The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 7 race features Republican incumbent Melinda Lautner, who has served on the body for more than 25 years, vs challenger Nancy Flanagan, who won a crowded Democratic primary that saw her win one more vote than the second runner-up. Both Lautner and Flanagan responded to our questions.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 6 race features incumbent Democrat Gwenne Allgaier, who has served one term in office, vs Republican challenger Garrick Collins, a family physician. Allgaier responded to the Glen Arbor Sun‘s questions; due to a death in the family, Collins did not.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 5 race features Democrat Kama Ross, a conservationist and retired forester for the Leelanau, Benzie, and Grand Traverse Conservation District, against Republican Alan Campbell, a newspaper reporter, publisher, and owner of the Leelanau Enterprise for more than 40 years. The seat was previously held by Democrat Patricia Soutas-Little, who is retiring. Soutas-Little helped spearhead the Commission’s effort to support early childhood education and broadband Internet in Leelanau County. Click here to read Ross’ and Campbell’s answers to our questions.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 4 race features incumbent Ty Wessell (Democrat) vs challenger Mike McMillan (Republican). Wessel, the current board chair, is a retired educator who has served Northport and Leelanau Township for the past four commission terms. McMillan works for PepsiCo.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 3 race features incumbent Democrat Lois Bahle of Suttons Bay, who won a special recall election earlier this year against ousted Commissioner Will Bunek. Bahle’s win gave Democrats their first ever 4-3 majority on the Board of Commissioners. Her opponent is Republican Doug Rexroat, a Lake Leelanau native and CFO of an electrical contracting firm. Bahle responded to the Glen Arbor Sun‘s questions; Rexroat did not.
Cherry Republic will host a Holiday Job Fair on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Empire Township Hall located at 10088 W. Front St. in Empire.
For nearly two decades Beryl Skrocki gently worked her way into the hearts of Empire community members, summer visitors and tourists with a unique style of silliness, compassion and joy that magically drew people to her, and also her surf shop and the Empire beach. Beryl’s life was as large as Lake Michigan, and her too-soon departure leaves an equally massive hole in her family and the Empire, surf and Great Lakes advocacy community. She passed away on October 13 at age 61. A public celebration of Beryl’s life will be held on Saturday, November 5, at noon at Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak in downtown Empire. Click here for more information and learn how to support the Skrocki family.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 2 race in Elmwood Township features two would-be newcomers to County government: Democrat Don Gallagher, a cherry farmer and union electrician, and Republican James O’Rourke, a court deputy bailiff and township trustee. The seat was previously held by Republican Debra Rushton.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners District 1 race features incumbent Rick Robbins (Republican) vs challenger Jamie Kramer (Democrat). Robbins won his previous election in 2020 by a razor-thin margin of 2 votes. He offered the swing vote on the Commission, proposing an 11th hour compromise to continue funding early childhood education in the County, even after Robbins’ fellow Republicans sought to defund the measure, which voters passed in 2019.
On a crisp morning close to the fall equinox, I joined a small group of family and friends for a private, guided walk at Houdek Dunes Natural Area north of Leland. What started out as a social gathering and light-hearted exploration of a local program called Mindfulness in Nature LLC (MIN) became a transformative experience peppered with ah-ha moments of our connection to the natural world and ourselves. MIN founder and director Gloria Garrett guided our group on the journey, introducing us to the practice of meditative walking.