PRIMARY RACES Supervisors look to swap roles

Jordan Travis, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·4 min read

Apr. 25—TRAVERSE CITY — Three township supervisors in Grand Traverse County are planning to step down, but still keep a seat in township government.

Isaiah Wunsch will run for Peninsula Township trustee in a contested primary that has 10 candidates jostling for a total of eight spots on the Nov. 5 ballot. He and incumbent Armen Shanafelt are among five candidates running for four Democratic Party slots, with five more seeking four Republican Party positions on the ballot.

This is according to countywide filings as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the statewide deadline for partisan and nonpartisan candidates' nominating petitions to appear on the Aug. 6 primary election ballot.

Wunsch said a major reason for his decision was what appeared to him to be retaliation against his family farm for decisions he made as a township supervisor. He said he doesn't have definitive proof, but a longstanding marketing contract for the farm was terminated three days after he rebuffed a request to shelve then-pending changes to the township's wineries and farm processing ordinances.

That wasn't the only time, he said, and those kinds of things never happened when he served as a trustee.

"It may just be the particularly fraught times where I was serving as supervisor. But, because I have this family farm business, there were a number of instances where we saw what looked like retaliation for policy or political decisions directed at the farm," he said.

Wunsch said his responsibilities to his wife and recently born child are another reason, and he also believes the township is in a better position than when he agreed to serve as supervisor. Trustees appointed him in June 2022 after former Supervisor Rob Manigold resigned.

While Peninsula still faces the Wineries of the Old Mission Peninsula and 11 wineries' lawsuit claiming money damages in the millions, he expects it could reach some sort of resolution by the end of his term. The trial begins April 29 at a Kalamazoo federal courthouse.

Trustee Maura Sanders and Realtor Kelly J. Clark are both seeking the Republican nomination to run as supervisor, with no candidates on the Democratic primary ballot.

GARFIELD

In Garfield Township, Supervisor Chuck Korn is running as one of five Republican candidates for trustee. He announced in January that he wouldn't seek another term as supervisor after a long stint in township government. Then, trustees in March took up his idea to create a township administrator position to handle some of the supervisor's duties.

Planning Commission Chairman Joe McManus is running uncontested for the supervisor role as a Republican in a primary that looks like it could be the decisive race — barring any write-in candidates.

Korn and trustees Chris Barsheff, Denise Schmuckal and Molly Agostinelli are all running as Republicans, as is newcomer and Aspire North Realtors Board President Jessica Brutzman.

The decision to run comes as Brutzman looks to get more involved in the community where she and her family are putting down roots, she said. She previously served on the Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation Committee, and Traverse City's Coast Guard City Committee — both appointed posts.

"I like being involved, and this would be one of those ways to volunteer for that," she said.

Brutzman is a Realtor at Key Realty's Traverse City office, and completed both Traverse Connect's Leadership Grand Traverse program in 2021 and Michigan State University's Michigan Political Leadership Program in 2022, according to Brutzman and online information.

She wasn't anticipating a contested primary, since there were only four candidates total when she filed at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Brutzman said. Nor was she figuring she'd be running against a roster of incumbents that included Korn, a message for whom was left Wednesday.

GRANT

In Grant Township, Supervisor Doug Moyer won't run for another term in that role, but he and Kyle Rector are both Republican candidates on the August ballot for two township trustee seats. No Democrats filed for any elected office for the township.

Current Trustee Crystal Breithaupt looks to have an uncontested path to becoming Grant Township Supervisor. Another incumbent, Trustee Jan Malik, didn't file for another term.

CONTESTED

These are just a handful of the primary races throughout Grand Traverse County, several of which are contested in August — or which will set up contests in the Nov. 5 election.

A few townships are short of candidates — a total of three across the county. East Bay Township has six candidates running for a seven-seat Park; and Paradise has one running unchallenged in a two-seat trustee race. Union Township has two trustee seats to fill, but an uncontested primary and only one contested race. Unless a write-in files, Republican Janine Jung and Democrat Kellie Fuelling are poised to face off in November.

Primary election write-in candidates must file a declaration of intent with the relevant local clerk — township clerks for township office, for example — by 4 p.m. July 26, according to state requirements.

Record-Eagle reporter Elizabeth Brewer contributed to this article.