Commissioners need to fill vacancy by September 20

Members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners have a vacant seat to fill following the August 20 death of District 5 commissioner Don Field. Field was 60 and had been hospitalized since December 2003 after being involved in a two-vehicle accident in Iosco County. Field was in a rehabilitation home in Bay City when he came down with pneumonia and had to return to the hospital, where he had been most of the last nine months. Field had not been to a meeting since late November. The commissioners now have to appoint a temporary replacement for the open seat, effective through December 31, 2004.

BY STATE STATUTE the board is required to name a replacement with 30 days following the death of a commissioner, according to Presque Isle County prosecutor Don McLennan. If this didn’t take place, county clerk Sue Rhode would have to schedule a special election, even with the general election a little more than two months away. The cost to run the election in District 5 would be between $3,000 and $4,000. McLennan brought up the subject at Friday’s board meeting during the prosecutor’s report. “It is my recommendation that you make it an agenda item at your next meeting,” said McLennan. “I didn’t know if we had to or not, being that we are so close to the end of the year,” said District 3 commissioner Mike Darga of the appointment process. Chairman Allan Bruder said, “we have gone all year one commissioner short and it would be smart to appoint somebody.”

THE NEXT BOARD meeting will be September 8 at the county courthouse in Rogers City. If the board were to appoint a replacement, it would have come at this meeting, or they would need t

o conduct a special meeting before September 20. There will be two candidates on the November 2 ballot in District 5: Field’s wife Mary Field, Democrat, and former commissioner Stephen Lang, a Republican. Darga asked the other commissioners if the position should be advertised. Bruder responded by saying that the board should look at the candidates on the November ticket. “We had people running for it at the last election, didn’t we?” asked Bruder. “That’s where you should look.” McLennan added: “You certainly know that there are some people interested in it.”

ABOUT NINE YEARS ago, the board of commissioners, which included Bruder at the time, had to appoint a replacement for Barbara Badder, 54, who died of pancreatic cancer, mid-term. She had served District 8, which covered the city of Onaway, North Allis and Bearinger townships. The board appointed Jessie Horrocks, who currently serves on the Onaway City Commission. She ran as a Democrat in the special election October 24, 1995 against Bob Schell and lost. Republican Greg Diller ran unopposed. Schell easily defeated Diller December 5, 1995, 168-44. Schell has been serving the on the board ever since.

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