Election 2022: County Commission District 6 race features Allgaier vs Collins
From staff reports
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.
Democrats currently control the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners, 4 seats to 3, after Lois Bahle won a special recall election earlier this year. Will Democrats hold control, or will Republicans regain power? We asked the candidates about: their accomplishments on the Board (for incumbents), or why they are running for the Board (for challengers); their party affiliation; their thoughts on the County’s new septic inspection ordinance; their thoughts on growth in Leelanau County; the role the Commission should play in supporting early childhood education and childcare; support for workforce housing, and the recent reorganization of the County Clerk’s duties and the addition of two new county government departments. All seven Democrats responded to the questions; four of seven Republicans responded.
Allgaier responded to the Glen Arbor Sun‘s questions; due to a tragedy in the family, Collins has not yet been able to respond. He spoke about his candidacy for office on Oct. 4 at the Cherry Pie Debates, facilitated by the Leelanau Enterprise, Interlochen Public Radio, and the Leelanau League of Women Voters. Click here to listen to the debate and opening statements by County Commission candidates.
What is something you’re proud of that you have accomplished on the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners?
District 6, Gwenne Allgaier (D) incumbent: I’m proud that I was able to make a motion, that passed, to finally begin our process of having a septic ordinance in Leelanau that will take steps to ensure our drinking water and lakes are clean. Commissioners and citizens have been working on getting this done for at least 30 years … we finally have a majority of Commissioners who realize this is important for our health and our waters.
Explain your party affiliation. Why are you a Democrat?
D6, Allgaier: I began attending BoC meetings in 2010 as an interested citizen. When Peachy Rentenbach retired in 2020, I decided it made sense for me to run, I attended anyway, I may as well be able to vote! When I made that decision, I KNEW that being a Commissioner should not be about politics, especially national politics. It is about using our tax dollars wisely to do things for our selves we cannot afford to do alone—people have been getting together to help each other since the beginning of time. So, if being a Democrat means I believe we can provide services needed by people with our tax dollars, well, then yes, I am a Democrat. I also believe we need to be aware of climate changes, energy costs and the need to diversify sources of energy. I believe in the rights of each individual and our right also to work together to ensure this is a great place to live.
What are your thoughts on the Commission’s new septic inspection ordinance? What other environmental initiatives would you pursue as Commissioner?
D6, Allgaier: I have been blessed to live on lakes for 38 years, and know the importance of protecting our lake waters. I have also learned enough about septic systems, their age limitations, the needed isolation distance for clean lake and drinking waters etc to know that having no regulations ensuring our septic systems are functional is dangerous to our health and the health of our lakes. Michigan is the only state in the U.S. that does not have any regulation on septic systems. I am glad we are able to act so we can protect our waters. The ordinance we have proposed matches the ordinance that Benzie County has had for 30 years, and is a good place to start. We also need to preserve the beauty and health of our natural environment in any decisions we or our township planning commissions make. I absolutely support recycling, and believe we need to plan for infrastructure to support electric cars. We need to be open to making changes as they are necessary for us to thrive as a community.
What are your thoughts on growth in Leelanau County—both population and infrastructure? What role should the Commission play here?
D6, Allgaier: Leelanau’s population has increased by only 905 people in the last 10 years, a 4.2% increase, even though in the summers, especially, it seems like we have grown a lot! It’s natural that people want to live here, and we cannot do anything to restrict their doing so. What we truly need is attainable housing so our children and essential workers can live here and raise their families here, and our schools and communities can thrive. Funding for attainable housing is difficult and complicated—we need to establish a funding source. Our township planning commissions can, and I believe should, place limits on short term rentals and Air BNB’s that are dominating our rental and family housing, and changing our neighborhoods. This is a national problem and we need to address it here in Leelanau.
What role should the Commission play in supporting early childhood education and childcare in the County?
D6, Allgaier: This is an issue where we can, together, provide help for young families. I loved hearing from young parents in public comment at our BoC meeting last year who described being connected with Parenting Communities staff at the hospital when their child was born, and who were able to talk with someone about the myriad questions young parents have when they bring a newborn baby home. I remembered being terrified of doing something wrong with my tender little newborn—how great that would have been. It’s also wonderful that young parents and toddlers can connect with other young families, share and learn skills together. The citizens of Leelanau voted for a millage to support our young families, and our job as a Commission is to respond to the voice of the people, and support the program and millage that the People voted for.
What can the Commission do to support local workforce housing?
D6, Allgaier: Attainable housing is a critical need for our County. Our Planning office does wonderful work with our Landbank and Brownfield programs to work with developers to facilitate their building attainable housing, but this is not enough. We have helped to fund a Housing coordinator with Housing North—we could do more to support this important organization. We need to find a funding source for housing—I have attended seminars with Commissioners from other resort counties, who have addressed this issue in creative ways … that is a critical issue for our Commission for 2023!
What are your thoughts on the recent reorganization of the County Clerk’s duties and the addition of two new county government departments?
D6, Allgaier: This change was done with no planning, no discussions or even need, and I did not support it. Our Clerk has done an excellent job on our finances for years, our audits are always A+, and the change was made as a late addition to our agenda while the Clerk was out of town. As there were not enough votes to change the decision our Republican Commissioners voted for, or even amend it to make sure training and a sensible transition was supported, we have been left with a mandate to make this new structure work. We presently have two excellent employees in the two newly created positions, and our job is to make sure they get the training and support they need to be successful. I have been a manager and worked in organizations, and was frankly stunned by the abrupt decision by our Republican Commissioners. We are committed to helping our new employees be successful, and ensuring that our County finances are sound.
