EAST LANSING, Mich. — Following three hours of deliberation at a special work session on Friday, Jan. 27, the East Lansing City Council selected George Lahanas as East Lansing’s next city manager. Lahanas is the fifth city manager to serve East Lansing in its history.

Lahanas has been serving as the interim city manager of East Lansing since October 2011 and, prior to that, served as the deputy city manager of East Lansing from July 2008-October 2011. He has served in various capacities with the City of East Lansing since 1999, including serving as a labor relations specialist from 1999-2001, the director of Human Resources from 2001-2005 and the director of Administrative Services from 2005-2008. Lahanas holds a Master of Public Administration, with a concentration in personnel and labor relations, and a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Northern Michigan University. He is an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) credentialed manager and has been a member of ICMA since 2011.

“George has proven himself to be a solid manager over the interim period and, prior to that, in his role as the City’s deputy city manager,” said East Lansing Mayor Diane Goddeeris. “The fact that we had such a highly qualified pool of candidates is a testament to the appeal of our community. In light of the difficult challenges ahead, we felt that George was the right person to lead the organization and its exceptional staff going forward.”

“It has been a great privilege to serve the City of East Lansing over the past 13 years and I greatly appreciate the confidence and trust of the East Lansing City Council,” said City Manager George Lahanas. “I am honored to serve as East Lansing’s next city manager.”

The City hired a national search firm, Affion Public, to perform the search for East Lansing’s next city manager following the departure of East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton last fall. The community profile used to perform the search was prepared by the City Council after conducting focus groups with employee leadership and unions, neighborhood leaders, students, university officials and various other stakeholders.

Affion Public reported to the City Council in early January that 56 applicants applied for the position from 20 different states, including 24 applicants from Michigan. City Council narrowed nine semi-finalists down to five finalists and, prior to the decision this week, the five finalists participated in a community reception and a series of interviews with City staff, community members and the City Council.