Cody Mayer

MARQUETTE — Marquette City Commissioner Cody Mayer announced his run for the Marquette County Commission District 1 seat on Thursday. That seat is currently held by County Commissioner Karl Numinen, a Democrat, who was appointed in October after longtime Commissioner Johnny DePetro resigned. 

Mayer, a Democrat, has been serving on the Marquette City Commission since November 2020. He was elected mayor pro tem in November 2021 and mayor in November 2022, making him the youngest-ever Marquette mayor at 25 years old. He is also the first Native American tribal member to serve on the Marquette City Commission.

“It is with great excitement that I humbly announce my candidacy for the … election for the Marquette County Commission – District 1,” said Mayer in a statement made Thursday evening. “If you’ve been following this page for awhile, you’ll know that the last few years have been very challenging for my family. I don’t think anyone would blame me for leaving the political arena in November when my term on the Marquette City Commission ends. Come November, I will have served 12 years in the Michigan National Guard and 6 years on the Marquette City Commission. The idea of taking a step back from it all was certainly tempting.

“I realized however after a lot of self reflection and conversations with colleagues and community members that this mindset was somewhat selfish of me. Now more than ever, we need experienced new age leaders stepping up.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life serving this community, and I want to continue to fight for this community. Marquette residents deserve real representation on the county board. They deserve a representative that will work collaboratively with the city of Marquette – something we haven’t had for years.

“Transparency and community engagement are paramount to public trust and if elected, I have every intention of bringing that to this office.

“When I first ran for the City Commission, one of the main reasons was that I wanted my daughter to grow up in the community I fell in love with and I wanted that same opportunity for all my fellow residents. Now, I find myself thinking along the same lines, only I see us at an even more critical juncture in today’s political climate. It’s not a matter of wanting to serve, I have a responsibility to do so.”

Mayer and Numinen will face off in the Aug. 5 partisan primary election for the right to be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.