Ilsa Minor | Daily Press Nine of the ten candidates in primary races for the Delta County Board of Commissioners were at Escanaba City Hall Wednesday for a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. Shown are, from left John Malnar (R - District 1), Sandra Skiba (R - District 1), Patrick Johnson (R - District 2), Steve Viau (R - District 2), Bob Barron (R - District 3), Christine Williams (R - District 3), Kelli Van Ginhoven (D - District 4), Matt Jensen (R - District 5), and Bob Petersen (R - District 5). The primary election is set for Aug. 6.

ESCANABA — Escanaba City Hall looked more like an anachronistic meeting of the county board of commissioners Wednesday, as nine of the 10 primary candidates running for the county board next month weighed in on the issues during a candidate forum.

All but two of the candidates at the forum had served on the board at some point in the last three years. Current commissioners John Malnar (R – District 1), Steve Viau (R – District 2), Kelli Van Ginhoven (D – District 4), and Matthew Jensen (R – District 5) faced off Wednesday against former commissioners Patrick Johnson (R – District 2), Bob Barron (R – District 3), and Bob Petersen (R – District 5), as well as newcomers Sandra Skiba (R – District 1) and Christine Williams (R – District 3).

Johnson, who was on the board for eight years and was formerly the board’s chair, vacated the seat in 2022 by not seeking reelection — a move he described Wednesday as taking “a two-year sabbatical” — while Barron and Petersen were recalled from the board in May. Jason Sacco, who is running as a Democrat for District 4 against Van Ginhoven, was not present at the forum and has not previously served on the board.

With the prevalence of candidates with board experience, it was not surprising that many of the commissioners pointed to their time on the board when introducing themselves during opening statements. However, Barron opted not to use the time for a self-introduction, but instead read a prepared statement that took aim at the League of Women Voters, who co-hosted the forum with the American Association of University Women, for a forum held in April that was livestreamed but closed to the public.

“It is telling that the public is present tonight. At April’s forum before the recall, they were barred due to the League of Women Voters being intimidated and duped along with the citizens of Delta County by the disruptive actions of the recall group at the county commission meetings. The recall group is now in control of the commission and has reduced this forum to a tragedy. Inconsistency garnishes no respect. Thank you,” he read.

Following opening statements, the candidates were asked about their qualifications and experience directly. Skiba, who said in her opening statement that she was running because “the people need a voice in Delta County, and the Silent Majority will no longer be silent,” said she had a degree in business; was certified in private security, investigations, and firearms; was a retired business owner, a former insurance agent, property management supervisor, PTA president, and Scout leader. She also said she served on the board for Community Action Agency in the early 2000s and served on the board of her church.

Williams, who retired as the vice president of operations at Bay College in 2021, pointed to her service on a number of different boards. She was on both the county’s planning commission and the city of Escanaba’s planning commission for ten years, and served as the chair of both boards. She was also on the presidential advisory board at Bay.

Williams described herself as a “fiscal conservative,” and told the audience that the county’s lack of an updated recreation master plan was “fiscally irresponsible.” Updating the plan was part of both her top priorities and answer as what was needed now that the parks are under county management.

“There is one thing and one thing that is incredibly important relevant to the parks right now that this county must do and that is update their five-year rec plan. Their five-year rec plan is expired right now, but it’s absolutely critical that that gets updated because once that’s updated you can apply for funds from the Michigan Trust fund and that’s a 75% savings on any project that you fund within your parks,” said Williams.

Others candidates present Wednesday echoed the sentiment that the recreation plan needed updating, including Van Ginhoven and Jensen.

Providing support for veterans’ services was a major topic of discussion during the forum, as the candidates were asked how they felt about a millage proposal coming before voters later this year that would levy one-tenth of a mill (10 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) to support a Delta County Department of Veterans Affairs. All of the candidates expressed support for the millage, but individual candidates approached the question from different angles.

Van Ginhoven, who said she would promote the millage and that lack of support for Delta County Veterans Service Officer Dave Dziewior in the past had been a “travesty,” stressed that the county needed a backup plan for the millage.

“We also have to, as a commission and a county, to formulate a Plan B in the case the millage does not pass. What are we going to do for that veteran’s service office in the event it does not go through? We can’t just say, ‘Oh, we hope it happens’ and then when it doesn’t Dave is back by himself again,” she said.

Viau was lighthearted for most of the forum, making jokes about his wife’s input, his propensity for long-winded answers, and how he believed local elections were secure because he had been elected — which garnered chuckles from the audience and other candidates. He took a more serious tone on veterans’ issues, telling the audience how he had recently sat with his own grandson during an intake session with the county’s veterans service office to learn the process.

“I tried to get money prior to this millage to see if we had money in the general fund to start it right now, even before the millage. And I just think it’s time we start serving those in our community that served us so we can say what we want anytime, anywhere and not be stifled. So God bless our vets,” he said.

Another major topic of discussion was the place of the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. Generally speaking, the candidates supported both acts, however Barron and Petersen both suggested the laws could be weaponized and Johnson argued the Open Meetings Act could be problematic.

“I can tell you about FOIA because I was probably FOIA’s more than anybody else on our board when I was on there, or at least as much,” said Petersen. “It’s a good tool. They’re both good tools, and they’re both very important. Unfortunately, sometimes they are abused, and, like I said, I support both of them.”

Johnson’s criticism focused primarily on boards that included members from different geographic areas.

“Where the Open Meetings Act kind of handicaps us a little bit, or slows us down, is where we have a need like in our area where weather might be really bad where we can’t get as many different commissioners together for different boards like Michigan Works! board, where we’re all across the U.P. In those cases, the Open Meetings Act hurts us because you have to have a quorum present,” said Johnson.

Jensen, however, disagreed with the statements, arguing there should never be an Open Meetings Act violation and that FOIA requests were less prevalent when the government was open and transparent.

“As far as the Open Meetings Act goes, I understand where some feel it could hamstring you in other places, I don’t feel that way,” he said.

As the forum drew to a close, Malnar, who is currently the board’s chair, took a slightly different approach in his bid for support by not only listing his experience on boards and commissions, but expressing his intent to take on a new role with the Michigan Association of Counties.

“I am currently trying to get on the MAC board, which is the Michigan Association of Counties. I would be on there for Region 1, and I would be on their board of directors. And that would take place in September,” he said in his closing statement.

The primary is set for Aug. 6. Early voting for all Delta County residents takes place at the Wells Township Hall from July 27 to Aug. 4.