Though early signs indicated a concerningly sparse field for this year’s impending Leelanau County Board of Commissioners elections, a series of late filings has created a more crowded ballot than anticipated for all seven district seats. The same can’t be said for most other county government positions up for reelection this year: Candidates for county clerk, sheriff, treasurer, prosecuting attorney, and probate court judge all have wide-open paths to victory this fall, with just one prospect on the ballot in each of those races.

The Leelanau Ticker has your rundown of these and other races below, following Tuesday’s 4pm deadline for candidates to file for the county’s August 2024 primary elections.

County commission races

At least two of Leelanau’s seven county commission seats will change hands this fall, with two incumbents opting not to seek reelection. All told, 19 candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the August primary.

District 1: Incumbent Jamie Kramer (D) is not seeking reelection, leaving the District 1 county commission seat up for grabs. A week ago, that race was looking bare, with no candidates filed to run. As of yesterday’s deadline, though, there are three people in contention, including a few familiar faces. Deb Allen, who recently stepped down as Leelanau County administrator, is running for the District 1 seat as a Republican, while Rick Robbins, the former commissioner Kramer beat to clinch the seat in 2022, is running as a Democrat. (Robbins previously served as a Republican.) Rounding out the race is Tim McCalley, who will compete with Allen for the Republican nomination.

Reached by The Ticker for comment on his decision to change party affiliation, Robbins shares the following: “I looked at how I voted [when I was on the commission], and my own party wasn’t really backing me. At the end of the day, I’m purple, and I vote on the issues, so I’m not too concerned [about the party shift].”

District 2: Like District 1, District 2 has an incumbent – Republican James O’Rourke – who has opted not to seek reelection this year. Also like District 1, District 2 had no candidates on the ballot up until late last week. Three late-in-the-game filings avoided an uncontested or zero-candidate race, with Mark Walter and Forrest Welch filing to run on the Republican side and Scott Perry joining the fray on the Democrat side.

District 3: No matter what happens with the District 3 primary, the November election will be a rematch. Up for the Republican nomination are incumbent Doug Rexroat and former commissioner William Bunek, while Lois Bahle is running as a Democrat. Bunek was subject to a recall election in May 2022, after he recommended zeroing out the early childhood services millage that Leelanau County voters had approved in 2019. Bahle beat Bunek in that recall election, ending the latter’s 14-year run on the county commission. But Bahle’s time on the board was short: She ultimate lost the November 2022 election to Rexroat.

All three candidates turned in their election paperwork in the final five days, filling out another race that looked bare a week ago.

District 4: Incumbent Ty Wessell (D), who also serves as the current board chair for the county commission, is seeking reelection – and running unopposed for the Democratic nomination. On the other side of the aisle is Jim White, who is the lone Republican in the race for District 4. Barring a withdrawal on either side, the two will face off in November for the seat.

District 5: Another rematch is brewing in District 5, where incumbent Kama Ross (D) and her November 2022 opponent Alan Campbell (R) are the only candidates in the hunt for their respective party nominations. (Another Republican, Harry Steffens, filed to run for the District 5 seat back in January, but withdrew his candidacy earlier this month.) Ross beat Campbell by 38 votes in 2022 to clinch the district.

District 6: Incumbent Gwenne Algaier (D) is running for reelection, while Mark Roberts is seeking the Republican nomination in the August primary. No other candidates filed to run in District 6.

District 7: Incumbent Melinda Lautner (R), already Leelanau’s longest-serving commissioner – she’s been on the board for nearly 30 years – is looking to extend her tenure. Lautner filed papers for the District 7 race on Monday, ending speculation that she may not seek reelection this time around. She’ll face two other Republicans in the August primary: Steve Yoder, who filed to run all the way back on January 16, and Amedee DeCruydt. On the Democrat side, there is only one name on the ballot: Tim Dowd.

Other races

Of the eight other elected positions up for grabs at the Leelanau County Government Center this cycle, only three will involve any sort of competition:

>The November race for drain commissioner is likely to be a battle between Timothy O’Non on the Republican side and Faith Hoekstra on the Democrat side. Incumbent Steve Christensen did not file papers to seek reelection.

>Road Commissioner Garth Greenan (D) is seeking another term in office. He won’t see opposition for the Democratic nomination, but should face James Calhoun – the only Republican on the primary ballot – in November.

>Jennifer Grant (R), Leelanau’s sitting register of deeds, has opposition on the primary ballot in the form of Renée Wyler, who is also running as a Republican. There are no Democrat candidates in contention, making the August primary the deciding race for this seat.

Leelanau’s five other up-for-election roles will see uncontested races in both August and November, with just one candidate filed to run in each. Those include:

>County clerk, where incumbent Michelle Crocker (R) is seeking reelection. Crocker was first appointed to that role in May 1996, and was later properly elected in August of that same year; she has retained the county clerk seat ever since. Most recently, Crocker beat out Democrat Theresa Rose in November 2020, winning 9,908 votes to 6,346.

>Probate court judge, where incumbent Marian Kromkowski did not file to run for reelection. Kromkowski’s absence from the field gives newcomer Steven Paciorka – who is running with no party affiliation – a clear runway to office.

>County treasurer, where incumbent John Gallagher III is running unopposed for a fourth term in office.

>Sheriff, where incumbent Mike Borkovich is seeking another term; Borkovich has been Leelanau County sheriff since 2012.

>Prosecuting attorney, where another incumbent, Joseph Hubbell, looks all but assured of extending his lengthy tenure; Hubbell has been Leelanau’s prosecutor since 2004.