Miles Biel

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Miles Biel

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

High school

Holt High School

Bachelor's

Michigan State University, 2012

Graduate

Unity College, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Lewisville, Texas

Religion

Agnostic

Profession

Project manager

Miles Biel ran for election for an at-large seat of the Lansing City Council in Michigan. He lost in the primary on August 5, 2025.

Biel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Miles Biel was born in Lewisville, Texas. He earned a high school diploma from Holt High School, a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University in 2012, and a graduate degree from Unity College in 2020. Biel's career experience includes working as a project manager.

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 At-Large (2 seats)

Incumbent Jeremy Garza, Aurelius Christian, Clara Martinez, and Julie Vandenboom are running in the general election for Lansing City Council At-Large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Jeremy Garza (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Aurelius Christian (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Clara Martinez (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Julie Vandenboom (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Lansing City Council At-Large (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the primary for Lansing City Council At-Large on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeremy Garza (Nonpartisan)	20.3	5,328
✔	Submit photo	Julie Vandenboom (Nonpartisan)	17.6	4,627
✔	Submit photo	Clara Martinez (Nonpartisan)	17.6	4,623
✔	Submit photo	Aurelius Christian (Nonpartisan)	9.7	2,531
	Submit photo	Olivia Vaden (Nonpartisan)	8.2	2,149
	Submit photo	Gloria Denning (Nonpartisan)	7.6	2,004
		Tirstan Walters (Nonpartisan)	6.9	1,820
		Nick Pigeon (Nonpartisan)	4.8	1,259
		Jonah Stone (Nonpartisan)	3.4	904
		Miles Biel (Nonpartisan)	3.4	880
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	92

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,217
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robin Jones (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Miles Biel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Biel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Miles Biel. I'm a long-time resident of the Lansing area having attended Holt High School and Michigan State University. My wife and I moved into our first house together in Lansing's Eastside nearly a decade ago, and have recently relocated to the Groesbeck neighborhood. I have spent the majority of my career developing energy efficiency programs and products for utility companies across Michigan as well as for the state's government. I've decided to run for city council because I love Lansing. I love everything it is, everything it isn’t, and everything it could be. That last bit is the most important because it seems like over the last few years Lansing hasn’t been living up to its potential. To be clear - this is no fault of the everyday Lanstronaut. The blame falls at the feet of our movers, shakers, and decision makers. And while I can certainly admit that those in power have secured a few wins for the city despite the hard row they’ve had to hoe post-COVID, their efforts have fallen short of what the city requires. I'd like to take a more active and direct role in getting the city back on track and setting it on a course for a secure, sustainable future.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I’d like to challenge the BWL to advance affordability and security through a handful of proposals:

  • Implement more progressive rate structures be that through income-graduated fixed charges or other means. • Proactively leverage residential rooftop solar for low-income customers to reduce their energy burden. • Adopt reasonable and accommodating percentage of income payment plans for those who fall behind on their bills. • Design and promote rates that encourage electrification so we may continue to decarbonize our grid and grow the BWL’s revenue.

  • Vow to end shutoffs entirely for residential customers behind on their payments.
• A critically important issue that touches nearly all of us is the availability of quality, affordable housing. Our most vulnerable homeless populations need more beds, more transitionary housing, and rental assistance. Young families need help and better market conditions to be able to afford their first homes. Seniors on fixed incomes require assistance so they can keep their homes and stay current on their utility bills. Removing red tape from zoning and permitting ordinances to encourage the construction and renovation of housing units is essential to addressing this issue. The Lansing Housing Commission will also need to step up with more public housing options and subsidy programs.
• If you drive through Lansing's business corridors you'll likely notice an alarming commonality - vacant storefronts with new "for sale" and "for lease" signs popping up every day. City council in conjunction with the mayor's office and the myriad of economic development organizations in the Capital Area need to get aligned on a plan to court businesses both big and small to relocate in Lansing. The solution could be any combination of tax breaks, more robust entrepreneurial incubator incentives, key infrastructure improvements, an enhanced emphasis on public-private partnerships, or talent retention programs - this problem is serious enough to warrant an "everything and the kitchen sink" approach.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Given that my professional background is in energy, my policy interests tend to follow a similar suit. I am very passionate about renewable energy, energy efficiency, affordable energy, and the proliferation of public utilities. More broadly speaking though, my policy interests are anything and everything living at the intersection of security and affordability. Without those two foundational pieces, communities cannot thrive.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The list of important characteristics for an elected official is probably too long to list in its entirety - honesty, integrity, a willingness to find common ground with their opponents, a strong sense of justice, and a belief that you can almost always make decisions that benefit the majority without also endangering the minority - these are good places to start.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities for someone elected to Lansing's city council are to advocate for the prosperity of the city and its residents in the short, medium, and long terms. This is done by advancing measures of fiscal responsibility, local affordability, economic development, social security, and public safety.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was working at a golf course in a position that is best described as equal parts janitor, groundskeeper, and general maintenance person. Lots of cleaning bathrooms, filling golf cart tires with air, restocking vending machines, and pulling weeds out of sand traps.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

While I'm sure that some experience in government or politics would be helpful for the holder of this office, it is far from necessary.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I think having a strong, sincere bond to the community you are elected to represent is critical. I believe that an elevated level of financial literacy is also of the utmost importance. And because Lansing is home to Michigan's largest municipally owned utility that is the city's third largest contributor to revenue, a sound understanding of utility systems is also highly important.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?

This office is very important and unique in that it sets policies and adopts resolutions that govern the city, it approves the annual budget, and directly impacts local tax rates.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

The government should be completely transparent as transparency provides accountability. Easy to digest financial statements about government revenues, expenditures, budgets, and contracts awarded should be readily available for free to anybody.

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.

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