Lansing and East Lansing voters are facing divergent choices to move the values of democratic representation, inclusion, and regional cooperation in different directions as they head to the polls this year and next with their respective city charters.
Lansing’s Charter Review Commission has proposed a new city charter that would remove the City of East Lansing, Delta Township, and other local municipalities from non-voting representation on the Board of Water & Light (BWL) Board of Commissioners.
If voters approve the charter, which contains numerous other provisions in an all-or-nothing vote, these communities will lose their seat at the governing table of this important public utility…