East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Grigsby warned that moving City Council elections to even-numbered years could make it harder for candidates without major fundraising operations to compete.

Grigsby and Councilmember Kerry Ebersole Singh shared those concerns at a Friday, Sept. 25, community forum attended by about 10 residents, East Lansing Info reported. A citizen-led charter amendment on the November ballot would shift council races from odd to even years, aligning them with state and federal elections.

Grigsby said competing in even years means local messages about neighborhoods and community priorities get drowned out. "I have really big concerns about going to even years in regards to that being lost," he said.

His own campaign relied on door-to-door canvassing without major donors, Grigsby said. The switch would force local hopefuls to compete for attention alongside state and federal candidates, making it harder for newcomers to break in.

Singh said the initiative is an important effort to boost turnout but added that she is not strongly committed to either side. She raised a practical wrinkle: East Lansing council races are nonpartisan, so voters who cast a straight-party ticket would not automatically vote in the council race.

"Doing the straight ticket won't touch the City Council races, so that's a voter engagement education piece too that has to be considered," Singh said.

Singh recalled that when she ran in 2023, she attended campus debates and spoke to student groups, yet campus precincts saw only a handful of votes. She said she would have preferred extending the terms of newly elected members rather than sitting council members. Under Michigan law, council terms cannot be shortened, which is why the initiative extends current members' terms by one year for a 2028 switch.

The group behind the measure, Let East Lansing Vote, organized in spring 2026. Its organizing team includes MSU political scientists Sarah Reckhow and Nazita Lajevardi along with other local organizers. Liam Richichi, with the group, told The State News the change could save the city $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Richichi said odd-year turnout ranges from 20% to 25%, while even-year turnout can reach 60% to 75%, according to East Lansing Info.

An opposition group, Keep Local Elections Local, registered with the state in the week before the forum. Its treasurer is former East Lansing Mayor Liz Schweitzer, who served from 1989 to 1993.

$309 million stormwater plan

The forum also covered the city's $309 million Wet Weather Resiliency Plan, a draft proposal with five large infrastructure projects that officials have said could take decades to complete. Mayor Erik Altmann noted at a Sept. 15 council meeting that the price tag is roughly double the city's total annual budget.

Grigsby said the city has relied on short-term fixes for years and no longer has the infrastructure to handle extreme weather. Singh said the federal government no longer provides direct community funding for stormwater work but noted the Michigan State Revolving Fund would let the city borrow at a reduced rate. She called the effort a long-term process.

The council has not yet formally adopted the plan. No date has been announced for a vote on adoption.