Dan Ludlow

ALPENA — Alpena County only received interest from one person to fill the vacant District 2 commissioner position.

Dan Ludlow, who was appointed mid-way through the year last year to replace Jesse Osmer who was hired to be the county administrator, was the only one to file for the seat.

He is expected to be appointed after the commissioners’ annual organizational meeting today. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in the Howard Male Conference Room in the county’s annex building.

Ludlow was appointed over former commissioner Bob Adrian in June to finish out Osmer’s term, which expired on Jan. 1.

At the time, he said he only wanted to fill the seat until a new commissioner was elected in November, but plans changed when the election didn’t go as planned.

In August, Republicans ran for the commissioner’s seat unopposed and there were no Democrat or third-party candidates to choose from. Griffin James automatically advanced to the general election, but this time he faced off against Adrian. The problem is that James withdrew his candidacy because he moved out of the district, but still earned more votes than Adrian, which forced the appointment process to begin.

Osmer said the appointment is for two years and then the seat will return to the ballot in 2026 for the final two years of the four-year term.

During today’s meeting, the commissioners who were victorious in November will also take their oath of office.

The commissioners will nominate and vote for this year’s board chairperson and vice-chairman during the organizational meeting. The commissioners will also receive their committee appointments and set per diem and mileage rates. The board will also vote to approve other charges and fees for county service for 2025.

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