Meet East Lansing City Council Candidate Noel Garcia
Editor’s note: This is second 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.
Councilmember Noel Garcia, who was appointed to Council in January 2023, hopes to continue to serve a full term on the East Lansing City Council after this November’s election.
Garcia was appointed to fill the seat made vacant by Lisa Babcock’s election to a 54B District Court judge position.
Garcia said he is running again to bring “more of a sense of stability moving forward.”
“I was appointed to serve on the Council earlier this year and believe there are issues that will take more than one year to address,” Garcia wrote in an email interview with ELi. “I’m asking the voters for their support, and we have had an outstanding reaction so far. I am a long-time resident who is raising two sons and hope to leave behind a better community for their generation.”
Garcia moved to East Lansing 10 years ago, choosing the area for his children to attend school and grow up “because of the diverse community and outstanding academics.”
Garcia’s professional and community service background
Garcia has spent 35 years in public service and community involvement. This includes 25 years in law enforcement, work in law enforcement education and service on the East Lansing City Council.
Garcia’s career in law enforcement began at the Lansing Police Department (LPD), where he was one of the few Hispanic officers. At LPD, Garica served in a variety of roles, including lieutenant, detective sergeant and patrol lieutenant, among others. He also was a member of the committee to establish an East Lansing Independent Oversight Commission (ELIPOC), served on the commission and now serves as a Council liaison to the body.
Garcia is currently an instructor at the Ingham Intermediate School District Wilson Talent Center in the law enforcement program.
He also has a history of community service.
“Community service is something I’ve been greatly involved in throughout my adult life,” Garcia wrote.
He has served as chair for the Cristo Rey Community Center Board of Directors. The board works to provide healthcare, nutrition and youth programming to a diverse urban population. He has also chaired the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan.
In his candidacy application, Garcia stated: “My record shows that I have always fought for equity and inclusion and I promoted diversity and fair treatment of all. I would be remiss if I did not mention that a large motivator for me in any venture I choose to make is that of making sure Latinos are fairly represented in all forms of government and decision-making.”
As a single father of 16-year-old twin boys, Garcia also serves as a parent volunteer and a coach in youth baseball and basketball.
Garcia’s top priorities
After serving eight months on Council, some of Garcia’s priorities have remained the same and some new focuses have emerged.
He still believes public safety is one the biggest issues facing the city.
“Public safety is an issue that will always be prevalent in our city,” Garcia wrote. “Not only because of our student population, but because we are a destination for visitors throughout Michigan and beyond. We want our student population and our visitors to be safe from gun violence, from alcohol and drug abuse, and from sexual assaults.”
Garcia also mentioned leadership as a primary concern.
“Many of our city’s leaders have changed in the past 3-4 years, from Council, to the City Manager, and department heads,” he wrote. “I’m working to bring in new leaders and help grow our current staff to take on new and challenging roles in the city. We are choosing a new city manager to lead and manage the city on a day-to-day basis, and I look forward to this impending transition.”
If elected, Garica hopes to focus on stability within the city workforce.
“There will always be change in life – our goal is to make sure that the changes are for the better, and that we’re also keeping the best of our history even as new history is made,” Garcia wrote. “There has been a well-documented level of turnover in our city government, but we are moving to select a new City Manager from a group of highly skilled and promising candidates. With that new Manager in place, I believe we can move quickly to improve city government for all of our residents.”
Garcia was one of three Council members who voted on Aug. 13 in favor of the naming Robert Belleman as the next East Lansing City Manager.
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.