A race is on for the office of Leelanau County Treasurer and several other county offices.

Vicki Kilway

Vicki A. Kilway has served as treasurer since 1981 after she won the November 1980 General Election. In most elections during the past 28 years, she has gone unchallenged. Last week, Kilway filed notice that she will run for the Republican nomination for re-election to her post in the Aug. 5 Primary Election.

Yesterday, on April 30, the chief deputy accountant in the county clerk’s office, Chelly Roush, filed notice that she, too, will run for the Republican nomination for treasurer this summer.

Historically in Leelanau County, most races for county offices have been won or lost in the Primary Election because so few Democrats appear on the General Election ballot. That may be different this year, however.

So far, three Democrats have declared their intention to run for their party’s nomination as candidates for three county commissioners’ seats. The deadline for candidates to file for the Aug. 5 Primary Election is May 13.

Kilway issued a news release early this week announcing her intention to seek re-election as treasurer on the Republican ballot.

Chelly Roush

She said she wants “to continue to provide the citizens of Leelanau County with efficiency in the office, accountability to the public and knowledge of state laws.”

Kilway cited a number of positions she has held in the Michigan Association of County Treasurers and other professional associations. She noted that she instituted the acceptance of property tax payments at the county level by credit card and developed procedures to increase the use of computer technology in the treasurer’s office. Kilway also noted that she has eliminated the State of Michigan’s involvement in the property forfeiture/foreclosure process in Leelanau County, gaining more local control.

Kilway is one of the county’s longest serving officials, having been hired as a county employee in December 1972 before being elected treasurer in 1980. Kilway said the last time she faced a challenger was in 1992.

Her current challenger, Roush, worked for a Traverse City accounting firm for 10 years before becoming a Leelanau County employee in 1996. Roush served briefly in the Equalization Department and then as an accounting clerk before being promoted to the position of chief deputy accountant – a position that reports directly to county clerk Michelle Crocker.

The county clerk’s office is required to balance financial records it keeps with those kept by the county treasurer’s office – and both Crocker and Kilway have publicly expressed concerns that their offices do not work well together in that regard.

Last year, an auditing firm charged the county an additional $47,357 to help fix problems identified in an audit of county financial records for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2006. The auditor’s report indicated that the cause of the county’s financial accounting problems could be attributed primarily to the county department “responsible for completing bank reconciliations” – that is, the treasurer’s department.

“As county treasurer, I hope to improve customer service and form better working relationships between the treasurer’s office and other county departments,” Roush said.

“I’m happy where I’m currently working,” Roush added, “but I believe taxpayers would be better served if I were working as treasurer.”

Several other races for county offices are under way – but none of them in the Aug. 5 Primary so far. Three Democrats have declared their intention to run for their party’s nomination for three county commissioners’ seats and will likely face the Republican incumbents in the Nov. 4 General Election.

In March, Suttons Bay resident Jackie Freeman filed for the District No. 3 county commissioner’s seat. The incumbent, Republican William J. Bunek, has also filed for his party’s nomination in the Aug. 5 Primary and will likely face a challenge from Freeman in November.

The District No. 7 county commissioner, Republican Melinda C. Lautner, declared her intention to run for reelection early last month. A few days later, Democrat Traci J. Cruz of Kasson Township declared her intention to run for her party’s nomination and will likely challenge Lautner in November.

On April 25, David G. Marshall of Glen Arbor Township filed to run for the Democratic nomination for the District No. 6 county commissioner’s seat in the Aug. 5 Primary. The incumbent in that seat is Robert L. Hawley, a Republican who also serves as chairman of the county Board of Commissioners. As of press-time, Hawley had not filed to run for re-election, with the deadline to file some two weeks away.

The District No. 4 commissioner, Republican Mary Tonneberger, was the first to file for re-election on February 25. She remains unchallenged. In addition, District No. 1 commissioner Jean I. Watkoski, also a Republican, has filed for reelection and remains unchallenged.

Road Commissioner John J. Popa has filed for the Republican nomination for re-election and remains unchallenged. Similarly, county prosecutor Joseph T. Hubbell, county clerk Michelle L. Crocker, and county Register of Deeds Sue C. Stoffel – all three of them Republicans – have filed for reelection, with no opposing candidates so far.

Sheriff Michael F. Oltersdorf, a Republican, filed for re-election on March 24. Although fellow Republican and incumbent District No. 2 county commissioner Mark Walter has indicated that he intends to run against Oltersdorf in the Aug. 5 Primary, Walter has not yet formally filed to run.