Elmwood Township will share something with U.S. presidential politics.
A long campaign.

Rivaling the length of national campaigns, a township resident has declared his candidacy for Elmwood Township supervisor. Former township Planning Commission chair Jack Kelly has announced that he will challenge present supervisor Derith Smith.

Kelly is a member of the Leelanau County Republican Party, and will run as a Republican. Smith successfully ran for supervisor under the Republican ticket in 2004, but was not elected in 2000 when seeking re-election to the clerk position as an independent.

Commenting Tuesday evening about Kelly's announcement after the Township Board meeting, supervisor Derith Smith pointed out that the primary election would not be held until August and the General Election is nearly a year away. "We have a lot of projects that are coming together. We can talk politics closer to the election," she said.

Kelly, an Elmwood Township resident for four years, is presently zoning administrator for Kalkaska County. "I'm also the closest thing we have to a planner, and I also do soil erosion for the county," said Kelly.

He will likely resign from his Kalkaska position if elected Elmwood supervisor, he said.

Kelly is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, and earned a master's degree in 1990 in environmental public policy from the University of Michigan. He was a member of a team of students whose thesis was about the zebra mussel.

Kelly served 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, retiring as a lieutenant commander.

He has already come up with a campaign motto – "Listen, Learn and Lead" – and received commitments from 30 volunteers to work on his campaign, he said.

Kelly served on the Elmwood Township Planning Commission from October 2004, until May of this year, including more than two years as chair. He is also chair of the United Boaters for Elmwood Township organization that has criticized supervisor Smith's administration of the township marina.

Kelly said he is running to change the "tone in Elmwood Township politics," which he said has alienated residents.

"I'm not satisfied in the current administration, and a change is drastically needed," said Kelly, who added that he views the recent defeat of a fire millage request as a signal that voters lack trust in their elected officials. "That has led to what I view as an ever-increasing polarization at the township level."