With Leelanau County’s election results certified, the county’s next seven commissioners have been confirmed: Rick Robbins, Mark Walter, Will Bunek, Ty Wessell, Alan Campbell, Gwenne Allgaier, and Steve Yoder. And soon, that board will choose its county administrator.
The current board of commissioners wants to offer the administrator position to someone who will work well with the next board over their four-year terms, so they invited the newly elected officials to interviews. Six of the seven new commissioners gave feedback on the first round of interviews.
A second round with two finalist candidates — Mark Brown and James Dyer — is scheduled for Dec. 12. A third finalist, Kipling Belcher, was also invited, but he withdrew his application for the position late last month.
The current commissioners plan to weigh the new commissioner’s feedback heavily before extending the job offer, if not leave that decision to the next board once their terms begin in January. The administrator is the employee tasked with implementing all the board’s directives.
Then the new board will choose its chair and vice-chair at an organizational meeting. Wessell, who was recently reelected as District No. 4 Commissioner, has been board chairman for about two and a half years.
The previous chairman, Bunek, was recalled in May 2022 for defunding the early childhood services program. But Bunek has been reelected as District No. 3 Commissioner. A Nov. 24 recount confirmed the official results: Bunek defeated his Democrat opponent, Lois Bahle, by six votes.
Bunek may have a clear path to becoming the county board chairman again, assuming the now-Republican majority on the board rallies behind him. But the board will need to choose a new vice-chair since the current one, Doug Rexroat, did not run for reelection.
The new board will also confirm its committee appointments and, it seems, choose whether the county’s Energy Futures Task Force (EFTF) will continue as an advisory body. The EFTF’s plans to adopt solar arrays and electric vehicles have been heavily opposed by the county Republican Party.
Attempts by GOP affiliates to present prosecutable evidence against the task force to the district attorney have so far been unsuccessful. But with the balance of power on the board shifting in the Republican’s favor, Democrat support for the EFTF may not be enough to keep the group going.
The current board planned beyond their terms into 2025, planning to build a new cooling tower and air handler at the government center and to scale back stipends paid to the clerk’s office for finance and accounting support. The new board may follow these plans or chart their own course.
One thing is clear: Leelanau County’s new commissioners will need to be ready to act decisively and make some big decisions. Election season is over. Now, it’s time for the winning candidates to deliver on their promises.
