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Houghton County District Two will finally get a new commissioner today, when Kevin Codere takes the oath of office.
Codere will serve through the end of the year, filling out the term left vacant when Albert Koskela died April 24th.
State law requires that empty county board seats be filled within 30 days. However, at a special meeting May 10th, the four remaining commissioners voted unanimously to ignore the law, and wait to fill the seat until after the August primary.
At a hastily-called meeting Monday, however, the board reversed that decision. After failing to appoint former county administrator Eric Forsberg on a 2-2 tie vote, commissioners settled on Codere. His appointment passed with a 3-1 margin, with Republican Board Chair Tom Tikkanen voting against.
Codere has a long record of community service, including terms on the Schoolcraft Township Board, the Lake Linden-Hubbell School Board, the M-Tech Smart Zone and the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance. He told the board he has no plans to run for the seat in the November election.
Codere could not be sworn in at Monday’s meeting, because he was out of town. He attended the meeting via computer link.
