2 competitive races for PI County board
ROGERS CITY — Presque Isle County voters will on Nov. 8 choose who serves as Presque Isle County commissioner for Districts 1 and 2.
In the race for District 1 of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners, Democrat Wayne Vermilya is up against Republican Clifford Tollini.
Vermilya, 67, of Onaway, served on the Alice Township board for 11 years. He served on the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners from 1994 to 2000. He said he has retired about four times now. He worked in the recreational boating industry. He said he has run in every election since he lost his seat on the board.
He said the board has “settled a number of significant lawsuits that make the county have difficulty in acquiring sufficient insurance coverage,” Vermilya said. “So their insurance coverage is very expensive, and they have difficulty finding carriers.
“Going forward, the budget is always a concern,” Vermilya added. “And I think that, if we were to have some confident leadership on the board, that we can get funding for the Lobdell headquarters building in Onaway, the historical site, they’ve been working on trying to get that restored.”
Tollini did not return multiple phone messages from The News.
In the District 2 race for the Presque Isle County board, Wendy Berg, James Haack, Mary Ann Heidemann, and Gerald Wenzel are vying for one available seat, all running as independents.
Berg, 63, of Rogers City, has worked for the Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Office for over 35 years. She has no elected experience, but she believes her experience working for the county qualifies her to serve as commissioner. She worked as a corrections officer and dispatcher.
“When I saw that there was an opening, I just felt that I wanted to continue my service to the county,” said Berg, who has lived in the county for over 50 years.
If elected, she wants to see some work done on the county courthouse, and oversee the use of the federal American Rescue Plan Act appropriations.
Haack, 67, of Ocqueoc, moved to the area five years ago. He does not have elected experience, but he has the desire to work hard for his community. He is retired from working for MISS DIG as a troubleshooter for Consumers Power, Detroit Edison, and Verizon, and he also pastored a church.
“I’m a common-sense conservative,” Haack said.
The Navy veteran is running for office because, one day at the assessor’s office, he was complaining about property values, and a clerk told him to run for office. So he did.
“I just think that politics have become a two-party scam,” Haack said. “Half the people don’t even vote in county elections, because they don’t think they do anything. My feeling is, I know enough people up here, and I’ve got a big enough mouth. I want to spread the word about what we’re doing.”
He said county roads are a first priority. He thinks vulcanized asphalt is a good idea, which may cost more up front but, he said, will last longer, so it will save the county money down the road.
Heidemann, 72, of Rogers Township, served one term as a county commissioner in the 1990s. She held several local offices in Rogers City when she was a resident in the city. She chaired the Planning Commission and also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals.
“For many years, I worked for (Michigan State University) Extension, and the county was the employer, actually,” Heidemann said. “So I had a lot of experience in economic development in the city, and helped handle the airport project and other economic projects.”
Her profession is community planner. She has a master’s degree in public administration.
“For many years, I was a consulting planner working for local governments, primarily in Northeast Michigan and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula,” Heidemann said.
If elected, her primary focus will be “to keep the basic service of county government running, and running smoothly. These are very, very critical services. People should understand county government and its responsibilities better, and I hope that I’ll be able to communicate that.”
Wenzel, 70, of Rogers Township, has lived in the Rogers City area his whole life. He is retired from what is now Lafarge Holcim.
“Something’s got to be changed here,” he said. “Now’s the time to go to work.”
He thinks roads and spending need to be addressed.
“We’ve got to take a little more interest in what’s going on at the Road Commission,” Wenzel said. “We’ve got to decide how to spend the money that they’re getting wisely.”
He wonders how the county is running out of money when expensive homes have been going up in the area.
“How can you be running out of money when you’re getting all this new tax revenue?” he asked.
He held many positions in the union Local Boilermakers, from recording secretary to chief committeeman to steward, he said.
“I did a lot of contract work, so it got me familiar with how that works,” Wenzel said. “I’ve lived here all my life, so I know a lot of what’s going on.”