Mayoral Candidates Call for Youth Investment, Police Accountability After String of Shootings in Lansing

 

By 1320 WILS News Staff

Public safety dominated conversation at Monday night’s Lansing mayoral candidate forum, hosted by the NAACP at Union Missionary Baptist Church, following a rash of shootings across the city. Incumbent Mayor Andy Schor and challengers Brett Brockschmidt, Kelsey Hector, and Dave Ellis addressed how they would tackle rising gun violence and rebuild trust in city institutions.

“We want to prevent the illegal guns from getting on the streets,” Schor said, reflecting on how disagreements among young people now too often escalate into gunfire. “When we were all young, you get into a fight. Now everybody pulls out guns and they're all shooting at each other.”

Challenger Brett Brockschmidt emphasized the need for youth investment.
“Our youth have to have more to do and have to have hope,” he said. “We need to have more job programs, more recreational activities at the parks.”

Kelsey Hector called for deeper engagement with young residents.
“You can't go into a room with kids and tell them what to do. You need to have a conversation—a back and forth,” she said. “Kids know what they need and what they're interested in. We just need to give them the trust and power to step into that.”

Candidate Dave Ellis cited his personal experience with delayed police response to underscore a need for better transparency and accountability.
“I called the police [after an incident where a driver tried to hit me]. It took them four hours to respond, and they didn’t file a report,” Ellis said. “Why is that? I can't trust the police department when there's not the level of transparency we need to be demanding.”

More reaction to the forum is expected later today, as 1320 WILS’s Mike Austin will speak with NAACP’s Natasha Atkinson for a full recap.

Meanwhile, the Lansing City Clerk’s Office reports that around 15,000 absentee ballots for the upcoming August primary have yet to be returned. Voters have until Election Night—Tuesday, August 5th—to drop off ballots at any of the city’s 13 drop boxes, available 24/7.

In other local news, the Lansing City Council has approved new landlord relocation insurance requirements. Effective immediately upon license renewal or issuance, landlords must either purchase rental relocation insurance or agree to reimburse the city up to $2,550 if tenants must be relocated due to unsafe housing conditions.

Elsewhere in Lansing, Michigan’s first electric airplane charging station is being unveiled today at Capital Region International Airport. Vermont-based Beta Technologies received state funding to demonstrate its electric aircraft and launch the new charger.

Finally, Ingham County officials are looking to address a critical staffing shortage at the county’s 911 dispatch center. The Board of Commissioners is considering a $550,000 contract to bring in temporary dispatchers over a six-month period. The center currently employs 39 dispatchers, although it is budgeted for 52, with only 25 fully trained.

And in Mason, day three of the Ingham County Fair is underway, with tonight’s highlight being pro wrestling at the grandstand at 7 p.m.