Following this morning’s City Council meeting where Council members voted 3-2 to name Robert Belleman over Tim Dempsey as the next city manager, ELi reached out for reactions from candidates who are running for City Council seats in the November election.
As ELi reported earlier today (Aug. 13), Mayor Ron Bacon and Councilmembers Dana Watson and Noel Garcia voted in favor of Belleman. Bacon is functioning as a lame duck, as he has already decided not to run again, but Garcia is hoping to retain his seat in November’s election.
“I sat through all the interviews,” former East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said in a telephone interview. “I attended the community meeting with the candidates. But to say anything other than that I am anything other than astonished would be an understatement.
“In my estimation of all the candidates’ interviews…the only person who demonstrated a real knowledge of the community and the needs of the organization, was of course Tim Dempsey, who I would have chosen. We’re trying to correct the ship. Tim clearly had the knowledge, background, and capability to do that. Belleman knows nothing about East Lansing. He was the seventh candidate. He only got an interview because others dropped out.”
Meadows was referring to the fact that Belleman was the second alternate chosen by Council, after Council chose five finalists and two alternates. It was only because one of the finalists chosen and the first alternate dropped out that Belleman landed an interview.
Candidate Erik Altmann, former mayor pro tem of East Lansing, shared Meadows’s assessment. In his comments, Altmann referred to reports that Belleman was recently fired over charges of creating a toxic workplace environment.
“The current Council is a lame duck Council because two of the incumbents are retiring,” Altmann said in a telephone interview. “They should have deferred this decision to the next Council. There’s no reason not to, the election is just a couple of months away. It’s hard to imagine a worst choice by the Council. The staff has been decimated because of toxic work environments and they hired someone fired because of toxic work environment. My message to city staff is ‘hang on, there will be a new council in the coming months.’
“I would have hired Tim Dempsey. He has the support of the city staff and has institutional memory,” Altmann said.
ELi broke the news to candidate Joshua Ramirez-Roberts about the hiring of Belleman during a previously-scheduled Zoom interview.
“Was that the guy who got fired [in Saginaw] for running a toxic work environment?” Ramirez-Roberts asked. “That seems about in line, right? With all the staff turnover, let’s hire the guy that got fired for creating a toxic work environment.”
With disbelief in his voice, he asked, “They didn’t choose Tim Dempsey?”
Candidate Rebecca Kasen, recently named to the East Lansing Human Rights Commission, also had not heard the news until ELi reached her by phone.
“I respect the current Council and the decision they made,” Kasen said.
Candidate Kerry Singh expressed disappointment and pragmatism in an email response to ELi.
“With there so much change on the ballot this November,” Singh wrote, “I would’ve preferred having the new council vet the finalists prior to moving forward with an offer to a candidate. With that said, by Charter this council is elected to serve till a new council is elected in November and now that the council has moved forward with a selection of a candidate I look forward to working with the city manager and across the ranks of city staff in forging a bright future for our community.”
Candidate Dan Bollman did not comment before publication and ELi was not able to reach Candidate Chris Wardell. This article will be updated with their comments if we receive them.
ELi also reached out to Councilmember Garcia who is running for a full term on Council after being appointed earlier this year. Garcia, who voted in support of Belleman, did not return ELi’s call.
Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg, who has decided not to run for reelection in November, took to Facebook to reflect on the selection.
“I preferred Mr. Dempsey, but my three of my fellow Councilmembers preferred Mr. Belleman,” she wrote. “I am disappointed. Learning to work with a new manager will be a lot of extra work for our strained staff, and Mr. Belleman will have a hard road ahead of him to build the relationships that he’ll need to build to bring people together and move our City forward. I know that there are many people in our community who are also unhappy with this decision, since we received many letters in support of Mr. Dempsey.
“The one thing that I have always asked of my fellow Councilmembers is that they vote true to their heart and their conscience. I do not resent people for having a different path forward than I do. I hope that our community will not take out their disappointment on Mr. Belleman and that they will give him the tools and support that he needs to succeed in this role.”
