Mayor Virg Bernero and Lansing City Council members Carol Wood and Brian Jeffries have found themselves at odds on more than one occasion. Wood has taken her opposition to the electoral level, challenging Bernero this year for the mayor’s slot.
Yet all three do share one interesting political trait — the financial favor of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ PAC. So far this year, the IBEW COPE MI PAC has given Bernero $9,750 to win re-election; given Wood $8,500 to keep Bernero from winning re-election; and given Jeffries $500 to retain his council seat, from which he presumably will find himself at odds with Bernero’s plans at least some of the time.
Now, special interests hedging their political bets with campaign cash is an ancient story. But one might wonder why an electrical workers union would take such an interest in city politics.
Think “Board of Water and Light.”
The IBEW is the union at BWL. And mayors appoint and council members confirm people who serve on BWL’s governing board.
Ratepayers may recall that the BWL governing board has been happy to give big money to its top executive, whose team recently negotiated a very favorable contract with the utility’s unionized workers. Of course, to keep everything working at BWL, ratepayers have been handed rate increases — and probably will get more quite soon.
Anyone upset about their bills can, of course, complain to BWL commissioners or the elected city leaders who put them in their seats. Just remember, though, that when IBEW tells its side of the BWL story, it’s smart enough to add to the pot, too.
