have to trust them to go out and be an extension of you on election day, as well as your election inspectors…you’re only as good as the person who knows the least in your office,” Emily said.
A part of trust includes having open and honest dialogue with employees. Since becoming clerk earlier this year, Emily has made a point to regularly take city employees who assist the clerk’s office to get coffee and check-in with them.
“Being able to get out of the office and really connect with everybody is important to me,” Emily said.
Supporting city employees they work alongside may be a top priority for the Gordons because their predecessors poured so much into them.
“I honestly can’t say enough good things about the work [former clerks] Marie Wicks and Jennifer Shuster did in this position,” Emily said. “They laid an amazing groundwork for any clerk that comes into the city of East Lansing…as two young women in this field, it’s incredible to have two such strong female roles to look up to, it’s very empowering.”
Between the two, they have administered 26 elections and gained a wealth of knowledge in the area. Through the three-year training program at the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, Emily received her professional certification, and Amy is set to receive hers in March next year.
The Gordons say they work well together, with each having complementing interests and skill sets needed to run an office that takes on such a broad set of responsibilities. While Amy thrives in research and gathering information, Emily enjoys community outreach.
“The thing I love about them is that, for example, if we got done on election night earlier than Meridian Township, when Emily was there, Amy would go over and help…” Wicks said. “They’re incredibly supportive of each other and have an exceptional work ethic; they don’t stop until the job is done.”
“It’s one of those things where you don’t have to worry about the other person,” Emily said.
Emily shared a small anecdote about working with Amy during an hour-long interview with East Lansing Info. During her junior year of high school, she played on the varsity soccer team, and her coach asked how she’d feel if her younger sister was promoted from the junior varsity team to join her.
“I was so excited to play together,” Emily said. “We’re each other’s biggest supporters and cheerleaders; that has always been true. I’ve always wanted the best for her, and she’s always wanted the best for me, and I think that really propels us in our professional careers too.”
Disclosure: Marie Wicks recently joined East Lansing Info’s Board of Directors.