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October 30, 2004Green Party, GOP face off in CharlevoixParties vie for drain chief, prosecutor jobsByRecord-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Incumbent Charlevoix County drain commissioner and Green Party member Jo Anne Beemon faces a challenge in the Nov. 2 election from a Republican county soil erosion officer she accuses of undermining her authority. Beemon frequently knocked heads with the county's all-Republican board of commissioners since her election in 2000. She accuses the county board of improperly delegating her duties to commission-appointed county soil erosion officer Marc Seelye, who's running against Beemon for the drain commissioner post. "The question is, can a drain commissioner act independently as an elected official, by and for the citizenry, or should drainage be controlled by the county commissioners?" Beemon said. Beemon said a recently reworked county stormwater ordinance is "heavily weighted toward industry and development," and this year vowed to impose her own, stricter standards - though she doesn't have that authority, prosecutor Mary Beth Kur told commissioners. Seelye said it makes sense to add drain commissioner duties to his current role. "(Beemon) and I both want to accomplish the same thing, as far as protecting the water quality and environment in the county. I guess we have different methods of going about it," Seelye said. The drain commissioner's race isn't the only contest that pits a Green Party member against a Republican. Republican John Jarema, who defeated incumbent prosecutor Kur in the August primary, faces Green candidate Ellis Boal. Jarema beat Kur, his former boss who fired him as chief deputy prosecutor in 2002. Jarema received a $50,000 settlement from the county last year after filing a whistleblower's lawsuit. "My campaign is to be a full-time, in-court prosecutor who is proactive and has fiscal responsibility," Jarema said. Boal has no criminal law experience, but campaigns on messages such as going after polluters, corporate offenders and those who commit domestic violence, and providing alternatives to jail for habitual, non-violent criminals. "I'm running because I want to bring Green values to the prosecutor's office," he said. "I would bring a special interest and emphasis on the environment and major corporations in the county who could have an effect on that."
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