Washington: ‘I would not run against my son-in-law’ 

TUESDAY, Dec. 10 — Outgoing Lansing City Councilwoman Jody Washington is shying away from any immediate plans to run for the Ingham County Board of Commissioners after first floating the idea last week. 

In a recent interview with City Pulse, Washington said she might run, which could have pitted her against her son-in-law and first-term incumbent Thomas Morgan. But after staying silent on the issue for several days, Washington now wants to set the record straight. 

“I am not running next year, and I would not run against my son-in-law,” Washington posted to Facebook earlier this afternoon. She said that Morgan “is doing a fine job representing us. If he chose not to run next year or in the future, I would certainly consider it. If I move out of this district, I would consider it.” 

Newcomer Brandon Betz defeated Washington handily in the General Election last month. Beyond the county commission, Washington has also mentioned candidacies on the Lansing School Board as she wraps up her second term on the Council, which ends Dec. 31. Until today, Washington declined to elaborate much about those ambitions. 

The Board of Commissioners is “much bigger and you can leverage the entire county,” Washington said previously. But she ignored subsequent questions about whether she’d be willing to run against Morgan or whether she has plans to relocate to another Ingham County commission district to face another challenger.  

Today, she again floated the concept of a county or school board campaign, but clarified that she’d ultimately have to pause her county commission aspirations ambitions until either Morgan left or she moved elsewhere in the county.  

“If it weren’t for me, you’d have nothing to write about,” Washington added.