Newcomer Todd Britton and incumbent Travis Konarzewski have been chosen as the Republican nominees for Alpena County Board of Commissioners seats, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary election.
Britton had about 76% of the vote to beat former commissioner Kevin Osbourne in the county’s District 6, which covers all of Maple Ridge Township, a small portion of Long Rapids Township, and a small portion of Alpena Township.
And Konarzewski had about 70% of the vote to beat challenger Bonnie Krajniak in the county’s District 7, which covers Wilson Township, Green Township, Wellington Township, and the west half of Long Rapids Township.
Britton said he wanted to thank those that assisted his campaign, and spoke optimistically about his future role.
“I am looking forward to representing the people of District 6 and working with the other commissioners and county staff to navigate the challenging times ahead,” he said.
In a previous interview with The News, Britton said his number-one priority is stabilizing the county’s general fund budget and wants to do so through voter-approved tax hikes and possible budget cuts.
“It is time to make some difficult decisions,” he said in the interview. “I think the people need to be involved as much as they can be. We need to continue to scrutinize the budget.”
Konarzewski said he was grateful to keep going in his political career.
“I am thankful that they have given me another term and allowed me to finish all the good things we got started,” Konarzewski said. “I’ve really enjoyed the last two years on the board and I hope I continue to enjoy the next four.”
According to a previous interview with The News, Konarzewski said the severity of any budget cuts would be decided by voters.
County voters on Tuesday nixed a proposed tax hike — called a “Headlee rollup” by county officials in reference to a section of state law — that would have raised about $800,000 a year to help the county overcome a budget shortfall expected to be near $1 million.
“The Headlee rollup is important because, if it fails, there will be cuts,” he said in the interview. “We have trimmed the budget as much as we can.”
The two winners will now run in the Nov. 5 general election. As of now, they are both unopposed, as there were no Democratic nominees in Tuesday’s primary.
The four-year terms for the elected board members will start in January 2025.
