text: The main election for the city of Bad Axe this year will be for its city council, where a slew of candidates will be running as write-in options.
  This year, there will be six candidates vying for three seats on the council, of which four of the candidates are running write-in campaigns.
  Two incumbents, Clark McKimmy and Steve Perez, will be running for seats while there will be four new challengers, Kurt Dennis, Dan Glaza, Stephanie Workman, and Jo Ann Greene, for the roles that come with four-year terms.
  Mayor Kathleen Particka is also running for re-election this year for another two-year term, though she will be running unopposed.
  Clark McKimmy: A member of the Bad Axe City Council since 2018, Clark McKimmy says he is running again to provide a sound and sensible voice for Bad Axe residents and to help improve the community.
  A Bad Axe native who graduated from Bad Axe High School in 1995, McKimmy had lived in several other states, but he returned to Bad Axe in 2016 to raise his children.
  “During my time on the council, we saw the completion of the City Park Walking Trail, and we are currently planning construction of a splash pad at City Park,” McKimmy said. “We also hired the current city manager, who has proved to be an asset to our residents.”
  McKimmy said the city had experienced delays in 2020 for the splash pad’s construction, but it is still moving forward with construction utilizing state grant funds allocated for the project. Other potential city projects McKimmy is involved with include installing a dog park, adding a new section to the walking trail, and exploring the addition of a disc golf course.
  McKimmy will be running as a write-in candidate this year because by the time he decided to run again, the deadline to appear on the ballot had passed.
  Outside of city council, McKimmy’s free time is mostly occupied with his children’s extracurricular activities, which include being in scouts.
  “People may vote for me if they desire someone who is concerned with representing Bad Axe residents, protecting their interests, and improving our community,” McKimmy said.
  Steve Perez: A city council member for the past eight years, Steve Perez has served because he feels he wants to do his part for the city.
  Perez first came to be on city council as he was a friend of a past mayor who encouraged him to run for the position. He decided to run again as it appeared that there were not a lot of people interested in the role.
  "If elected, I decided to serve four more years, then not run again after that," Perez said.
  In Perez's time on the council, Bad Axe completed its walking trail, is working on a new splash pad, and has taken care of any issues that have come its way.
  "We've made the city of Bad Axe a better place," Perez said. "We've taken care of residents, focused on their complaints and wants, and go from there."
  If elected again, Perez wants to see the city's blight taken care of, as he believe it has not been taken care of fast enough. He also wants to help bring more small businesses into town no matter what kind they are.
  Perez does not do that much community involvement besides his role on city council, as between this and his job as a salesman for Builders First Source's Bad Axe location take up a lot of his time.
  "I have eight years of experience and have done my best to take care of the city the best I can," Perez said. "I'm the chair of the finance committee, so I go through the bills and stuff. I'm a member of this town and I want to do my part."
  Dan Glaza: A Bad Axe resident for over 47 years, Dan Glaza has worked with a variety of community organizations he feels bring a lot to the table.
  “I’m a level-headed, trustworthy, concerned individual,” Glaza said. “If you got some concerns, you’ll be able to bring it up to me.”
  Glaza feels the current city council is doing a good job. The opportunity presented itself to him and he decided he would give it a shot and see what happens.
  “There are no issues I really feel adamant about,” Glaza said. “I just want to improve life in town here.”
  Glaza is running a write-in campaign as he did not find out about there being positions open on the council until the deadline for getting on the ballot had passed. He decided to go ahead after giving it some thought and discussing it with other individuals.
  Glaza formerly worked in human resources at Tower Automotive in Elkton. He currently serves as president of the Bad Axe Senior Retiree Club.
  Glaza’s community involvement includes being on the Region VII Area Agency on Aging advisory board, the Huron County Council on Aging, Bad Axe’s precinct delegate for the Huron County Republican Party, the Huron County Board of Canvassers, and assisting with St. Hubert’s Catholic Parish food pantry.
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  He is also a member of the Bad Axe Knights of Columbus chapter, serves as a lector and eucharistic minister at St. Hubert, and was formerly on the church’s parish council, and was a church usher.
  Kurt Dennis: A Bad Axe resident for almost 20 years, Kurt Dennis currently works as the principal for Bad Axe High School. He wants to assist in accomplishing the city’s business and listen to the concerns, needs, and desires of the city’s stake holders.
  “I bring in no personal agenda — but instead am looking forward to listening, learning, and educating myself in more depth, not only to the past and present issues — but how they impact future issues, challenges, and decisions moving forward,” Dennis said.
  Dennis says that if elected, his role as an elected official will be defined by the desires and needs of the Bad Axe community. He will not bring any preconceived desired outcomes on policies or what direction city government should take.
  Dennis had previously served as a school board president, a labor union president, a teacher, and worked in other supervisory positions that have directly dealt with personnel, as well as with the public. He says those roles continued to utilize and hone his abilities in remaining open-minded, weighting information from more than one viewpoint, and making critical decisions based on the best predictable outcome while never refusing to revisit if new information becomes available.
  Aside from being the high school principal, Dennis also coaches the girls’ varsity basketball team and operates his own small business. He feels his role as a public school administrator, coach, and parent keeps him involved in many aspects of daily life in the Bad Axe community, and would assist in viewing issues from the micro and macro levels.
  Dennis is running as a write-in candidate not only to give citizens more choices, but he feels that the more write-in candidates in an election, the better for the voter.
  “People of the city of Bad Axe should vote for me as a candidate that will serve the city residents,” Dennis said. “One that listens to concerns, weighs options, supports and pursues new ideas, projects, and developments, and keeping an overall vision of balance. A candidate with the willingness to take a position, explain said position, and set aside personal agendas in that process.”
  Jo Ann Greene: A Navy Corpsman for 20 years, Jo Ann Greene has lived in Bad Axe since 1997, where she used to work in Scheurer’s pharmacy until she retired.
  Greene said that she wanted to run for city council since she saw that no one was running for the seats. She had not thought much about being on city council prior to deciding to run, but it is important for her to know what is going on in the city.
  “I’m interested in doing what’s best for the city, for its people” Greene said. “Anything we can do to improve people’s lives is important, and I think we can do that.”
  Greene said she wants to find out what is going on with city council first before deciding what she wants to accomplish on it.
  Candidate Stephanie Workman did not provide responses to questions in time for this story’s publication.
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  Written By
  Robert Creenan
  Robert Creenan has been a news reporter for the Huron Daily Tribune since April 2019.
  Prior to arriving at the Tribune, Robert was a news reporter with the Cortland Standard in Cortland, New York.
  He has a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism with a creative writing minor from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York.