ESCANABA — The final makeup of the Delta County Board of Commissioners will be decided in just a few short days, with Tuesday’s election bringing a close to nearly two years of political campaigns and board shake-ups.

Two seats are up for grabs on election day: the seat for District 3, which represents Escanaba Township, Ford River Township, Bark River Township, and a portion of Escanaba’s south side; and the seat for District 4, which represents Escanaba precincts 1 and 3.

Currently, the District 3 seat is held by Myra Croasdell (no party affiliation), who secured the seat in the special recall election held May 7 that removed Former Commissioner Bob Barron from office. Barron ran as a Republican in the August primary with hopes of regaining the seat, but was defeated by Christine Williams, who will serve as the Republican challenger for Croasdell Tuesday.

The District 4 seat is currently held by Kelli van Ginhoven (D), who also secured her seat in May when Former Board Chair Dave Moyle (R) was unseated by the recall.

Moyle faced no primary challengers in August, but suspended his campaign two days after the Aug. 5 election. At the time, Moyle said he would not accept the seat if he were to be elected on Nov. 5, but he has since reversed that position.

“I’m on the ballot. I’m not running a campaign. If they put me in, I’ll serve, but I’m not spending any money and I’m not commenting on my opponents,” Moyle told the Daily Press Oct. 24.

Despite District 3 having slightly more residents than District 4 — 7,613 and 7,407, respectively, based on the county’s 2021 reapportionment plan — the District 4 race is arguably the more contentious of the two and represents the third time Moyle and van Ginhoven will have faced off for the seat.

Van Ginhoven first challenged Moyle in 2022 as an independent, but failed to secure the seat. Moyle and his supporters have often pointed to the loss as the reason for the recall last May — a claim strongly denied by recall organizers, whose petitions for the recalls referenced Moyle’s, Barron’s and Commissioner Bob Petersen’s votes in February of 2023 “to terminate Administrator Emily DeSalvo’s employment contract.”

During the recall process, Moyle said he would fight the recall but not seek reelection. He later reversed his position after he and the other commissioners under recall were the subject of death threats, which were later determined to be from an individual who was not a resident of Delta County. His official campaigning for reelection ended in August when his campaign was suspended, but advertisements supporting his candidacy have been paid for by local Republicans.

If elected, Moyle would be the only board member serving who was the subject of the May recall. Petersen was defeated in the August primary by fellow-Republican Matt Jensen, who will run unopposed Tuesday for the District 5 seat.

Also determined during the primary was who will serve in District 2, the seat representing the city of Gladstone and the portion of Escanaba Township east of the Escanaba River. Seated-Commissioner Steve Viau (R) was also defeated in the primary by Pat Johnson (R), who previously served as the board chair prior to not seeking reelection in 2020.

Current Board Chair John Malnar (R), who represents District 1, will remain on the board. He defeated challenger Sandra Skiba (R) in the August primary and is running unopposed Tuesday.