Lansing City Council President Peter Spadafore has his eyes set on a second year with the presidential gavel as the Council prepares to elect its leaders for 2021.<\/p>\n
And so far, it doesn\u2019t appear that any of his colleagues are planning to shake up the status quo.<\/p>\n
Spadafore, 35, was elected at-large to the City Council in 2017 and was unanimously elected by his colleagues in January to serve as its president \u2014 taking the gavel from Councilwoman Carol Wood, who has said that she doesn\u2019t plan to seek re-election when her term expires in 2024.<\/p>\n
In an interview with City Pulse this week, Spadafore expressed his interest in another year as president, largely to maintain some semblance of \u201cconsistency\u201d after a turbulent year, he explained. And with less than a month before the vote, he\u2019s the only one who wants the gig.<\/p>\n
The Council is expected to elect its next president and vice president on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it no secret to my colleagues that I\u2019d like a second term as president,\u201d Spadafore added. \u201cThat\u2019s really what I\u2019ve been asking: Do you think I did a good job and do you think I can do it again next year? For consistency, and also because I think we\u2019ve all worked well together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Patricia Spitzley, with plans to launch a mayoral campaign against Mayor Andy Schor next year, said she isn\u2019t interested in serving as president or vice president. Council members Brandon Betz and Brian Jackson also said they don\u2019t want leadership positions.<\/p>\n
Wood, as usual, didn\u2019t return calls to City Pulse for this story. It\u2019s unlikely, however, that she would be interested in rising to the occasion \u2014 especially after having already served two years as City Council president before passing the torch to Spadafore at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n
Vice President Adam Hussain has also voiced support for another year under Spadafore.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be wise to support President Spadafore in serving a second year as president,\u201d Hussain said. \u201cHe\u2019s done a nice job during what was a very difficult year and, when things are stormy and the road ahead is challenging, I believe it is beneficial to lean on consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for keeping his role as vice president? \u201cI am looking forward to the discussion,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe position is at times about having future leaders mentored by more seasoned members of the Council, and other times it is about making sure you have the strongest individual in the position at the current time in order to tackle the issues facing the Council and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spitzley and Betz each said they\u2019d be willing to support another year with Spadafore as president. Jackson said he hadn\u2019t given it much thought, but also suggested Hussain as president. Council members Jeremy Garza and Kathie Dunbar didn\u2019t return calls this week.<\/p>\n
If re-elected president, Spadafore would wield more than ceremonial gavel authorities. The president is also empowered to appoint committee members and control the city government agenda, ultimately deciding what specific issues land on the Council\u2019s radar over the year.<\/p>\n
The vice president and president are also paid more than other Council members. Hussain collected $26,772 this year. Spadafore made $28,369. Next year, those salaries will increase to $27,334 and $28,965, respectively, while the other six Council members earn $26,552 annually.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lansing City Council President Peter Spadafore has his eyes set on a second year with the presidential gavel…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n