BAY CITY, MI – When Bay City voters look at their ballots for the November general election, they will see two names listed among their city’s mayoral candidates.
But Andrea Burney and Chris Girard, the city commissioners for the third and sixth districts respectively, are not the only ones who have thrown their hats in the ring. Local real estate agent Karma McGaw is running as an unregistered candidate, taking on the difficult task that comes with such a candidacy.
“I wanted to get involved in some way,” McGaw, 45, told MLive/The Bay City Times in a recent interview in Uptown. “I’ve been to a few different meetings here and there, and once you start looking into things and tying them together, it can get a little frustrating.
“Becoming mayor seems like quite a risk, doesn’t it?” she continued. “But it was really heavy on my heart to get involved, and the thought kept coming to me that I needed to do this.”
McGaw moved to Bay City after previously living in Midland. After graduating from St. Charles High School, she lived and worked for a time in Arizona and Chicago. Before getting her real estate license, she worked as a local nurse for 17 years.
She said her campaign had received a good response and that people were excited about the possibility of a third mayoral post.
There have been some naysayers, McGaw said. She said she understands the difficulties of being an at-large candidate and having more people sign her name than simply checking a box next to one of the other two candidates.
“It’s a bold undertaking, but it was something I felt strongly about doing and that’s why I’m continuing,” she said.
McGaw was prompted to run because she felt communication between city officials and citizens had broken down. She said she also wanted to get more people involved in city politics.
“I think a lot of people are just frustrated,” McGaw said. “I’ve talked to a few people and they said, ‘If I could move out tomorrow, I would.’ And those are the people we want to keep here, and those are the people we want to include.”
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