HARRISVILLE — Two Republican Alcona County commissioners face challenges from Democrats in the Nov. 5 election.

Incumbent Carolyn Brummund faces Democratic challenger Joe Lukasiewicz in the county board’s District 3, which covers Greenbush Township and part of Mikado Township.

And incumbent John Terry Small faces Democrat Kevin Boyat Sr. in District 5, which covers Curtis, Millen, and Mitchell townships and the rest of Mikado Township.

Commissioners serve four-year terms that begin Jan. 1.

While the election happens Nov. 5, many voters have already cast absentee ballots.

In District 3, Lukasiewicz, who retired from the U.S. Department of Defense, said the county board needs to throw some political muscle around to aid in the county’s “economic, social, and educational development.”

Lukasiewicz said, for example, that Alcona County has no chamber of commerce and he’d like to see the county board work with the private sector to get something started. He said the county needs to do more to entice developers to build more housing — a lack of which is holding back economic development, he said.

“I keep hearing, ‘It’s not our job, it’s not our job, it’s not our job,'” he said. “And, as a taxpayer, as a concerned citizen, I’m really slighted by hearing things like that. They’re not even trying … That’s why we’re so far behind.”

He also said the county should hire a county administrator to run the day-to-day functions of the county and needs to work to adapt the county’s infrastructure for climate change.

Brummund could not be reached for comment.

In District 5, Boyat also listed housing as a serious need for Alcona County.

He said a lack of housing has made it hard for businesses in and around Alcona County to recruit new employees, and the county’s Economic Development Committee needs to push for more investment.

“I don’t think commissioners gotta put a lot of money into it or anything like that, but I think they’ve gotta start pushing,” he said. “The EDC board’s gotta start pushing to get some investors to get people some housing.”

Boyat, a third-generation farmer and former longtime Alcona County commissioner who lost his seat on the board eight years ago, also said commissioners need to do more work themselves to save the county money and he’d like to see more cooperation between the east and west side of the county.

Small, a retiree who’s served on the board for four years, said the biggest issue facing the county is “always going to be the budget and keeping it all together.

“My main goal would be to keep the services we have right now with no down-servicing of anything,” Small said. “We wanna make sure that we always have the same services that people expect in the county.”

Small also said the county board needs to make sure its policies and procedures for employees are up-to-date.

Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 989-354-3112 or jhinkley@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley.