Ross Announces Candidacy for EL City Council

Steve Ross has announced his candidacy for East Lansing City Council. The election will be November 3 and three seats will be up for grabs: those currently held by Mayor Nathan Triplett, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris, and Councilmember Kathy Boyle. Councilmembers serve for four-year terms.

In a recent interview, Ross told me that as an MSU student, his concept of East Lansing was campus and a small stretch of restaurants and bars on Grand River Avenue. Today, as a year-round resident, professional and soon-to-be father, he said his worldview has dramatically expanded.

“What was important to you in college isn’t any more,” said the 28-year-old Shaw Estates homeowner and political consultant about his two lives in East Lansing. “Life is very different as a resident. I’m going to raise my family in this community. I want to be able to walk my dog and not trip over the sidewalk.”

According to Ross, it is his ability to bridge the gap between the students’ East Lansing and the daily life of full-time residents is what makes him an ideal candidate for East Lansing City Council.

“It is easy to get grumpy about students but I have to remember that they are an important part of our community. I was a student not too long ago, hopefully not that annoying. I certainly can offer the different perspectives of a student, home owner, business owner and now parent,” Ross said.

Ross met his wife in East Lansing in 2008, shortly after receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science from MSU. Both worked on President Obama’s campaign and remained friends as Ross followed Obama to Washington D.C. to work in the White House Travel Office.

“In college, I was 100 percent sure I would be in D.C. my whole life, living ‘House of Cards.’ I really enjoyed working for the President but I missed a few things about home: I missed friends and family and I missed the Midwest,” Ross said.

He came home in 2009 to open his own political consulting company and become the campaign manager for his future wife Penelope Tsernoglou, the Ingham County Commissioner for District 8.

Ross is now a partner in Practical Political Consulting with East Lansing politician Mark Grebner. Although he has worked on many political campaigns, this is the first time he has considered running for office himself.

“I think our city has reached an important changing point. There is exciting conversation going on right now about where our city is going and I want to be part of this conversation. I’ve talked to a number of people who have convinced me that my voice might be important,” he said.

Specifically, he said he wants to be an advocate for the residents who make the heart of the city. As he knocked on doors, he found many concerns echoed over and over.

“Many, many people are concerned that Council isn’t listening to its citizens, to its taxpayers. They feel ignored and neighborhoods given second place to other interests,” he said. “People are telling me about sidewalks crumbling, sewage issues and parks not maintained. They see multimillion developers get TIFs to build things that they might not agree with. I want to be a voice for these people.”

Ross wants to ensure that neighborhoods are the top priority for the city, while still balancing the needs of small business owners, students and MSU.

In addition to his political work, Ross and Tsernoglou are very active in animal rescue groups. He is working to improve and possibly move the facilities at Ingham County Animal Shelter. They throw an annual Halloween party to benefit homeless animals, which has overgrown his home and is now held at the University Club. They share their home with a rescued pit bull and two cats.

Ross says he also enjoys biking and wants to work to make sure the biking and hiking trails around the region are improved, maintained and interconnected.

For more information about Steve Ross, you can go to his campaign website www.steverossforeastlansing.com or his Facebook page, Steve Ross for East Lansing City Council.