GOP withdraws jail endorsement
Markkanen skeptical of state closure claims
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HOUGHTON -- The Copper Country Republican Party has gone on record formally opposing the proposed $28 million Houghton County jail bond millage appearing on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In a letter transmitted to County Board Chairman Tom Tikkanen, local party chairman Dan Holcomb delivered the executive committee’s position, citing specific objections to the 30-year duration of the millage proposal. While the letter states that the party recognizes the county’s 1963 jail is no longer suited to its legal responsibilities, it rejects the proposed long-term property tax levy.
“What cannot be supported is a thirty-year millage as the instrument of finance,” Holcomb wrote. “Households, retired residents, and subsequent owners of property in this County would carry the obligation until the middle of the century. A shorter term, a more limited project, or a plan that reduced the principal before it was submitted to the electorate would have been more consistent with the public’s repeated reservations. Lengthening the debt may reduce the annual millage rate; it does not reduce the debt.”
The decision marks a shift in the ongoing jail planning process. Following the failure of a $32 million jail proposal in August 2025, the Board of Commissioners formed a specialized committee that included local political leadership. Holcomb and local Democratic Party representative Justin LaCosse both participated in the committee meetings.
In contrast to the Republican party's opposition, the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country (LWVCC) announced its official endorsement of the ballot measure. In a public statement, the LWVCC noted that its board voted unanimously on August 10 to support the 2026 millage, stating that the project planning aligns with a formal position on jail needs that the organization has maintained since 2007.
Holcomb raised concerns regarding the timeline of future ballot placements if the current measure fails. He referenced the board’s April 14 adoption of Resolution No. 26-05, which opposed state legislation aimed at confining property-tax millage proposals strictly to November regular elections.
“If the present millage is not approved, the Board may return the same, or a similar, question in an off-month or other lower-turnout election and continue to do so until the millage passes,” Holcomb stated. “A levy of thirty years’ duration ought not be pursued by successive attempts before a reduced electorate.”
The party further noted that the county board elected not to liquidate specific county-held holdings--such as the Canal View facility, the transfer station, or the local marina--to offset a meaningful portion of the construction costs before seeking a voter-approved bond.
Internal disagreement over the jail project's marketing has also faced documentation discrepancies. Commissioner Joel Keranen previously raised vocal objections regarding the board’s allocation of $6,549.62 in public funds to produce promotional and informational materials for the millage. While Keranen's dissent was not recorded verbatim in the county board’s abbreviated written minutes, a public statement echoing his opposition was briefly posted to his official social media page before being subsequently removed.
The local party's opposition was met with broader tax concern on Friday. In an interview with The Daily Mining Gazette, State Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock) expressed skepticism regarding repeated assertions by county officials that the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) will imminently close the current facility if a new one is not constructed.
"That could be - I don't know," Markkanen said. "It would have to go pretty far for that to happen, in my opinion."
While Markkanen noted he had not read the formal correspondence sent by the local Republican executive committee, his assessment of the county’s economic climate reflected similar concerns over municipal tax requests.
"I'm not in agreement with taxing the people of Houghton County above and beyond," Markkanen said. "People's budgets are already tight. Have we looked at all the options, I guess would be my question."
Markkanen cited nearby Marquette as an example of compounding property valuation pressures in the Upper Peninsula.
"Look at what's happening in Marquette," Markkanen said. "The average price of a home in the city of Marquette now is more than half a million dollars."
He also pointed to a separate, upcoming library millage request in Hancock as an indicator of cumulative taxpayer demands.
"There's another millage request for the library in Hancock. I mean, I'm a former school teacher. I support libraries, but are we going to millage everyone to death?" Markkanen asked. "I understand the frustration - I really do. I can't say anything on what the Houghton County Republicans said, but I do feel the frustration that everyone is feeling. I really do."
Holcomb did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment before Friday afternoon’s deadline.