LANSING, Mich. — Lansing Mayor Andy Schor has started his second term and he has some short term goals.
“You know, we’ve been doing the job for four years, so it’s not like we’re coming in fresh,” Schor said. “There is no need for us to come in and learn how the city works, because we already know.”
Schor said he has goals for the first 90 days of his second term, including growth in the city, which he discussed during his campaign. In Schor’s eyes, growth and economic development go hand in hand.
“What I want to get through is making sure we can grow our city,” Schor said. “I’d love to see us land a new battery plant here with GM and we have and will continue to make sure we put the best offer on table.”
Schor also hopes to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. He said there will be more equity and diversity trainings for city employees and there will also be work done externally.
“We’ve sent an ordinance to city council, to create a diversity, equity and inclusion board, which will do a lot of work on the external issues that was identified in the external scan of the city,” Schor said.
Lastly, Schor hopes to decrease gun violence in the city. Last year, Lansing had a record high 23 gun deaths . Schor said bringing in more staff with the police department will help.
“We’ll have some conversations about making sure we’re fully staffed,” Schor said. “Making sure we are fully staffed, which we are very close. We have some academy officers coming out and we are also hiring some qualified officers.”
Kyle Melinn. the editor of the Michigan Information and Research Service, said, "the perception is more officers on the street will help reduce more gun violence, whether that’s a one on one correlation, I don’t know if you can really say that, but I think it helps perception, and it helps people feel safe."
Melinn has been following politics in Lansing for nearly two decades sand said, if Schor meets most of those goals, it’s likely he will improve his relationship with residents.
“I don’t think he has a negative reputation and I don’t think he’s viewed as the best mayor we’ve ever had, but following Virg Bernero, his leadership style is different and if he gets some significant accomplishments this term, it will improve his reputation,” Melinn said.
