Former Lansing police lieutenant Noel Garcia Jr. appointed to East Lansing City Council

Bryce Airgood, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read
Noel Garcia Jr. was elected to East Lansing City Council on Jan. 17, 2023.
Noel Garcia Jr. was elected to East Lansing City Council on Jan. 17, 2023.

EAST LANSING — City Council has voted to add former Lansing Police Lt. Noel Garcia Jr. to its ranks.

Garcia was appointed in a 4-0 vote Tuesday night to fill a vacancy left by Lisa Babcock.

Babcock was elected to serve as an East Lansing 54B District Court judge and resigned from her council seat effective Dec. 28, creating the opening. Garcia will complete the term that ends with the Nov. 7 election.

Garcia is a Ingham Intermediate School District Wilson Talent Center law enforcement instructor and a retired Lansing Police Department lieutenant with a master’s degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University, according to his application. He currently serves on the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission.

Before Garcia was appointed, City Councilmember George Brookover made a motion to appoint Daniel Bollman to council. The motion failed with a 2-2 vote, with Brookover and Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg voting for Bollman and Mayor Ron Bacon and City Councilmember Dana Watson voting against.

A motion was then made to appoint Garcia, which was approved unanimously.

Retired Lansing Police Department Lt. Noel Garcia Jr. pins his own badge on newly sworn in officer Sam Kandel, Monday, May 6, 2019, at the swearing in ceremony at the North Precinct for 13 new officers.
Retired Lansing Police Department Lt. Noel Garcia Jr. pins his own badge on newly sworn in officer Sam Kandel, Monday, May 6, 2019, at the swearing in ceremony at the North Precinct for 13 new officers.

Garcia hasn’t previously held an elective office in East Lansing, but he lost a close race for an East Lansing school board seat in 2018 by 39 votes in an election where 88 Lansing residents voted when they were erroneously given East Lansing ballots. He said at the time he decided against a recount because he didn’t want the school district to incur the costs.

The experience gave him a "crash course" on how elections run but, in hindsight, it worked out because it led to him joining the police oversight commission, Garcia said Wednesday.

“What I've learned in East Lansing is there's some wonderful people, great people, great hearts, passionate and just to be part of a group like that has been rewarding,” he said.

He said he felt reenergized and honored to be appointed to the City Council and now he can join the members in their pursuit to make things better in the area.

He's planning to continue working with the police oversight commission and would like to work with the East Lansing Police Department. He's also planning to learn from his fellow councilmembers and East Lansing staff the next nine months, but that's not going to be the end for him, he said.

“I'm certainly going to run for reelection,” he said. “This isn't just a nine-month short term thing planned for me.”

Last week, the council narrowed a list of 14 candidates for the vacancy down to five and then held interviews on Saturday. Abigail Tykocki, Mikey Manuel, Nichole Biber, Bollman and Garcia were the finalists.

Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Former Lansing police Lt. Noel Garcia Jr. appointed to East Lansing City Council