The Lansing City Committee of the Whole elected Council member Ryan Cost as council president and Council member Carter as vice president during a Jan. 6 meeting that included multiple nomination rounds and roll-call tallies before a final unanimous vote approving the resolution.

The leadership election followed an initial round of nominations for president that produced no majority. Council member Jackson said she preferred “someone new” for the leadership roles. Council member Garza nominated Adam Hussain and said of him: “Adam Hussain ... he is not up for reelection next year, so that was one of my big deciding factors.” After the first roll-call for president, no candidate received a majority: three votes for Jeff Brown, three for Adam Hussain and two for Council member Spadafore, so nominations were cleared and reopened.

Council member Adam Hussain then described his view of council leadership during his nomination speech, emphasizing preparedness and responsiveness: “There are times where they have to have you make a decision for them to continue to move forward. And if you don't do that, folks, they are literally left in the dark.” Hussain later nominated Ryan Cost, saying Cost had been “more present” and “more prepared” over the past two years.

In the subsequent vote for president, a show-of-hands count produced five votes for Ryan Cost and three for Jeff Brown, giving Cost the majority. For vice president, the first roll produced three votes for Adam Hussain, three for Pali Vanoglu and two for Council member Carter; that ballot failed to produce a majority and nominations were reopened. In the final roll for vice president, Carter received five votes to Hussain's three.

After both winners were identified, a member moved the resolution to record Ryan Cost as council president and Council member Carter as vice president. The Committee of the Whole approved the resolution by voice vote; the presiding officer announced the motion carried unanimously.

The meeting also approved minutes from the Dec. 16 meeting at the outset. A council member moved to approve the minutes, the body said “aye,” and the presiding officer declared the motion carried. There were no public commenters on agenda items.

Votes at a glance: President — first round: Brown 3, Hussain 3, Spadafore 2 (no majority). Second round: Cost 5, Brown 3 (Cost elected). Vice president — first round: Hussain 3, Pali Vanoglu 3, Carter 2 (no majority). Final round: Carter 5, Hussain 3 (Carter elected). Final resolution (recording Cost as president and Carter as vice president) approved by unanimous voice vote. Minutes from Dec. 16 were approved earlier in the meeting.

The newly elected leaders will be reflected on the council's leadership roster; the body adjourned the Committee of the Whole and reconvened for the regular council meeting later that evening at 7 p.m.