“From my perspective, partisan politics does not have a place in the boardroom at Michigan State University,” Republican Trustee Melanie Foster said. “It’s not in the best interest of the institution.”

Although the candidates run on a partisan ballot, the position often is considered nonpartisan because of the nature of the issues the trustees discuss.

“Once we’re on the board (party affiliations have) nothing to do with it,” Democratic Trustee Joel Ferguson said. “Nothing, zero. From the people I’ve served with, it’s always been what’s best for Michigan State.”

Although Democratic Trustee Colleen McNamara said party politics rarely appear on the board, there are some issues where fundamental differences between liberals and conservatives play a role in decision-making.

One such area is labor negotiations, in which democrats are more likely to support union and labor benefits, but even that issue recently has been nonpartisan, McNamara said.

“Last spring, we passed a project labor agreement policy that had to do with construction on campus and we had unanimous consent on that,” she said. “We really worked hard, when we’re putting that together on the Democrat side, that we didn’t make it so partisan that the Republicans would find it hard to vote for.

“We made some changes in it to accommodate their concerns.”

The board’s bylaws also work to discourage party politics and party domination. After every trustee election, the board votes on a chairperson and vice chairperson, who serve two-year terms until the next election. According to the bylaws, “only Trustees who are not members of the chairperson’s political party shall be eligible for election as vice chairperson.”

Ferguson, the current chairperson, said that provision was intentional to limit the role of politics on the board.

“We go out of our way to make certain that has no effect,” he said.

The board is a 5-3 Democratic majority.

But if Democratic candidates Dianne Byrum and Diann Woodard win today, the majority will increase to 6-2. If Republican candidates Lisa Bouchard and incumbent Scott Romney win, the board will be split 4-4.

Although Republican Trustee Don Nugent agreed the board is nonpartisan, he said a 6-2 Democratic majority wouldn’t be ideal.

“It’s never been a 2-6 split since I’ve been on the board,” he said. “There probably is some benefit in having it fairly well-balanced. I certainly would prefer to have a well-balanced board. It just removes that potential.”