Trini Lopez-Pehlivanoglu Candidate Lansing City Council at-Large

Courtesy photo-Trini Lopez-Pehlivanoglu candidate for Lansing City Council

Trini Lopez Pehlivanoglu was raised on Lansing’s Southwest side, where she is now raising her own family. Trini and her husband John share a wonderful blended family of four children.

Trini is a proud graduate of Lansing Everett High School, as are two of her sons. Throughout her career as legal support staff within County and State government, she has held informal leadership roles that sharpened her ability to connect with staff members, think creatively, and find solutions. Over the years Trini’s work ethic and acquired skills led her to serve as Senior Executive Management Assistant in the Executive office of the Michigan Department of Attorney General.

Trini returned to school in 2018 and earned her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in 2020 from Cleary University. In 2021 she took a role with Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs as a Process Improvement Consultant. She also leads efforts in recruitment and retention, and is co-lead of LARA’s Latinx DEI team.

Trini is passionate about serving her community and currently serves on the Cristo Rey Community Center Board of Directors, Secretary of Ingham County Equal Opportunity Committee, Secretary of Southwest Action Group, City of Lansing Board of Ethics – Third Ward Representative, and Member of Michigan Latino Leadership Network.

Priorities

• Safe Neighborhoods

Maintaining safe neighborhoods include improving infrastructure of local roads and sidewalks, maintaining our parks, and decreasing criminal activity. In recent years our neighborhoods in Lansing have seen a rise in criminal activity, and some have fallen in to poor shape. These issues did not occur overnight, and will not be resolved overnight. I will support efforts crime intervention programs and look to partner with organizations dedicated to ending gun violence. Infrastructure improvement is imperative to the health and wellbeing of our residents so they can drive and walk safely without causing injury or disrepair to their vehicles.

• Economic Growth and Development

Looking at underutilized buildings/structures, upgrading them for future use as well as working with developers to establish new buildings and truly affordable housing options is good for Lansing. We can see where Old Town, and more recently Reo Town have built out successful models to encourage small business to thrive and ultimately improve quality of life for residents in those areas. I will work to increase similar efforts throughout the city through stakeholder engagement and collaborate with residents, business owners and investors in a transparent manner.

• Financial Empowerment for Lansing Residents

In my conversations with community members, many people feel that financial planning is reserved for the wealthy but that simply isn’t true. I believe in giving residents the tools they need for their personal success whether that is creating their own business, or saving for their next large purchase such as a home or car. These efforts are a direct link to serve populations that face unemployment, homelessness, and hunger. We have the tools to empower our residents with programming already in place, and I will support the growth of the city’s Financial Empowerment Center.