On to the general election
Mack, Funk look forward to November’s challengeBy SEAN HARKINS
With Tuesday's primary election in the record books, two circuit court judge candidates are preparing to face off in November.
David Funk and Michael Mack will vie for the seat to be vacated by current 26th Circuit Court Judge John Kowalski, who could not run again because of age restrictions.
Mack finished with 3,234 votes to Funk's 2,010. Third-place finisher Dennis Grenkowicz ended with 1,934 votes. The 26th Circuit covers both Alpena and Montmorency counties.
Mack said he was delighted with the results and will continue campaigning until the November election.
"We expected to do very well, we were very confident going into the election because we worked very hard," he said. "The fact that we met our target (of 45 percent of the vote) makes us very happy."
Tim Kuehnlein, instructor of political science and history at Alpena Community College, said Funk's victory came as a minor surprise.
"I knew that there was a pretty heated contest there but I guess I didn't personally expect it to turn out the way it did," he said.
Because of Grenkowicz's record and name recognition as the long-time Alpena County Prosecutor, Kuehnlein said he figured he would win the second spot on November's ballot.
Funk said he didn't look at the numbers from Tuesday's election and considered himself to be way behind Mack. Although the race is non-partisan, he said it is well known both he and Grenkowicz are Republican, while Mack is a Democrat. He said he believed the Republican votes were basically split between the two candidates.
"We're happy we're in the final running," Funk said. "We want to thank the people who supported us ... we intend to add to that (support), we intend to scoop Mr. Grenkowicz's votes and add to that and roll up our sleeves."
Kuehnlein said the Grenkowicz supporters are now an important factor in the race.
"The real question is, will Grenkowicz supporters go to Funk instead of Mack, and that's a hard call," he said.
Both candidates said after the election they will remain friends - as they have been for over 30 years.
"We congratulated one another. He's always been a friend of mine and that won't change," Mack said.
Funk said they are used to working together and on opposite ends of the legal spectrum, but have remained friends through it all.
"We walk outside the walnut doors of the courtroom and we'll be friends again," he said.
The 106th District State representative race did not offer the excitement of the judge race.
Republican Peter Pettalia and Democrat Andy Neumann both won handily in the primary, which was expected, Kuehnlein said.
While he did say Mack has the advantage going forward in the judge race, the race for the state representative is up in the air.
"The vote total showed a high interest in both (Neumann and Pettalia)," Kuehnlein said.
He said the voter turnout, which was 17.1 percent of registered voters, was low - especially after about 21 percent of voters came out for the presidential primary.
"That's disappointing, especially when you consider local government has the most direct impact on us in so many ways," Kuehnlein said.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.
