Candidates in competitive Delta County Commission races answer voter questions in the forum

ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Candidates in the only two contested races for the Delta County Board of Commissioners spoke to the public at Escanaba City Hall on Wednesday.

The Delta County League of Women Voters hosted a forum with sections on four major elections. The County Commission segment included Districts 3 and 4.

District 3 incumbent Myra Croasdell won her post in the May recall election, ousting Bob Barron. Croasdell, who is again running without a party affiliation, faces Republican candidate Christine Williams, a former member of the Escanaba Planning Commission.

Croasdell said she has shown that she works well with her fellow commissioners to achieve her goals.

“We network,” Croasdell said. “Kellie [Van Ginhoven] can call me; I can call Mr. [John] Malnar. This is a team effort for Delta County to bring them all together. We are simply not divided between District 4, District 3 and District 1. We are Delta County.”

Williams previously worked as vice president of operations at Bay College. She said this role gave her expertise in various areas of administration that could help the board make important decisions.

“Not only do I understand facilities and grounds, buildings, information technology and accreditation processes, I also have a whole range of skills and experience that I feel I could offer the county that would be very useful,” Williams said. “I am pleased to be able to provide these resources and capabilities.”

District 4 Democratic incumbent Kelli Van Ginhoven also became commissioner in the May recall election, taking Republican David Moyle's seat. Van Ginhoven took part in the forum, Moyle did not.

Van Ginhoven said since the recall vote, the board has made improvements to the county's operations and resources. She hopes to continue this work as commissioner.

“I feel like a person who shows up, brings great ideas and knows how to fight for what I believe is right,” she said. “Our Commission is currently a great collaborative and cohesive unit. We don’t always agree, but we respectfully disagree.”

One of several questions from the audience concerned the importance of attending city and community meetings as a county representative. Van Ginhoven began her answer with an emphatic “Yes.”

“What I think we can bring to the city and what the city can do for us is almost irreplaceable,” she said. “A perfect example was the evaluation of our new administrator. We took this directly from the city of Escanaba. I saw their new 360 assessment template that they used a few years ago. I felt our administrator's rating was out of date…I contacted Jim McNeil at the city…and we used it to develop our new administrator's rating. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I hadn’t had a good working relationship with the city’s employees.”

Croasdell, whose district spans several townships, agreed.

“They’re the ones who put you in your place,” she said. “You are their representative. They need to see that you care about their townships and their concerns…You need to be there.”

Williams, a regular attendee of local meetings, said community board meetings are a “critical time” to gather information.

“They take information from the county and inform their board,” she said. “You don't necessarily have the time to attend county meetings, so you're the conduit for what's going on at the county level. I think it’s incredibly important.”

The candidates also told voters what they would like to achieve if elected. As commissioner, Williams said she will work to address housing issues and find ways to save the county money.

“I am confident that our towns and cities’ planning documents contain data that will help make clear where our needs actually lie,” she said. “I also hope to provide some services that I can provide to the county by mapping processes or looking at a very detailed process to determine where there are redundancies in services.”

Croasdell said Delta County is doing very well and she intends to “evolve” the board if re-elected.

“Ensure our board remains transparent, ensure ethical leadership and hold people accountable when necessary,” Croasdell said.

Van Ginhoven's top priority would be expanding the Delta County Airport. She said she would also work to increase county employee pay and establish a mental health court.

“A mental health court … would be along the same lines as our drug and sobriety court,” Van Ginhoven said. “I think it could open up a lot of potentially great collaborations with our court system if we could move this forward.”

For more voter questions and answers from Croasdell, Williams and Van Ginhoven, watch the full forum on the City of Escanaba's YouTube channel. For information on David Moyle's candidacy, click here.

On Thursday, WZMQ 19 will have more from the forum covering the races for Gladstone city commissioner and the 108th House District seat.