ALPENA –Having multiple candidates to choose from when voting is critical to allowing voters to shape government in the form the majority wants.

But it seems there are often fewer candidates filing to run for local elective office, leaving municipal boards to appoint members themselves.

With that come ramifications, experts say, which could lead to elected officials appointing people who share their political views and not the people’s.

In some races during Tuesday’s primary election, there were zero candidates for either party, meaning there would be no names on the general election ballots for voters to select. As a result, anyone who decides to to run for the vacant seats in November has to do so as a write-in candidate.

In Northeast Michigan, there were five races without candidates on Tuesday. That included Board of Commissioners seats in Montmorency County, clerk and trustee positions in Presque Isle County’s Belknap Township, and an alderman position in the City of Harrisville, which is in Alcona County.

Alpena Community College Political Science and History Professor Tim Kuehnlein said he believes there are several reason fewer people are choosing to run for local government seats. He said he believes people are aware of the serious responsibilities elected officials have and shy away from them. Few people have the time to dedicate to the job, he said.

“There is a tremendous amount of responsibility and the compensation is minimal,” Kuehnlein said. “Most people need to have a full-time job and just don’t have the time. The compensation from being on a local board isn’t enough to support yourself and it is almost like being a volunteer, but with a large amount of responsibility.”

Michigan Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams said the process of filling vacant seats or positions could vary from one municipality to another. He said some could choose to appoint a person until the next scheduled election, have a special election, or appoint someone. He said anyone who intends to run as a write-in candidate in Alcona, Presque Isle and Montmorency County for the general election have until Oct. 26 to file paperwork to have votes for them count.

Officials in Montmorency County said there are two candidates –including one incumbent who had planned to leave office –who will run in November as write-in candidates for the vacant board seats. As long as one person writes in their names, they can be elected to those seats –and they are expected to write in their own names.

Kuehnlein said there could be unintended consequences when appointments are made, and those consequences are magnified if the board has to make more than one appointment. He said the appointees often get to serve more than a single term because, once they are appointed they can run again as an incumbent. And, 80 percent of the time, incumbents are reelected, he said.

“The board can select the candidate it prefers and they will likely be reelected,” Kuehnlein said. ” The original choice wasn’t made by the people and there is a threat that the board could be a clique.”

Kuehnlein said another reason people may not run for office is because of the fear of failure. He said a lot of hard work and money can be put into elections, and, if they are not successful, it can have an emotional impact on them.

“It is not easy to put yourself out there and lose,” he said. “It can be quite embarrassing. I have a lot of respect for the people that put themselves out there to try to serve others.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.