EL Mayor, Interim City Manager Claim Racism is Behind Anonymous Complaint

East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon spoke out against a complaint alleging he has overstepped his role and said he welcomed an investigation at a special City Council meeting held Tuesday, April 25. While the complainant claimed the letter explained the mass exodus of top employees from the city, Bacon said he believed the anonymous complaint was motivated by racism.

“I don’t consider it veiled [racism] anymore,” Bacon said. “I’m going to direct the city attorney to give me my options as a city [official] or as an individual… I’m not even excluding the state department of civil rights as a function in this process.”

The complaint released Monday evening (April 24) mentioned Bacon, Interim City Manager Randy Talifarro and DEI Director Elaine Hardy by name. The complaint alleged Bacon and Hardy in particular were acting improperly and questioned Talifarro’s credentials to serve as city manager. All three are Black – which Talifarro said is not a coincidence. 

“It’s not lost on me, the individuals that were targeted and what they look like,” Talifarro said. “These things are not unintentional. I’ve seen this happen, I’ve spoken up about these issues elsewhere and it’s insulting.”

Drawing what he sees as local historical parallels, Talifarro mentioned former Lansing Housing Commissioner Martell Armstrong and former Lansing Human Relations and Community Services Director Joan Jackson Johnson as individuals unfairly targeted. 

Talifarro welcomed the investigation, but said situations like this one are difficult because those accused of misconduct are scrutinized while an investigation is taking place. Even if they are cleared of wrongdoing, he said, the stigma from the complaint remains. 

Bacon said he is open to receiving criticism but that “individual, personal attacks” will not stand. He also said the complaint seemed highly coordinated.

“I see a level of coordination and cooperation where individuals are moving with information prior to the time that it’s even available or FOIA-able,” he said, referring to the Freedom of Information Act, a law enabling citizens to access government records. “There’s a little bit of something extra going on here.”

Bacon and Councilmember Dana Watson said the city needs to reexamine its process for receiving anonymous complaints to shield employees from scrutiny before a review. 

“I’m sorry that an anonymous letter was able to singly point out one person, a director, that works here every single day,” Watson said, referring to Hardy. 

“I definitely want us to come out with a solution that doesn’t place future councils or future employees in the crosshairs of anonymous complaints,” Bacon said. “That needs to be something that comes out of this… But I definitely welcome this one.”

City Attorney Anthony Chubb said the attorney-investigator hired by the city can examine policies to see if there are any that can be amended or added that would improve the process for receiving anonymous complaints. 

Councilmembers George Brookover and Noel Garcia and Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg did not engage in the discussion. 

Following a unanimous vote by the Council, the city will hire former Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office J. Randall Secontine to conduct the investigation, which will be “absolutely” independent from the city, Chubb said. Secontine will be paid $295 per hour, up to $30,000 for his work. If the funds are running out and the work not yet complete, Chubb will come back to Council for consultation.

The expectation is that Secontine will begin the work very soon. Chubb said he recommended Secontine to conduct the investigation because his distance from East Lansing helps ensure there are no conflicts of interest. Chubb also said Secontine has worked on similar investigations in the past. 

Bacon asked if there is a process in place to ensure that staff are able to speak freely without fear of retaliation. Chubb said there are robust local policies and state laws to protect staff and they should not be concerned about that.  

Talifarro asked how widespread the investigation will go, pointing out if they only talk to a few former employees, the investigation may be swayed by people with “agendas.” Chubb said that the investigation will be more thorough if more people are interviewed. 

The original agenda for the meeting included only discussion of the proposed annual budget of the city. But that changed on Saturday, as ELi reported, when this surprise item appeared on the agenda. 

After the Council voted through its public statement and the plan to hire the special investigator, it took up the issue of the budget. As is typical for these sessions, heads of departments were all in attendance. The only notable absence was Hardy, who frequently attends regular Council meetings.

ELi received a message from the anonymous complainant on April 12 advising us to use FOIA to obtain the complaint. ELi filed the request the same day. The city took an extension (allowed under law) for the response, claiming it needed more time to find the complaint, even while Council had it in their hands.  

Today, the City responded to ELi’s request, formally releasing to ELi the complaint that was released to the full public yesterday.

Correction on Sept. 23, 2023: The original version of this article stated Randall Secontine’s former title as “Prosecutor for Oakland County.” This has been corrected to reflect that he was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.