Heywood Files For Lansing Community College Board of Trustees Election

LANSING –
Former Lansing Community College Trustee Todd A. Heywood filed Aug. 14 to seek a six-year term on the board. "Since I left the leadership at LCC in 2003, this college has been drifting off course," said Heywood. "The current board and the administration seem wholly incapable of making decisions that are in the best interest of the college and the community it serves. I intend to make sure LCC remembers its middle name, Community."
Heywood, 42, is a long-time resident of Lansing. He served a partial term on the LCC Board 2001-2003, helping to fund the largest expansion of the College in years. He voted to approve the Health and Human Services Building, the West Campus and more. He was the first, and to date, only openly gay man ever elected to serve on a community college board of trustees in Michigan. He becomes the first openly HIV-positive candidate for elective office in Michigan history. He is known in the community for his work helping respond to the protests of the Westboro Baptist Church as well as running a successful Shakespeare in the Park program for a decade.
He points to the July 31 decision of the board to approve $49.5 million in bond financing to improve school facilities as prime example of why he is running to be on the board. The board approved plans which include building a park and renovating the Moon House. President Brent Knight and his wife are expected to take up residence in the house once the renovations are complete.
"This is wasteful spending. Those bond dollars should go to projects that directly benefit the students and the community, not vanity projects and perks for an inept president," Heywood says.