East Lansing City Council Candidates Give One Last Pitch to Voters at ASMSU Forum

The six candidates running for two seats on the East Lansing City Council met one final time before the Nov. 4 election at a forum hosted by the Associated Students of Michigan State University.

With moderate attendance from MSU undergrads, the Oct. 22 forum largely focused on housing and the relationship between the university and East Lansing.

Several of the candidates spoke about their own struggles to find housing in East Lansing. During a period when each of the candidates was asked pointed, specific questions, Liam Richichi was asked what policies he would champion to make student housing more affordable. He said he has already met with the leadership of DTN Management, one of the city’s biggest landlords, about issues he’s seen at their properties and would want to bring the university to the table to explore solutions.

Also citing affordability, Joshua Ramirez-Roberts said he is still living with his parents and that MSU must take action. He criticized the institution for not building any new residence halls since 1973, despite increasing freshmen class sizes nearly every year. He would like to see the City Council push MSU to build new halls.

Adam DeLay was asked about his time on the Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee and what it accomplished to move affordable housing forward. He said that the committee reviewed a grant application from a co-op but others members of the committee were against awarding the co-op funds. DeLay said that the city must explore different housing options and he believes the committee should have approved the grant.

When discussing the budget, several of the candidates put the onus on current and past council members who passed the buck to present leaders. 

Ramirez-Roberts applauded the establishment of a financial review team to seek out potential cuts. He also criticized spending on things like paying for a national search for a police chief and “a tree study that told us to water our trees.”

DeLay thinks the city can address its budget deficit by encouraging development to generate more tax income. 

“If you build and develop, that raises property values,” he said, also questioning why the city pays $50,000 per year for a lobbyist in the state government.

Each candidate, with the exception of Whelan, said they were opposed to the parks and recreation millage. Whelan said he doesn’t want to tell people how to vote and is happy that the community has a chance to have their voice heard.

One of ASMSU’s questions asked about rising property taxes. Nearly all the candidates said that taxes are high, but that the resources they provide are substantial. DeLay also pointed out that the city only receives a portion of property taxes, with much of the revenue going to the school district and county government.

Whelan made it clear at several points during the forum that he would protect public safety’s portion of the city budget, more than 60% of the general fund.

As mentioned, the forum asked specific questions of each of the candidates. To Kath Edsall, they asked what she would do to support equity and diversity in local government and she replied that she would “continue to do what I’ve been doing for exactly my entire life.”

Chuck Grigsby was asked about mental health services in East Lansing. He said it’s important to “not criminalize mental health.” He said adding social workers to the East Lansing Police Department is a step forward but he wants to see more inclusive resources.

“East Lansing does not have a history of reaching out and collaborating with other municipalities,” Grigsby said.

Ramirez-Roberts was asked specifically about climate change and he was quick to list off a litany of ways the city can be more climate friendly, including altering building codes to make it easier for buildings to install solar arrays and better utilize green spaces.

Towards the end of the forum, the candidates were asked how they would enhance public safety after the 2023 MSU shooting. Several candidates shared where they were on that day.

Whelan said the campus has done a much better job with cameras, while Grigsby said an open dialogue with police was important. Ramirez-Roberts said mental health outreach must be improved and Richichi celebrated the work of student activists who pushed Michigan’s legislature to pass red flag and safe-storage laws. DeLay said that gun buyback programs can be successful.

Edsall, the last to speak, said, “Gun control is the only answer to this issue,” and that studies show police presence in K-12 schools increase likelihood of morbidity.

Candidates were not asked about one of the city’s largest recent controversies during the forum, the calls for Police Chief Jen Brown to resign or be removed. In the days leading up to the forum, the city’s Human Rights Commission and Police Oversight Commission each passed resolutions calling for Brown’s removal. In the early hours the same day the forum was held, City Council concluded a marathon meeting by motioning to have an independent review of recent ELPD actions. 

Following the forum, ELi reached out to each candidate to ask if they would encourage City Manager Robert Belleman to fire Brown. 

Edsall responded with a simple yes. Her peers did not keep their responses as succinct.

DeLay said yes, and said he was troubled by a misleading press release issued by ELPD that named two young men who eventually had charges against them dropped by city prosecutors. He added that there is “significant evidence that exists showing that the chief of police either lied in the press release she authored, or was woefully negligent of the facts of the case, either of which caused a severely detrimental impact on those that were arrested and charged.”

Richichi said it wasn’t a simple yes or no and affirmed the need for an investigation.

“There have been several concerning incidents in our downtown that need to be investigated,” he said. “This situation is the exact reason we need to, at minimum, maintain the current powers of ELIPOC [East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission].”

Grigsby concurred that he believes the investigation will shed light on recent ELPD actions. 

“I think there is more to learn about what happened or what didn’t,” he said. “Her stepping down or being fired doesn’t change things organizationally.”

Ramirez-Roberts wants to see what the investigation uncovers and “the department’s rationale for withholding the pepper spray footage and, if they indeed had access to it all along, if misconduct was part of that process.”

Whelan, a recently-retired veteran of the ELPD, was the only candidate to outwardly say Brown does not need to resign. He said a statement Brown made in an interview with WLNS was “divisive, offensive, and hurtful to many in our community,” but that she apologized and is doing the best job she can.

“Chief Brown has been teachable in this situation and deserves the opportunity to continue to serve,” he said.