LANSING, Mich. — Linda Keefe has been removed from two elected offices, one because she wasn't eligible to run in the first place, one because other elected officials said wasn't performing her duties.
Now she’s running for at at-large seat on Lansing’s City Council.
Keefe says she came to Lansing to go to law school because she had political ambitions and thought getting a law degree would help her to achieve her goals.
Before finishing, Keefe decided to run for office and won.
She says climate change and inequality are two of her top priorities.
"There’s lots of issues certainly to deal with but another one high on my priority is poverty. One out of four people that lives in Lansing is poor," Keefe said.
This isn’t the first time Keefe has run for office.
She was elected to the Ingham County Commission in 1996 but was removed from the office after two courts ruled she wasn't a resident of the district when she filed to run.
“It was matter at the time of me being encouraged to run and the county party wasn’t sure what seat they wanted me to run for," Keefe said. "So there was a timing issue but I was definitely in the district when I was on the ballot.”
She was elected Windsor Township Clerk in 2012 but was sued by some members of the community who claimed she wasn’t doing her job properly.
Keefe was removed by the township board in 2013.
She has a degree in psychology from Castleton University and has worked in the nonprofit world and education. Currently, Keefe works at Holt High school helping to monitor hallways and making sure social distancing happens while students are in the building.
She’s hoping to accomplish her goals for change in Lansing by enlisting the help of the community and her colleagues.
“First off I have to get elected," she said with a laugh. "Number two is to create some buy-in on the City Council itself. I know there are members who are concerned about climate change."
Keefe and seven other candidates are running for two at-large City Council seats in the upcoming election.
The top four candidates in the Aug. 3 primary will move on to the general election in November.
The seats come with a four-year term.
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