The Place Where Ludington Talks
November 2026 Mason County Voting Guide
The semiannual Ludington Torch November Voting Guide involved quite a bit of searching through the layers of the internet in order to get information out to county voters (and beyond). These guides have become more difficult to get out since the state mails a lot of ballots out in the middle of September and a significant number of people are making their decisions before they've seen their choices debate or otherwise campaign in earnest. We fondly reminisce about the good old days when the only person who voted absentee were the infirm or deployed elsewhere and voting only happened on one day.
The vast majority of voters still come out on Election Day (November 3 this year) and so we will all have to endure a couple more weeks of intense election commercials on our television sets and social media telling us what a great person one candidate is, or more often, how bad a person the other candidate is. We know by our own experiences how annoying the two months before all elections gets, so bear with us while we try to get more of that information out to you to look at during your leisure and try to sift out the wheat from the chaff.
Our methodology is simple. We present the candidates and the proposals, link to their campaign's own social media page so you can review them, and we offer a sentence or two of analysis from our perspective. Our view has a bias; we automatically discount all dishonest candidates and any proposal that lacks rigor. We will champion candidates and proposals that honestly and honorably look to affirm personal liberty and better society, regardless of party affiliation. If none of the candidates are worthy of our support, we will support neither.
If a position has only one person running for it, like the two judge positions in Mason County and the PM Township trustee opening, we have avoided offering anything on it and focus only on contested elections. Here goes:
MI Governor:
Garlin Gilchrist II Democratic
Anthony G. Forlini Republican XXX
Christine Sloan Libertarian
Scott E. Aughney U.S. Taxpayers
Eric Borregard Green
The ads that have been run on Gilchrist's behalf have been very dishonest, especially ones casting him as the villain for today's high energy costs, while he as lt. governor helped affirm the state's energy policies.
MI Attorney General:
Eli Savit Democratic
Doug Lloyd Republican XXX
Jason Dye Libertarian
John Perry Ludtke Jr U.S. Taxpayers
Jeff Polonowski Green
Doug Dern Natural Law
We were tempted to stay neutral or even back Savit, but the focuses of Lloyd's website won us over while Savit's pushed us away. After eight years of Nessel, we need a change.
US Senate:
Ben Ambrose Democratic
John Moolenaar Republican
Charlotte Magoon Green
Richard Sills Natural Law
Moolenaar has been a solid incumbent, but we are impressed with Ambrose's messaging, which isn't much different, and so we have no endorsement on this race.
MI 32nd Senate District:
Angel Coon Democratic XXX
Curt Vanderwall Republican
Shawn Orton Libertarian
Incumbent VanderWall's career has been speckled with corrupt activities going back to his county commissioner days, freely using his office for personal gain. To her credit, Coon seemed honestly interested in why this reporter was not able to attend a recent meet and greet when I was protesting quietly outside of it. Her background may be a blank canvas (her occupation is as an artist), but she may have the integrity VanderWall lacks.
MI Supreme Court:
Megan Kathleen Cavanagh Dem lean
Noah P. Hood Dem lean
Thomas W. Howe US Taxpayer lean
Michael Warren Rep lean
Jody White US Taxpayers lean
This is the non-partisan part of the ballot. If you lean left, vote for the two incumbents at the top of the ticket, Republicans endorse Warren and Morse-Bills.
Ludington Mayor:
Stibitz has been a big disappointment to the Fourth Ward as a councilor, she will only continue the spiral as mayor. Hoekstra is a viable alternative, offering a fresh face and the prospect of a change in vision for the city.
Ludington 2nd Ward:
Alex Kazmarski XXX
These are both very good candidates, but we have been most impressed with Kazmarski, who offers both youth and a fresh perspective. He is more likely to buck the ingrained corrupted system, while doing so responsibly.
Ludington's 4th Ward:
Marco Iafrate XXX
Jack Stibitz
Speaking of youth, Iafrate offers that and a willingness to break through the non-transparency of the city and bring accountability to the office. Jack Stibitz has failed to offer anything other than the name recognition he gets from his daughter, while supporting the city when it does wrong.
Ludington's 6th Ward:
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 8.15, SECTION 10.2, SECTION 10.8 AND SECTION 13.2 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF LUDINGTON TRANSFERRING THE ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DUTIES OF THE CITY CLERK TO A FINANCE DIRECTOR APPOINTED BY THE CITY MANAGER WITH CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.
These City Charter Amendments are proposed for the purpose of reorganizing administrative functions of the City by transferring accounting and financial management duties from the City Clerk to a separately appointed Finance Director.
Shall the city charter be amended to transfer accounting and financial management duties from the elected clerk to a finance director appointed by the city manager with city council approval and to revise related provisions in charter sections 8.15, 10.2, 10.8, and 13.2?
Vote an emphatic NO; this proposal will change the charter so that the elected clerk will no longer have control over some clerical duties, those will be passed on to a Finance Director, under control of the city manager, leading to added internal conflicts and over $150,000 in brand new spending that the city manager has repeatedly said we can't afford.
Ludington School Board:
Julie Keson
Jalie Mowry Lipa
There will be three new school board members, one of whom we endorse due to her record of activism on behalf of students and parents. We negatively endorse (do not recommend) either Parker or Reed, as they either have a record of corrupt actions and or lack the temperament.
Scottville City Commission:
Jamie Daws
Mackenna Kokx XXX
Diane Point
Joseph A. Seabolt
Dixie Spore
Three four-year seats are up for reelection, we lean towards the two non-incumbents, Seabolt and Point for two of those choices, and Kokx for the other. As mayor, Dixie Spore has not shown any kind of leadership or any sign of competency.
Edward Hahn XXX
Bobbie Morris
Donald Pasco XXX
Two two-year seats are up; we choose to see change agents Hahn and Pasco go through and offer their commissioner experience from the past to help Scottville over those next two years and beyond if they are successful.
MCC School Board:
Margaret Greiner XXX
Steven A. Griswold
Gena Nelson XXX
Barry Pleiness
Stephanie Stakenas
Darrell Storvik
We see the two above as the best choices for the four seats available on the MCC board. Greiner has been following the board for many years and has been outspoken on many topics; on the other hand Nelson has been a voice of moderation on the board.
Hamlin Twp Recall Treasurer:
Susan Ptaszenski Republican
Tim Walden No Party Affiliation XXX
Following the untimely death of Trustee Johnaine Gurzynski, that recall was called off, but this is still on. Walden touts the skills that Ptaszenski doesn't have and/or is a slow learner of, he seems a reasonable choice if modern treasurer skills is the highest criteria voters will use.
MI Proposals:
Proposal 2026-1 A proposal to convene a constitutional convention for the purpose of drafting a general revision of the state constitution
Shall a convention of elected delegates be convened in 2027 to draft a general revision of the State Constitution for presentation to the state’s voters for their approval or rejection?
In our view, the state constitution may not be perfect, but it is best to change those imperfections as they are recognized, rather than potentially changing the document into an even less perfect item after lobbyists and political handlers go at the action of potentially changing many things. Vote NO twice if you can.
Proposal 2026-2 A proposed initiated law to prohibit campaign contributions from certain regulated utilities and government contractors and apply campaign finance laws and regulations to additional types of political communications
The proposal would:
• Prohibit regulated electric and gas utilities, contractors with over $250,000 annually in government contracts, and people and organizations with substantial connections to these utilities/contractors from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to those who run for or hold offices that impact them.
• Expand laws regulating spending on political communications, including those requiring disclosing donor information, to apply to communications clearly identifying candidates or ballot questions, even if they do not expressly advocate voting for/against them.
• Expressly apply the law requiring disclosure of who paid for political communications to internet political communications.
Should this proposal be adopted?
In our view, this proposal is unduly complex, targets entities unfairly, and infringes on the First Amendment. Why pass a proposal like this when the end result will only lead to litigation challenging its constitutionality and uneven enforcement? Vote NO, there are already laws on the books defining and covering this problem.
Hope you are able to use the resources herein to help you make your decisions this fall.
Views: 398
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by dowland on
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In regards to the question of the second ward in Ludington we must determine if we want Case or Kazmarski. The city of Ludington has been grossly mismanaged over the last several years as the city finances are a mess, beset by lawsuit's, and incompetence. Kazmarski's glowing reviews in the paper touts his youth, church, and community outreach. It doesn't mention his inexperience, or his drunk driving convictions. He requires rides to work or city meetings. He can't be trusted on Ludington's roads or with a beer, so why should we be trusting the representation of the second ward with him? In contrast Case has a long career and is now able to fully dedicate himself to representing the second ward entirely to make Ludington the city that it deserves to be. Case in contrast to Kazmarski has even taught motorcycle safety classes. Case won't stand for local corruption, waste, petty politics, and will represent the community like he has wished he's been represented. I wouldn't speak up if I didn't believe in the sharp contrast between the two.
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Permalink Reply by XLFD on
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Thanks for your perspective, it has plenty of merit. You may have noticed that this was the only race that the Ludington Torch said had two very good candidates. We were aware of the past history of both candidates, gave Kaz some leeway, hearing that he has reformed over the last years, gave Case some credit for attending council meetings and showing some independence.
In the end, we gave the nod to Kaz primarily because he seemed less likely to absorb into the corrupted council collective should he win and this is an important part of our metrics for choosing Ludington councilors.
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I do thank X for for pointing out both candidate's. As always with X ," nobody" goes more in depth on research, on the issues. What Kaz has done and is doing for the community is outstanding at such a young age. I applaud him! I feel with Case just being retired from his full time job of 42 yrs. Has shown long term commitment. He to has done a lot for the community and still is with his part time motorcycle safety classes. He wants to take it to the next level with serving the 2nd ward and the city to. Nobody owns him and he will have more time , to help get the city back on solid footings. Either way ,we will have a new counsel person in there. Thank you, for all the break downs on the candidate's.
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