John Hermann has been selected to the empty Alger County Road Commission seat after a vote by the Alger County Commission on Monday, July 17.

Hermann and former Mathias Township Supervisor Roy Aho had both applied for the seat, which was vacated after Jack Hubbard passed away while in office earlier this year. Aho was not present at the first regular July meeting of the county commission and arrived late to Monday’s meeting, citing his appearance at the ACRC meeting that is held at the same time on the third Monday of the month. Hermann attended both county meetings.

It was a 3-2 vote in favor of appointing Hermann, with Commissioners Rick Capogrossa (District 1), Mick Rondeau (District 5) and Chair Dean Seaberg (District 2) voting in the affirmative. The motion was made by Capogrossa, who cited Hermann’s past work experience with the ACRC as a positive.

“I’ve worked with (Hermann) before with things up in Grand Marais and he’s been great to work with,” Capogrossa said.

The two commissioners voting against the appointment were Kelly Livermore (District 4) and D. Michael Nettleton (District 3). Nettleton cited Hermann’s loss in the 2022 Republican Primary to Pete Heyrman as a sign that another candidate might be a better choice when trying to nominate Aho. That nomination was invalid as there was already a motion on the floor before discussion and was not revisited due to the selection of Hermann.

Hermann’s term ends December 31, 2024.