Zacharie Spurlock
Zacharie Spurlock ran for election to the Lansing City Council to represent Ward 4 in Michigan. He lost in the primary on August 5, 2025.
Spurlock completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Lansing, Michigan (2025)
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for Lansing City Council Ward 4
Incumbent Peter Spadafore and Heath Lowry are running in the general election for Lansing City Council Ward 4 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Peter Spadafore (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Heath Lowry (Nonpartisan) | ||
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Lansing City Council Ward 4
Incumbent Peter Spadafore and Heath Lowry defeated Zacharie Spurlock in the primary for Lansing City Council Ward 4 on August 5, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Peter Spadafore (Nonpartisan) | 56.7 | 2,373 | |
| ✔ | Heath Lowry (Nonpartisan) | 26.3 | 1,101 | |
| Zacharie Spurlock (Nonpartisan) | 16.4 | 684 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 24 | ||
| Total votes: 4,182 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
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Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Zacharie Spurlock completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Spurlock's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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In 2018 I moved to the Westside Neighborhood in Lansing, Michigan and lived here for a few years. I fell in love with the area, both the city and the state. So in 2020, when I had the choice to stay in the area or move back to Northwest Indiana, I chose to move to Okemos, Michigan. I stayed in Okemos for roughly 4 years, and when deciding where to move next, my husband and I decided to move back to Ward 4 of Lansing, as I couldn't imagine leaving the state nor that area behind. We ended up in the Genesee Neighborhood in a house of our own, and that's where I am now!
Politically, I consider myself a Progressive Democrat. I believe strongly that representatives should represent those in their community, their constituents, and not corporations or party-line interests. I'm a firm believer in the Micro vs Macro political ideology, putting focus on both national politics, state politics, and also local politics.
I look forward to putting forward a clean, but fair, fight towards becoming the City of Lansing's 4th Ward Councilmember this November!- It has become abundantly clear that a critical aspect that is severely lacking currently is communication to and with the constituents of Ward 4. To me, this is unacceptable. All officials, but especially local officials, are elected to represent those in their district, their constituents. In my opinion, it's hard to represent constituents if you rarely meet with them to openly discuss their concerns.
I've pledged to have, at minimum, 2 "Coffee with Councilmember Zak" events a month, both being held at times accessible to all constituents.
My first bill that I introduce will also be a legal requirement for any elected official in Lansing to hold a constituent meeting at least once per month. - To some, a Councilmember position may be a great chance to bolster their resume, their political agenda, or their name in general. To others, it may be a great chance to line their pocket books with taxpayer's hard earned money. Those that go into politics for those reasons are at best wrong, and at worst morally corrupt. My second pledge to the people of Ward 4 is to commit to donating 20% of my salary per year as Councilmember directly back to Ward 4 communities. I am not a wealthy individual, I don't have a family business nor a high-paying college degree to fall back on. But I know that donating money back to my community, my neighbors, is more important than hoarding money in a bank account.
- In addition to communication being important in official settings, I would strive to be a representative who has an open door policy in all situations. I've often told people to stop and say hi, tell me about your day, if you see me out and about in public. I'm also the only candidate who has listed not just my business line, but also my personal cellphone numbers. I want to be here for the community in any way I can. I'm not a career politician. Truth be told, if I complete my goals as Councilmember I don't know if I'd even run in another position. I'm your local bartender, I'm your neighbor, and I hope to be your representative in the form of Councilmember of Ward 4.
Second, supporting your district, your community, and your neighbors. I have pledged to donate 20% of my salary as Councilmember each year directly back to the community, by setting up a grant system for local community leaders, businesses and cultural centers to apply for.
I would like to leave Ward 4 in a better place for the disenfranchised voices, for those in working class neighborhoods, and for those who rely on their representative to assist them.
The first historical event that I remember vividly was the 2008 financial crash. I grew up with my mother and grandparents supporting me, and I still remember that entire year. We were already on welfare programs, and we really had to tighten our belts during that time. Obviously being a child, it was burnt into my memory as missing out on fun activities and events that my more affluent classmates could afford.
This is my first time running for an elected office. I've worked in local government positions before, both as an Assistant for the Meridian Township Election's Office, and as Senior Admin Assistant for Lansing Parks and Recreation. So, I do have experience in some form dealing with local politics. I'm not running to prop myself up, I'm running because I love my community and I want to see it thrive.
If I had to boil that entire message down into one sentence: The elected official for Ward 4 should have understanding, empathy and solutions for ALL of their constituents, not just those who can afford to donate to their campaign fund.
I pledge to be fully transparent about my finances during the campaign, and will commit to the above mentioned. I plan on being fully self-funded, or only taking in donations from a grass-roots campaign style of fundraising. In my opinion, this should be an easy baseline for all who run for office, and I as a citizen question those who avoid this conversation.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
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