Ginter

ALPENA — Kevin Ginter has spent years serving the public as a firefighter in Northeast Michigan.

Now, he wants to represent them on the Alpena Municipal Council and he hopes next Tuesday voters in Alpena will support him.

There are five candidates for a pair of open seats up for grabs next week with the top two vote getters winning the seats.

All of the candidates are required to live in the city to be eligible to be on the ballot and sit on council.

Ginter said he was motivated to run for council after observing the city’s role in the controversial talks about Alpena contracting with Alpena Township to provide emergency first response and management services at the township’s two fire stations.

The township approached the city about a contract about services because of a staffing shortage, but the proposed deal fell through after the township board of trustees voted against the agreement.

Ginter said it would have been best for the city to stay out of the matter and instead, focus on providing city residents the emergency response they pay for.

“I think I learned quite a bit during the whole process of what I consider a takeover of the township department, because that is really the way I looked at it,” Ginter said. “I didn’t like the way everyone involved was playing politics with the public’s safety. Why was the city getting involved with something that was the township’s business? The city shouldn’t have been involved, the township needed to take care of it.”

Ginter said there are a lot of exciting things going on in the city in terms of development, but he would like to see the waterfront put to better use.

“I think what is going on right now is good, but there I think there is a lot more to do,” he said. “I think there is a huge void that needs to be filled on our waterfront. If elected, one of my talking points would be downtown and lake shore development. ”

In the coming months, the council is expected to consider allowing recreational marijuana businesses to open in Alpena. Ginter said he believes most drugs ruin the fabric of society and he doesn’t do them.

For marijuana however, he said he views it as a drug similar to alcohol and is open to the idea of having it grown and sold in the city. Ginter said he wants mechanisms in place to limit how many shops are allowed to open and make sure they fit in with the aesthetic of the area visually.

“I’m not against having it, I just want to make sure it is responsibly controlled and regulated,” Ginter said.

As election day approaches, Ginter understands that if elected he won’t be able to please everyone, but he said he promises he will vote on what the majority of people want and for what is best for the community as a whole.

“I will do the best for the most,” Ginter said. “I will put in the time to do the research on the issues. I will do my due diligence and the needed leg work to make an educated vote.”

The Ginter File

∫ NAME: Kevin Ginter

∫ AGE: 64

∫ FAMILY: Single, two children

∫ EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in Science-Printing Management, Ferris State University

∫ ELECTED

EXPERIENCE: None

∫ OCCUPATION: Paid-on-call Firefighter for Alpena Township