Whelan, Grigsby Elected to City Council; Voters Reject Parks Millage
East Lansing has new leadership.
Voters elected Steve Whelan and Chuck Grigsby to serve on the East Lansing City Council from a field of six candidates, according to unofficial results reported on the county clerk’s website. Whelan and Grigsby will join Kerry Ebersole Singh, Mark Meadows and Erik Altmann on council.
Whelan was the leading vote getter with 2,609 votes. Grigsby received 2,335 votes to earn the second slot.

Whelan and Grigsby finished ahead of Adam DeLay with 1,732 votes, Liam Richichi with 1,702 votes, Joshua Ramirez-Roberts with 1,693 votes and Kath Edsall with 1,587 votes.
Whelan and Grigsby will replace outgoing Mayor George Brookover and Councilmember Dana Watson, who did not seek reelection. At the new council’s first meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 18, the five-member body will select a mayor and mayor pro tem among themselves. Singh currently serves as mayor pro tem.

Parks and recreation millage soundly defeated.
While millages usually pass easily in East Lansing, voters soundly rejected a proposed parks and recreation millage, with 61% of voters against the millage and 39% in favor.
The millage would have helped the city alleviate its financial challenges by shifting its general fund contribution to parks and recreation to money raised by the millage.

Had the millage passed, it would have increased the property tax cap currently in place by two mills. The millage also would have insulated the parks department from potential cuts the city may need to make to balance its budget.
