The new Leelanau County board of commissioners elected its youngest member, Steve Yoder, as chairman at their organizational meeting Tuesday.
He was elected with unanimous support from both sides of the aisle. In fact, he was somewhat surprisingly the only one to be nominated for the role.
It’s an unusual choice because Yoder is one of two new commissioners on the county board. The former Solon Township Trustee defeated long-serving District No. 7 Commissioner Melinda Lautner in the August primary before claiming the position for himself in the general elections a few months later. Commissioner Rick Robbins nominated Yoder as board chair.
“It was an honor to be elected as chair,” Yoder said afterwards. “I’ve chaired many things, and it’s certainly an honor to be appointed unanimously. I think we can do a lot of good. My goal was always to have an open mind before any issue or subject comes up, and that’s what I strive to do as chair. Obviously, the other commissioners felt the same. I appreciated their support and trust in me to lead the county forward in a good direction.”
Before nominating and electing their officers, Commissioner Will Bunek proposed amending the board rules to halve the duration of the chairman’s term from two years to one. But this motion failed 3-4. Bunek, Gwenne Allgaier, and Mark Walters were in favor of reducing the term, and Alan Campbell, Rick Robbins, Ty Wessell, and Yoder were opposed.
Until recently, the board chairman would serve for their full term as an elected official. But in 2022, a state law increased commissioner’s terms from two to four years, while Leelanau County board chairs still have two-year terms. The board’s vice chairman serves for a one-year term.
The choice for vice chair was more contentious, coming down to a 4-3 vote. Allgaier nominated Wessell, who was elevated to board chairman in May 2022 when Bunek was recalled, and he continued in that role for the last two years.
Walter nominated the other new commissioner, Campbell, as vice chairman. Campbell also voted for himself, and received a third vote from Bunek, who was recently reelected in November by six votes.
Wessell voted for himself as well. A third vote for Wessell came from another returning commissioner, Robbins, who switched from the Republican to Democratic party when he declared his candidacy last year.
Wessell secured the vice chairman position with a fourth vote from Chairman Yoder, who opted not to join his fellow Republican commissioners in supporting Campbell.
According to Leelanau County’s board rules and procedures, the board chairman presides at all meetings and decides on questions of order, subject to appeal from other commissioners. The vice chairman assumes these duties in the chairman’s absence. Bunek also moved to amend these rules to clarify that the board chairman has the final say on meeting agendas.
