Nine takeaways from the Lansing mayoral debate

FRIDAY, June 25 — Five of the six mayoral candidates facing off in the August primary election  engaged in a largely polite — but occasionally pointed — live, televised debate last night  Residents can rewatch the debate in its entirety at fox47news.com/lansing2021.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor outlined his reelection platform and defended himself from challengers and City Council members Kathie Dunbar and Patricia Spitzley along with local psychologist Melissa Huber and community activist Farhan Sheikh-Omar. The sixth candidate — Larry Hutchinson Jr. — was not allowed to attend the debate in accordance with legal advice. 

Managing Editor Kyle Kaminski and MIRS News Editor Kyle Melinn helped formulate the questions alongside a panel of journalists at FOX 47 News. Here are nine takeaways:

The challengers want to drive change in the Capital City. 

Each challenger has problems with Mayor Andy Schor’s leadership in his first term. And each  had an opportunity to name the single most pressing issue facing the city.

Huber said she wants to hire a city manager and bring “ethical change” to local politics. And more important than actually winning, she wants to bring people together, she said.

Spitzley addressed several “challenges” with Schor’s leadership, including rising rates of gun violence and a lack of transparency and accountability. She wants to work collaboratively with the community and make “tough” financial decisions. 

Dunbar said Lansing needs a leader with “vision and purpose” — someone willing to enact bold initiatives to address complex challenges. The city operates under a strong mayor form of government, but Schor has not been a strong mayor, she said. She wants to transform the “rudderless” direction at City Hall with compassion and empathy.

Sheikh-Omar, who took on Schor more directly than any of the others, said Lansing is “weaker and less prosperous” than it was before Schor took office in 2018. If elected, he wants to focus on public safety reforms to reduce rising rates of gun violence and ease tensions that have led to racial discrimination lawsuits against the city. 

Schor spent most of his time touting accomplishments from the last four years, noting that there is still more work to be done over the next four years — including strengthening neighborhoods, creating more job opportunities and improving city infrastructure like local sidewalks and roads.

Three candidates support police divestment.

Only Huber, Dunbar and Sheikh-Omar said they support reducing funding for the Police Department. Schor and Spitzley each support reforms — but not through police divestment. 

Schor said he has been “progressive” with police reforms by prohibiting officers from stopping residents for secondary traffic infractions like a broken taillight and by hiring two social workers. He also voiced plans to hire five more cops this year — all things that take money, he explained.

“People expect officers when they call 911,” Schor explained. “We need to have the resources.”

Spitzley said she wants to “transform” public safety in Lansing by establishing new community programs and closing the lockup beneath City Hall, which she expects would save $3 million annually. She also wants to hire more community police officers and expand the cold case unit.

Huber, Dunbar and Sheikh-Omar all think the Police Department budget is too large. Huber wants to “gradually and incrementally” reallocate some of those funds to unspecified programs and services that aim to prevent crimes before they begin and bolster response times.

Dunbar contends more police officers don’t necessarily equate to safer neighborhoods — evidenced by the record-breaking 16 homicides tracked in Lansing so far this year. With a sense of urgency, she plans to reallocate portions of the police budget to other programs and services. 

Sheikh-Omar said police officers don’t ensure safety or prevent crime in Lansing, evidenced in part by at least 75 unsolved homicide cases currently assigned to a single city investigator. He stressed the importance of redirecting those resources to “community-led intervention” programs designed to prevent crime before it occurs, rather than respond after it happens.

 Schor finally seems to understand the definition of “equity.”

Schor admitted that he was “not prepared” for a live encounter last year with members of the Lansing chapter of Black Lives Matter. After he botched the definition of “equity” and failed to adequately respond to several questions on that call, Black Lives Matter leaders called for Schor to resign. 

This year, it appears Schor has learned the definition of equity — in that it means not just that everyone is equal under the law, but rather it signifies a leveling of the playing field and providing higher levels of resources to historically disenfranchised segments of the community.

He touted the city’s “Neighborhoods of Focus” program in which specific areas of the city are targeted for various beautification and engagement efforts. Most recently, that program was expanded to include areas surrounding Willow and Walnut streets and Comstock Park. 

Huber wants to dismantle the Mayor’s Office altogether.

Huber appears to be the only mayoral candidate who supports a revision to the City Charter that would subvert executive power from the Mayor’s Office, instead handing the reins to an unelected city manager who is appointed by and answers exclusively to the City Council. 

With a city manager, “weak mayors” can still exist, but they’re effectively reduced to just another member of the legislative body. Like in East Lansing, they serve in a largely symbolic leadership role that wields mostly ceremonial authorities. It’s not much more than a formal title or a sash. 

Fundamentally shifting the structure of city government would eliminate the politics behind the Mayor’s Office and ensure a “professional” can run the city rather than whichever candidate is capable of raising the most money and rubbing the most political shoulders, Huber suggested. 

“The electoral system is not working,” Huber said. “I’d have more faith in a professional.”

Sheikh-Omar challenges Schor  on racial issues

As a self-identified “citizen activist,” Sheikh-Omar didn’t hold back any punches for the mayor. Throughout last night’s debate, he repeatedly criticized Schor for being named in several racial discrimination lawsuits by current and former city employees. He also slammed Schor for a lack of transparency surrounding the in-custody death of Anthony Hulon beneath City Hall last year. Schor has been reluctant to discuss pending litigation and didn’t attempt to make any rebuttal. 

Dunbar denies sexual harassment allegations.

Stemming from claims that date back more than a decade ago, local independent newspaper publisher Rina Risper has accused Dunbar of sexual harassment and repeatedly using the N-word — among other racially offensive tropes. Dunbar has denied those allegations.

Last night, she doubled down on those denials, noting Risper’s claims were simply “not true.”

Dunbar also said she herself was a “survivor” of some form of sexual aggression and questioned why Risper waited more than 15 years to publicly voice any of her allegations. 

“She ran against me in 2009. This never came up,” Dunbar said, referring to the Council race 12 years ago. “I have to wonder: Why?”

Risper also attended last night’s debate in person as one of Huber’s two guests and could be heard quietly muttering about Dunbar and City Pulse throughout most of the program. 

Spitzley responds to Black Lives Matter criticism. 

Leaders of the local Black Lives Matter chapter have been reluctant to support Spitzley’s campaign — recently criticizing her in public Facebook posts for failing to advance anything of substance as a city councilwoman and for “playing politics with our children’s lives” in Lansing.

Spitzley said she welcomes the critique but  disagreed with the premise. She chairs two Council committees and initiated a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis among other legislative items — proof that she’s doing her job as a councilwoman. 

“I think that as a leader, you have to be able to take criticism and then try to do better,” she said. 

Schor has no regrets over his early COVID-19 vaccination. 

Schor and 199 other city employees accepted an invitation in January to receive an early dose of the COVID-19 vaccine despite failing to meet any of the state eligibility criteria for the shot. At the time, about 50,000 other eligible residents were waiting in line for their turn for a vaccination. 

 Schor said that he made sure he was last in line for the shot — which was only offered by Sparrow Health Systems on a “use-it-or-lose-it” basis.

Last night, Schor expressed no remorse for skipping the queue, insisting that a shot in the arm — regardless of eligibility restrictions — was a shot well used. Plus, he didn’t want to set a bad example for his own employees while he was actively encouraging them to get vaccinated. 

“When the offer came, I took it to show them it’s the right thing to do,” Schor explained.

Candidates  have big plans for next year’s city budget. 

They were asked which specific portions of the city’s budget would be reduced or protected from future budget cuts under their mayoral administration in 2022.

Schor doesn’t want to cut any portion of the budget and wants to protect funding for the Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement.

Huber wants to keep a close eye on federal grant funding but didn’t identify any specific portions of the budget that deserve to be slashed. She also wants to shield parks and recreation funding.

Spitzley also didn’t outline any future budget cuts, but she sided with Schor on wanting to secure as much funding as possible for the Department of Neighborhoods and Citizen Engagement. 

Dunbar and Sheikh-Omar want to slash Police Department funding. Dunbar would shield funding for the Department of Human Relations and Community Services. Sheikh-Omar said he would ensure adequate funding for the Fire Department and for repairing sidewalks and roads. 

 Spitzley hugged Mayor Andy Schor.

Spitzley was the first candidate to take the stage before the debate began and was the only challenger to embrace the mayor in a heartfelt hug before the program started. Huber shook Schor’s hand. Dunbar and Sheikh-Omar, instead, kept their distance from the mayor altogether. 

Absentee ballots are due back at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 3. The top two vote-getters from the primary will advance to the general election on Nov. 2. Click here for more election analysis.