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Rhinoceros Media

Series · 3 posts

Council Conflicts

Hovey, Garza, and the structural conflicts between council members' day jobs and the votes they take.

  1. GovernmentMoney

    Lansing: Who Will Vote on Deep Green? Council Members Funded by Deep Green's PR Rep and LRC-PAC

    Rhinoceros NewsroomMar 10, 2026

    Josh Hovey, partner and sole director at Bellwether Public Relations, served as a Lansing Planning Commissioner through at least June 3, 2025. Five months later, on November 5, 2025, he appeared before the same Planning Commission as Deep Green's paid PR representative, lobbying his former colleagues for a $120 million data center on city-owned land. Hovey also sits on the Lansing Regional Chamber PAC committee, which endorsed six of eight Council members who would vote on the project.

  2. GovernmentMoney

    Lansing: The Union VP Who Votes on Union Projects

    Rhinoceros NewsroomMar 11, 2026

    Lansing Council Member Jeremy Garza is Vice President of UA Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 and earns $126,742 per year from the Michigan Pipe Trades Association. In 2025, he raised $48,050 from 16 itemized contributions; every dollar came from a union or PAC, with $24,500 from Local 333 alone, the largest single expenditure in that PAC's 28-year filing history. He has never recused from a vote on a development project.

  3. GovernmentMoney

    Lansing: The Garza Conflict, Spelled Out

    Rhinoceros NewsroomMar 26, 2026

    Lansing Council Member Jeremy Garza earns $126,742 per year from the Michigan Pipe Trades Association as Political Lead, on top of his $552 Local 333 VP compensation and $28,147 council salary. He has voted yea on every development item across 52 council meetings without a single recusal, including the public hearing for an ordinance adding union-standard qualifications to the city's bidding code. The Charter and Conflicts of Interest Act bar votes where an officer has a financial interest.

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