Kerry Ebersole Singh (top left, then clockwise), Christopher Wardell and Erik Altmann have announced they are running for one of the three open seats on the East Lansing City Council.
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Kerry Ebersole Singh, Christopher Wardell and Erik Altmann Seek EL Council Seats

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The deadline for filing for candidacy in the East Lansing City Council race passed today at 4 p.m. and it looks like there are either seven or eight candidates running for the three open seats on the November ballot.

Interim City Clerk Marie Wicks told ELi at 4:54 p.m. today, “I can confirm that Mark Meadows, Dan Bollman, Rebecca Kasen, Christopher Wardell, Noel Garcia, Joshua Ramirez-Roberts and Kerry Ebersole Singh have filed. I may have an update but that’s all I can share at this time.”

An eighth person, not on Wicks’ list, has said in a Facebook post he is also running: former Mayor Pro Tem Erik Altmann. Asked to clarify why Altmann is not on her list, Wicks reiterated she may have an update soon. Altmann has not yet returned a call from ELi asking for clarification about his candidacy filing.

[Update, 6:53 pm: Moments after this article was published, Wicks wrote to say she can now confirm Altmann is also a candidate.]

Ebersole Singh works as the Chief Talent Solutions and Engagement Officer for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). Her MEDC bio provides a list of accomplishments in state government, including being Director of the Michigan Census effort, serving as Chair on the MI STEM Council, leading the Protect Michigan Commission’s community engagement strategy and more.

Ebersole Singh is married to state Senator Sam Singh (former mayor of East Lansing) and the two reside in the Harrison Meadows neighborhood. She is a graduate of Michigan State University (MSU) and holds a degree in political theory and constitutional democracy, according to MEDC.

Earlier this year, Wardell applied to fill the seat vacated by Lisa Babcock when she left Council to take an elected seat on the 54B Court bench. (Council ultimately decided to appoint Garcia for the remainder of Babcock’s term, which ends in November.) In that application, Wardell said he serves on the East Lansing Arts Commission, Lansing’s Equal Opportunities Commission, the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition and the Bailey Community Association. (He’s a resident of Bailey.)

Wardell responded to a query from ELi this evening by outlining what his priorities on Council will be if elected. He said he will focus on working with developers that want to add low-income housing, look to strike a balance between encouraging equitable policing and adding police patrols to neighborhoods, and work with the East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education to increase school safety.

Wardell also told ELi via email he has worked as a legislative director for three different members of the Michigan House of Representatives and that experience has helped him better understand how government works.

Altmann has launched a campaign site naming as the cornerstones of his campaign stabilizing the city’s workforce, opposing the three Council-supported charter amendments and environmental sustainability. Altmann says on his site he has been a resident of the Bailey neighborhood for 23 years.

A psychology professor at MSU, Altmann served on Council from 2015 through 2019 before losing in the Council race that saw the reelection of former mayor Mark Meadows and the elections of Babcock and current Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg.

Altmann fell just two votes short of reelection in the 2019 election. An analysis of ballots by ELi showed that if Altmann had requested a recount, the third seat might have gone to him instead of Meadows. But he did not ask for a recount.

As Wicks indicated today, Mark Meadows is again running for a Council seat, now alongside Ebersole Singh, Wardell, Altmann, Joshua Ramirez-Roberts, Rebecca Kasen, Noel Garcia, Dan Bollman.

Candidates elected in November will join Dana Watson and George Brookover on Council, as Gregg and Mayor Ron Bacon have announced they will not run for reelection.ELi will bring its usual in-depth reporting on the City Council race, providing candidate profiles, putting readers’ questions to candidates, supporting candidate forums, looking at campaign finances and more. Sign up for ELi’s Insider newsletter to keep abreast of our elections coverage.