LANSING, Mich. — 11 people are hoping to be chosen as the new Ward 1 Lansing City Council member Brandon Betz tendered his resignation earlier this month.
Next week, all of the candidates will be interviewed by the Council.
Fox 47 News caught up with two of the candidates hoping to step into the role of representing the 1st Ward for the next year.
Brian Daniels is a military vet who runs the Empower Gym on East Michigan Avenue.
He says he’s hoping to make the city safer and focus on the local economy.
“I have an 8-year-old son who lives in the first Ward and I want to make sure that he can play safely outside. There are a lot of kids who are dealing with the struggles of the violence we’ve seen. I want to make sure they are also getting the support they need,” said Daniels.
Daniels says he hopes to enlist non-profits to help him meet his goals and plans to use his business as a place where kids can come to get off the street.
Sam Klahn is a lifelong Lansing resident who is a caregiver and community activist.
“I know a lot of friends in the first Ward that have to navigate social security, Medicaid, and disability and they stay home when they need to go to the doctor because they are worried about paying for it. They are worried about insurance or a doctor,” said Klahn.
Aside from improving access to healthcare Klahn wants to focus on education by finding ways to support teachers and students.
City Council president, Adam Hussein, says there will be special sessions next week where the candidates will be interviewed twice.
The plan is to swear in the new appointee on February 1st
“We will interview those folks on Monday January 31st. At the end of that meeting Council members will take a vote by paper ballot. We will sign those ballots and then they’ll be read into the record. Each Councilmember will be able to vote for up to three of their favorites.,” said Hussein.
There are 11 people vying for the Ward 1 seat.
They include: Undra Brown, Brian Daniels, Benjamin Dowd, Caitlin Cavanagh, LaSandra Jones, Ryan Kost, Samuel Klahn, Glenn Lopez, John Schneider, Farhan Sheikh-Omar, and Tirstan Waters.
The top vote getters will be brought back in the next day for a more in-depth interview.
Council will vote again.
The candidate with the most votes will be the appointee and be sworn in that day.
The Ward 1 appointee will serve the rest of the year on Council but will have to run in the general election to remain in that seat for 2023.
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