Meet East Lansing City Council Candidate Erik Altmann
Editor’s note: This is first in the series of East Lansing City Council candidate profiles by ELi reporters. Eight candidates are vying for three open Council seats in the Nov. 7 election. Check out ELi’s Elections coverage for more profiles. ELi is partnering with the League of Women Voters for a 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 City Council Candidate Forum. Click here to help ELi and the League formulate questions for the candidates.
It’s hard to imagine there will be another race as close as the 2019 election when Erik Altmann was ousted from his post on City Council.
Then Mayor Pro Tem of East Lansing, Altmann fell two votes short of reelection. An analysis by ELi of that election showed he may have been declared the winner had there been a recount.
Altmann drew a stark contrast between the Council he served with at that time and the current group.
“We governed responsibly,” Altmann said in an interview with ELi. “We did our homework, we showed up for meetings, we explained our decisions, we respected the chain of command and we respected the city staff for their hard work and their experience. These are all areas in which the current Council has fallen short.”
The stances Altmann lays out on his campaign website indicate he is focused on the future. The Michigan State University Psychology professor and Bailey neighborhood resident of more than 20 years hopes his platform of rebuilding city staff, environmental stewardship and infrastructure improvements sway voters to elect him again this November.
Altmann’s background and experience
Altmann was a part of the City Council from 2015-2019, a period marked by the addition of several large developments downtown.
Altmann specifically mentioned to ELi the corner of Abbot Road and Grand River Avenue as an area Council maneuvered to spur development. He said the area had been blighted for years and Council approved a change requiring building owners to tear down blighted structures. This triggered redevelopment that eventually became The Graduate Hotel and Abbot apartments.
Additionally, Altmann pointed to changes to the city’s finances he feels benefitted residents. He said the city’s income tax he advocated for made it so MSU employees would contribute to the city. Council also reduced property taxes, so homeowners in the area would not be hit as hard by the change.
In his interview with ELi, Altmann mentioned a couple other developments he took a lead role in putting in place. He said he heard complaints from residents that there is no sidewalk near Coleman Road and it is dangerous for walkers, so a sidewalk was added. Altmann was also instrumental in passing an ordinance that requires downtown businesses to have electric vehicle charging stations.
In addition to the four years he spent on Council, Altmann has been a part of East Lansing’s Historic District Commission and Planning Commission.
Altmann’s top priorities
The exodus of top ranking city staff members over the last year is a major concern for Altmann. If elected, he said he will work to restock the workforce.
“My number one priority is to bring stability back to city government,” he said. “It’s been four years of upheaval and lack of transparency and people are ready to go back to responsible government.”
Altmann said the “opaque” and “erratic” style of leadership displayed by Council has made the city an uncredible employer. He plans to work to restore trust between staff and Council to stop further loss of institutional memory.
He continued to say the city needs to be adding employees, not bleeding workers because staff is needed to fix the city’s issues.
Specifically, Altmann pointed to severe rain events that have led to the flooding of homes in East Lansing.
“To improve resilience to heavy rain events, for example, that involves upgrading the storm water sewers,” he said. “That’s really expensive and what we need to be doing about that is hiring city staff who can chase federal grant money.”
Altmann said that there is more federal grant money now under the Biden administration than there was when he was previously on Council. If the city is going to take advantage of the new funds available, manpower is needed.
“We can fix that problem, but we need the money,” he said.
The severe weather events that have been plaguing residents are becoming more common due to climate change and Altmann hopes to make changes that will lower carbon emissions from city operations. In part, Altmann hopes to accomplish this by adding electric vehicle fleets and installing more solar panels.
While Altmann has laid out his ideas and been candid about his position on major decisions by Council, like the one to hire Robert Belleman as city manager, he said he’s always willing to engage in dialogue with citizens looking to find out more about him. He encourages interested residents to call, text or email him with the contact information provided on his website.
“I am happy to talk to anyone about city issues pretty much anytime,” Altmann said.
Editor’s note: The order of publication of the East Lansing City Council candidates profiles was determined by names being put in a hat and randomly drawn. The order the names were drawn is the order the profiles are running in ELi.