ALPENA — A batch of write-in candidates who filed to run for office on Tuesday could change the dynamic of some local races that were previously unopposed.

The deadline for write-in candidates to file was on Friday and there were many more than the typical election cycle.

In Alpena County, there are three people running as write-in candidates for Alpena County Board of Commissioner seats.

The commissioner’s seat for District 3 will see Lucille Bray, who filed to run as an independent and was appointed to the board after former commissioner Robin LaLonde stepped down. After learning that Bray was running unopposed, JoAnne Pinkerton, a Republican, said she believed giving voters another option was important.

Bray worked in the Alpena Clerk’s office for many years. She said she wanted to run for commissioner to stay engaged in local government and lend her assistance to the board in its effort to stabilize the county’s budget. She said that since being appointed, it has been clear to her that she did the right thing to run and enjoys the work she is doing for the county’s residents.

“I have the extra time and I feel with my experience in finance, I could jump right in and begin to help,” Bray said. “Since I’ve been doing it, it has cemented my conviction that I am ready to serve. I love Alpena and I think my 25 years of experience in local government can help.”

Pinkerton said she understands that the current commissioners aren’t all to blame for the county’s current financial situation and that money the taxpayers pay the county doesn’t go as far as it once did. However, she said like some families in the area, the county needs to prioritize what it spends its funds on better.

“As a single parent of three boys and raising them without support and virtually no outside help, I had to learn to budget my finances,” she said. “I also had to conserve my resources and prioritize my family’s needs. If it could wait, it waited. Balance and prioritize is the key to getting a handle on finances. Weighing what is the greatest need for the greatest number of citizens is vital.”

In District 1, Stephanie Woytaszek is running for the commissioner’s seat and will need to receive more votes than Republican incumbent Bill LaHaie and independent Jeff Welch.

Woytaszek could not be reached for comments about her candidacy and why she decided to run.

The race for District 4 commissioner is between Republican incumbent Bill Peterson and write-in candidate Brian Perry. Several messages were left with Perry requesting an interview.

Carol Bobolts is running as a write-in trying to defeat incumbent Brenda Fournier, a Republican who represents the county’s District 5. Both candidates were interviewed earlier in the election cycle.

Bobolts said she decided to run for commissioner because of the ongoing issue over children’s books at the Alpena County Library that some people say are sexually graphic.

Bobolts said she believes the books should remain where they are in the library and she opposes the commissioners’ decision earlier this year to replace the entire library board. She also believes she can help reduce the largest budget deficit the county faces.

Fournier said she wanted to seek another term because she has unfinished business and doesn’t want to leave it unresolved.

Fournier said the number-one issue the county faces is its budget and its more than $1 million shortfall.

She said the difficulties that the county faces now could have been avoided if the board had the courage to make cuts years ago and she pushed for the cuts then. Fournier said she intends to work hard to fix the county’s financial woes.

In Alpena Public Schools, four names will appear on the ballot for three open seats on the district’s Board of Trustees, but voters will have five names to choose from.

Incumbents Gordon Snow and Eric Lawson and newcomers Sarah Costain and Monica Dziesinski will appear on the ballot. Renee Nicole Fisher has filed to run as a write-in.

Fisher was not available for an interview by The News’ deadline for this story.

In previous interviews, Snow, Lawson, Costain, and Dziesinski each named improving students’ academic performance as a top goal.

Voters in Hillman Community Schools will also have a write-in candidate to choose for the Board of Education.

The district has four open seats on the board and four candidates actively campaigning — incumbent Roxanne LaFleche and newcomers George Kearns and David Pickelhaupt II appearing on the ballot and write-in candidate Laurie Nugent also running.

However, incumbent Jack Matthias, who died recently, will also appear on the ballot because ballots have already been printed. Voters still can vote for Matthias on Tuesday, and hundreds of absentee ballots already turned in might include votes for Matthias.

Nugent will have to receive more write-in votes than Matthias or at least one of the other names on the ballot to claim the seat.

If Matthias and all the others who appear on the ballot win, it would be up to the Hillman school board to appoint a replacement to fill Matthias’ seat. Hillman Superintendent Pamela Rader said Friday that a current trustee who had planned to step down from the board agreed to stay on.

Elsewhere in Alpena County, Kendall Sumerix filed as a write-in candidate for a seat on the Green Township Board of Trustees. Two seats are open on that board and only one candidate will appear on the ballot, meaning Sumerix is all but guaranteed to earn a seat.

In Alcona County, William Thompson filed to run as a write-in candidate against Republican incumbent Craig Johnston, who defeated Thompson in the August primary.

In Presque Isle County’s Presque Isle Township, write-in candidate Larry Fields seeks a seat on the township board, which has a pair of seats up for grabs. Fields will try to defeat Democrat Mary O’Neill or Lyn Loheed, an independent, to win a seat.

In Posen, Brian Adams is running as a write-in candidate against John Ataman for village president.

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