Lansing Mayor

As if Lansing needs another punch in the stomach, PBS Newsman Jim Lehrer is bringing his schtick to the Lansing Center next month so 200 locals can tell public television how crummy life is in the middle of Michigan, the world's former auto manufacturing capital.

That’s all the more reason we need as mayor a leader who’s willing to take some chances, break a couple of eggs and do what it takes to carry Lansing out of its Rust Belt shadow.

On that front, we like what we've seen from Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero so far, and that's why City Pulse is endorsing him for a second term.

We appreciate the Type-A, chief executive officer mentality Bernero brings to this job. Yes, he's abrasive and runs his mouth when silence would suit him better, but Lansing must have a strong leader with a clear vision if it wants to escape this growing reputation as being a place in need of America's pity.

Yes, two of our once-industrious auto plants are flattened urban wastelands. It's a long shot that anything productive comes out of either site any time soon, but we like our chances better with Bernero behind center.

For one, Bernero has been able to surround himself with capable people to run the city, such as Bob Trezise, the president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Development Corp.; Bob Johnson, the director of planning and neighborhood development; Finance Director Jerry Ambrose; and J. Peter Lark at the Board of Water and Light. Their openness to new ideas and creative approaches — exemplified by the Ottawa Power Station project — have brought life back to Lansing.

For his bull-in-a-china-shop swagger, Bernero is grown up enough to know when he's gone too far. He apologizes when he's gotten out of line. It's not a replacement for simply being more diplomatic in the first place, but it's a start.

We also would hope that his working relationship with all members of the Lansing City Council improves in his second term. There's no reason a long, productive meeting with Councilman Brian Jefferies couldn't have saved the Lansing Community College parking ramp sale, for example.

Returning to weekly meetings with Council members, as David Hollister once had, would show a different type of strength in leadership that Bernero should make himself open to.

He may not always agree with Councilwoman Carol Wood, but she and the other seven members have good ideas, too.

Speaking of Wood, Bernero's opponent this year, we appreciate her strong contributions on the Lansing City Council and hope she, too, shows a willingness to bury the hatchet if her '09 campaign is not successful. Times are too tough in this city to not work together. Once the voters speak, the pettiness needs to be silenced. Seriously.

We Pick Virg Bernero

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Lansing City Council - 2nd Ward

Again, in another tough decision, we are urging the voters in the Second Ward to pick Tina Houghton, a fresh face with a community involvement resume as long as your arm. As long as the Michigan State University program coordinator is willing and able to put in the hours needed to be an effective member of Council, she will be a very strong addition to the body.

We commend incumbent Sandy Allen for her 16 years on the Lansing City Council. Her service to the south side cannot be understated. However, her resistance to obvious improvements needed on Northrup Street was troubling. A few residents may have liked the "rural feel" of their city street, but sidewalks, curbs and bike lanes are modern-day safety features that cities install to keep children and others from getting run down by automobiles.

We Pick Tina Houghton

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Lansing City Council - At-Large

Voters cannot accuse Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar of being overly secretive. You want to know her opinion? On anything? Ask her. She'll tell you, unedited.

In her first four years, Dunbar has distinguished herself as a strong, compassionate public official who is speaking up for the city and the causes she believes in. Her leadership on the Human Rights Ordinance gave the LGBT community a boost in stature. Her support of the mayor's policy borders on appearing to be a rubber stamp, but she is, in the end, a supporter of progress, so City Pulse has no reservations about supporting her.

We recommend incumbent Brian Jeffries, although the temptation to back former Council President Harold Leeman was strong because of his track record as a progressive. (For Leeman, we urge that he give another look at the First Ward seat he lost in 2007.)

Jeffries is a sharp, personable and dedicated member of Council, but the Frances Park vote, his first vote on the LCC parking ramp issue and then his antics in cutting a side deal on the ramp gave us pause. Still, be ultimately supported the administration’s ramp proposal, which is a sign of reasonableness badly needed on Council. We urge Jeffries to continue in that direction. His strong abilities and contributions to the city are wasted when they result in the mayor and half of the Council swimming upstream.

Four years from now, we hope Brian Jeffries has established a reputation as the Council’s swing vote.

We Pick Brian Jeffries and Kathie Dunbar

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Lansing City Council - 4th Ward

In Jessica Yorko, the Fourth Ward has someone who has at 30 a long list of accomplishments in the name of progressive causes. Nobody could possibly be more energetic and capable than Yorko. A concern is that she has a lot of sticks in the fire through her employment with Northwest Initiative and the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council, but we trust she knows which ones to pull out to avoid conflicts of interest.

We Pick Jessica Yorko

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Lansing City Clerk

What a night-and-day difference in the city clerk's office with Swope in charge. The fact nobody opted to run against Swope is a testament to the professional way in which he's running this office.

We Pick Chris Swope

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LCC Board of Trustees

The so-called union slate brings to the table a commitment to more open dialogue that we believe is missing on the Lansing Community College board.

Make no mistake, we are not endorsing a return of the petty battles of pre-Jerry Hollister days. Our concern is that under Deb Canja's leadership, too many decisions are made behind closed doors under the veil of "attorney-client privilege." Urging for congeniality on the board in 2007 didn't mean creating a sterile board devoid of public debate and discussion.

City Pulse can speak to the intelligence and strong work ethic of our former reporter and managing editor, Thomas Patrick Morgan. As long as he is able to maintain his independence despite his current employment at Byrum & Fisk Advocacy Communications and avoid being a mouthpiece for the unions, he'll be a positive contribution to the board. Incumbent Robert Proctor's support from both labor and business groups should speak for itself in that he's a unifying figure. His vote against domestic partner benefits nearly disqualified him from our backing, but we would hope that Proctor and the rest of the board make amends by helping lead LCC to adopt a new policy like Michigan State University's, which, in order to comply with 2004’s Proposal 2, takes sexual orientation out of the equation in providing benefits.

Lawrence Hidalgo also has strong union ties, but we find him, like Morgan and Proctor, intelligent and reasonable. Moreover, regardless of who wins, the board will still be in the hands of a largely centrist majority. Unions are not perfect, but they are part of the progressive Democratic family. We’re disappointed that some lifelong Democrats, including Mayor Virg Bernero, are opposing Democrats because of their union support.

Finally, we side with Morgan-Hidalgo-Proctor in being open to a tuition increase that painful though it may be makes more sense than laying off more LCC faculty and staff members.

We Pick Thomas Morgan, Robert Proctor and Lawrence Hidalgo

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Lansing School Board

Say what you will about the eccentric Amy Hodgin, her knowledge of the board's dynamics and her willingness to keep the heat on board President Hugh Clarke alone earn her another four years on the board. At times during this dysfunctional year, Hodgin seemed to be the only board member able to fully grasp what was going on with this school district's volatile leadership situation. Some things count more than being a team player.

The return of Myra Ford to the school board will be a welcome addition for 2010 as she works with Hodgin and the other board members to make the Lansing School District a place parents feel comfortable sending their children to.

As a former administrator, Nino Rodriguez is a comfortable choice for the final spot on the board. He's showing a lot of interest in the seat based on his relatively high-profile campaign, compared to that of the final candidate on the ballot, Ted O'Dell, whose inability to get his name out is typically telling.

We Pick Amy Hodgin, Nino Rodriguez and Myra Ford