Candidates run for council seat

ALPENA -- Four candidates from Alpena seek to fill a soon-to-be vacant council seat on the Alpena Municipal Council.

Erinn Kane, Christopher Moses, Ashley Peterson, and Kevin Ginter all filed for consideration for the open position that was created by the resignation of former Mayor Matt Waligora in November.

The deadline to apply for the seat was Friday afternoon.

Council hopes to fill the mayor position with a current council member, but a stalemate between the four remaining members of the council has bogged down the process, as both Mayor Pro Tempore Cindy Johnson and Councilman Mike Nowak were unable to garner a majority of the four votes on council to become mayor until the end of the year.

Voters will determine who becomes mayor beyond 2024, as the seat will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Johnson said she is contemplating a run for mayor, while Nowak said he does not intend to seek another term on the council or as mayor. He said he wants to be the interim mayor because it will level the playing field between candidates, as there wouldn't be an incumbent on the ballot if he is chosen as mayor.

Councilwoman Karol Walchak nominated and voted for Johnson and Councilman Dan Mitchell nominated and voted for Nowak.

The appointment of the new council member and another vote or two for mayor is slated to be on the agenda for council's next meeting on January 16.

At its meeting on Jan. 2, council entertained the idea of appointing its new member at the next meeting and they could end up being the tie-breaking vote. City Attorney Bill Pfiefer is researching if the move abides by the law and City Charter because it is possible the council seat may not be considered vacant until after someone on the council becomes interim mayor.

Waligora stepped down with a year remaining in his term, although a change to the election cycle added a fifth year to it. He said serving four years, like he promised voters, fulfilled his commitment and he was ready to move on.

Last year, the council voted to move council elections to even-numbered years to sync up with Alpena County elections. Each of the members of council at the time had a year added to the balance of their term. After this year's election cycle wraps up, council members' terms will return to four years.