Onekama businessman Ray Franz formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination of the 101st state House seat now occupied by Rep. David Palsrok (R-Manistee).

RAY FRANZ, who owns two Manistee County
grocery stores, is seeking the Republican
nomination for the 101st state House seat.

Palsrok is term-limited and cannot seek re-election for the seat, which represents Leelanau, Benzie, Manistee and Mason counties.

Franz is the owner of Franz Market in Onekama and the Bear Lake IGA. He recently completed 29 years of service on the Onekama Village Council, serving as president from 2000-2006. During his tenure, he said the village reduced its millage from 10 to 5 mills, reduced resident sewer bills by 33 percent, and paid off initial sewer bonds.

Franz has also served 30 years on the Onekama Village Fire Department, including four years as chief, and is recognized by many as a former official and referee at middle and high school sporting events.

He served in the Army from 1968 to 1970 in Vietnam, where he earned the Bronze Star, and moved to Manistee County in 1978. He has two grown sons and seven grandchildren.

Franz is one of three candidates to officially file for the Republican nomination to the 101st House seat. Also seeking the party’s nomination are Gregory V. Ferguson of Manistee and Janice McCraner of Arcadia.

McCraner has served the past eight years as supervisor of Arcadia Township and as a Manistee County commissioner. She and husband Tom retired to northern Michigan after spending 21 years traveling the U.S. and Europe in the U.S. Air Force.

Also expected to seek the nomination in the Aug. 5 Primary Election is Mike McManus of Lake Leelanau. McManus, who said he will announce his candidacy throughout the district later this month, has lived most of his life in northwest Lower Michigan, and recently retired after a 30-year career as a teacher with Traverse City Area Public Schools. He earned a master’s degree in education from Central Michigan University, and spent his first year teaching in the Carmen school district near Flint before landing a position with TCAPS.

In addition to being a teacher, McManus is a lifelong fourth-generation cherry farmer. He and his wife, Janet (Courtad), have owned and operated fruit orchards in Leelanau County since 1976. The couple moved to Leelanau in 2005 as he was finishing up his second term on the Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees. McManus has two grown children, including State Sen. Michelle McManus, and seven grandchildren.

Daniel Scripps, who received over 48 percent of the vote against Palsrok in 2006, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 101st seat. He has not yet filed as a candidate, according to the Michigan Secretary of State Bureau of Elections website. A graduate of the University of Michigan law school, he and his wife Jamie are now living in Leland, where Scripps is working for the Leelanau Conservancy.