Voters will have the final say next week in a high stakes battle for the county Board of Commissioners (BOC).
Unlike previous years, a new state law extended the length of commissioners from two to four years.
All seven seats are contested this election cycle with the Leelanau Republicans making a concerted campaign for control of the county board.
The District 1 seat, left vacant for several months due to a resignation by Democrat Jamie Kramer, will be filled by one of two candidates.
Former commissioner Rick Robbins is the democratic nominee. Robbins was behind the 2022 effort to reorganize the county clerk position.
He will face newcomer Tim McCalley, who topped former county administrator Deb Allen to earn a spot on the ballot in the August primary. He is a retired air traffic controller.
District 1 includes Elmwood Township.
••• In District 2, former commissioner Mark Walter earned the Republican nomination with a Primary victory over Forrest (Bud) Welch.
Walter served as a county commissioner representing District 2 from 2002 through 2008. A fifth generation county resident, Walter is a veteran and a retired lieutenant in the Michigan Department of Corrections. He has a bachelor’s degree and has been married to wife, Sandra, for 32 years.
He will face Democrat Scott Perry, who was unopposed in the primary.
Scott Perry a 2005 Traverse City West graduate, studied economics at Michigan State University. He founded 2Bays DJs at age 21. Perry and his wife, Hannah, married in 2022.
Incumbent James J. O’Rourke did not seek reelection.
The winner will represent northern Elmwood and southern Bingham Township.
••• The battle to represent northern Bingham and southern Suttons Bay Township, including the Village of Suttons Bay, pits two former commissioners whose names have appeared on opposite sides of the ballot several times.
Will Bunek, former chairman of the Board of Commissioners, is the Republican candidate. Bunek was recalled in a 2022 special election after an effort to reduce the millage collected for the Early Childhood Services, approved by county voters in 2019. Bunek is a licensed building/ electrical contractor and is Michigan State University certifi ed planner.
He will face Democrat Lois Bahle, who served on the BOC after defeating Bunek in a special recall election against him in May 2022.
Bahle is a graduate of Michigan State University. She worked at Bahle’s, served on the planning commissions for the Village of Suttons Bay and Leelanau County; is the former president and secretary of the Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce as well as the board of Traverse Area Recreation Trail board and works on housing, solid waste and renewable energy.
She fell to Doug Rexroat in the general election later that year. Rexroat did not seek reelection.
Prior to the 2022 recall election, Bahle had narrowly lost two previous elections to Bunek, in 2020 and in 2018.
••• At the tip of the peninsula, incumbent Democrat Ty Wessell, current board chair, is being challenged by Jim White for the District 4 seat.
Wessell is a retired educator, volunteer, Rotarian, and member of Northport Lions and Leelanau Prospectors clubs. He was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2014.
White has 40 years of leadership experience in military, corporate, and financial sectors.
Neither Wessell or White had opposition in the Primary election.
The winner of next week’s election will represent northern Suttons Bay Township and Leelanau Township.
••• The District 5 race pits two candidates for a second time.
Kama Ross currently represents Leland and Centerville Township. A Democrat, she edged Republican Alan Campbell by just 38 votes in 2022.
Campbell is again on the ballot again opposite Ross. Neither were opposed in the August Primary.
Campbell is a 36-year business owner (21 years with the Enterprise); award-winning journalist and community volunteer for the Kids Fishing Day, and the PATH Foundation.
Ross earned her degree in forestry from Michigan State University, served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay and returned to enjoy a varied career in Natural Resources Education for 38 years.
••• In District 6, incumbent Gwenne Allgaier, a Democrat, is opposed by Republican Mark Roberts.
Allgaier of Maple City is seeking her third term on the board presenting Cleveland, Glen Arbor and Empire townships.
Retired, her career was spent as a licensed masters level psychologist and therapist.
Roberts of Empire has 20 years senior management and advanced degrees in organizational management.
Both were unopposed in the August Primary.
••• For the first time in 30 years, voters in District 7 will elect someone other than longtime commissioner Melinda Lautner.
Democratic Tim Dowd and Republican Steve Yoder will be on the ballot. Yoder defeated Lautner in the August Primary to earn his party’s nomination.
Dowd is a finish carpenter and longtime union member. He and his wife live in Solon Township.
Yoder manages the family business in the agriculture industry. He has served as a Solon Township trustee; is chairman of the county Planning Commission.
The winner in next week’s election will represent Solon and Kasson townships.
