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County Commission flips back to Republicans after election-night vote miscount
NewsRepublicans will once again have a majority on the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners (BOC), 4 seats to 3, following official canvassing by the County Clerk’s Office today, which revealed that hundreds of early votes were accidentally not counted during election night, Nov. 5. Unofficial results posted early on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, erroneously showed that 6 of 7 Democrats had won their races. The Glen Arbor Sun, as well as other news outlets, all reported on Wednesday that the Democrats would enjoy a super majority on the BOC. Instead, they’ll once again be in the minority. According to County Clerk Michelle Crocker, the votes posted on the County website on Wednesday morning did not represent all the ballots cast. They were uploaded but didn’t save correctly, she told the Glen Arbor Sun. A hand count of the paper backup ballots on Friday revealed the discrepancy. The County Clerk’s Office works with the company ElectionSource.
What unifies us in politically divided times. Life and democracy in Leelanau
Local Personality“What do you like about living in Leelanau County?” “What are your favorite autumn traditions?” “What are you eating these days?” “What does living in a democracy mean to you?” These are the questions we’re asking a few County residents as we explore what unifies us in these politically divided times with the Nov. 5 presidential election looming just days away. The message in these short video profiles is to show that—while your neighbor or your family member might display a different political yard sign and vote differently than you—we have more in common than we think, and we should remember and embrace what binds us together despite the caustic atmosphere around the election campaigns. Our first video features musician Luke Woltanski, who lives in Maple City.
Coach “joy” pumps up the Park Place
News, Upcoming EventJust before Democratic Vice Presidential hopeful Tim Walz approached the lectern to address an enthusiastic, packed crowd in the ballroom of Traverse City’s Park Place Hotel on Friday, Nov. 1, he turned around and fist-bumped supporters flanking him on stage with Harris-Walz campaign signs. Grand Traverse County Commissioner Ashlea Walter and her daughter Phoebe were among them. Upbeat and enthusiastic, with John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” playing in the background, Walz arrived early and spent 23 minutes during his pep rally with the Northern Michigan crowd of progressives and Democrats, reminding them that polls in the Nov. 5 presidential election would close in under 100 hours, and encouraging them to vote, and turn out others to vote, for Kamala Harris for President, and push away the vitriol and and dark vision of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Polls show that Michigan, a crucial swing state, is very close.
How to vote for Palestinians: Kamala Harris or third party?
Dispatch from Afar, Investigative Article, Letter to editor/OpinionIn October, the local organization Mideast: JustPeace held a community gathering to talk frankly about the dilemma those of us who care about Palestine and the Middle East face: cast a protest vote, or vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, knowing that things are likely to be worse under Donald Trump. Or at least equally bad. So in this presidential election year, what are we to do? Our choices are poor as far as American policy toward Israel is concerned.
District 7 Leelanau County Commission candidates Dowd, Yoder address housing, clean energy, broadband
NewsThe Nov. 5 election will determine which party controls the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners (BOC), and which policies and initiatives they pursue next year. The Commission is currently deadlocked between three Democrats and three Republicans, with one seat vacant. In District 7, which serves Kasson and Solon Townships, Democrat Tim Dowd faces Republican Steve Yoder. Yoder unseated longterm incumbent Melinda Lautner in the primary election. The Glen Arbor Sun reached out to all 14 candidates for the BOC and asked about their positions on issues or initiatives that are key to Leelanau County citizens: namely, affordable housing, renewable energy, broadband access and services for both seniors and families with young children. Our questions, and their responses are below. Today we’re featuring Dowd and Yoder, who are vying for the District 7 seat.
District 6 Leelanau County Commission candidates Allgaier, Roberts address housing, clean energy, broadband
NewsThe Nov. 5 election will determine which party controls the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners (BOC), and which policies and initiatives they pursue next year. The Commission is currently deadlocked between three Democrats and three Republicans, with one seat vacant. In District 6, which serves Cleveland, Empire and Glen Arbor Townships, incumbent Democrat Gwenne Allgaier faces Republican challenger Mark Roberts.
District 5 Leelanau County Commission candidates Ross, Campbell address housing, clean energy, broadband
Upcoming EventThe Nov. 5 election will determine which party controls the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners, and which policies and initiatives they pursue next year. The Commission is currently deadlocked between three Democrats and three Republicans, with one seat vacant. In District 5, which serves Leland and Centerville Townships, incumbent Democrat Kama Ross faces Republican challenger Alan Campbell. It’s a rematch of the race in 2022. The Glen Arbor Sun reached out to all 14 candidates for the BOC and asked about their positions on issues or initiatives that are key to Leelanau County citizens: namely, affordable housing, renewable energy, broadband access and services for both seniors and families with young children. Our questions, and their responses are below. Today we’re featuring Ross and Campbell, who are vying for the District 5 seat.
Undertaker enters the ring: Trump’s (very late) appearance in Traverse City
Investigative Article, NewsBy the time Donald Trump arrived three hours late in Traverse City for a campaign rally at a hangar near the airport on Friday, Oct. 25—11 days before the presidential election—the thousands of MAGA faithful gathered there were cold, tired and hungry. Toddlers dozed in their parents’ laps or curled like branches around their shoulders. Two women huddled together against a lamppost outside the hangar while they puffed on cigarettes. An exhausted couple lay on the cold concrete near the press area, eating corndogs. Hundreds left when they realized that Trump wouldn’t arrive any time close to his 7:30 scheduled appearance. The crowd gathered in Traverse City represented a cross section of northern Michigan. Some had driven across several counties to get here. There were medical workers, realtors, food service workers, and a few college students. They were very young, middle aged, and old, some very old. They showed kindness and compassion to their fellow attendees. When an exhausted and dehydrated person fell over, strangers raced to him and offered support, water bottles, and encouragement. Nevertheless, a sense of caution, even mistrust, undergirded some at the rally.
Leelanau ordained minister goes to Washington to protest “Christians United for Israel”
Letter to editor/Opinion“I am an ordained Presbyterian minister whose Christian denomination has a long commitment to ending the occupation of Palestine. And yet, for most of my life, I never realized the role my fellow Christians have played in the creation of this apartheid state,” writes Rev. Lucy Waechter Webb, a Leelanau citizen who traveled to Washington, D.C., in August together with the Interfaith Action for Palestine Coalition to pray and organize alongside Jewish neighbors on Capitol Hill and protest the Christian United for Israel, which boasts 10 million members and is by far the largest Zionist organization in the United States.
Report from the Climate Change front line: Mud, grief, perseverance in wake of Hurricane Helene
Dispatch from AfarIt’s hard to prioritize writing in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, while my small community of Celo, North Carolina—an hour by car from Asheville—is still knee-deep in mud, grief, and destruction, writes Katey Schultz. But we’re also heart-deep in resourcefulness, compassion, and perseverance. What could one resident of rural Yancey County have to say to the residents of Leelanau County, nearly 1,000 miles away? Having spent parts of 13 summers in upper northwest Michigan, and a few winters too, I know a close-knit, take-care-of-your-people kind of place. It’s the kind of place I come from, and it’s the kind of place I believe might actually listen if I say there is one thing you can do today that has nothing to do with dollars, blankets, or water, that will help you survive in the aftermath of a disaster. Talk to your neighbors. Yes, the ones you already know. And yes, the ones with the political signs in their yards that don’t match yours. These are the people whose survival you will depend upon, and these are the people you will most immediately be able to help.