Sault Ste. Marie mayor race: Don Gerrie seeks another term as Commissioner Steve Habusta runs on roads, red tape and small business

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — Voters in Michigan’s oldest city will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 3, whether to keep Mayor Don Gerrie for another two years or hand the job to City Commissioner Steve Habusta, who says City Hall has spent too long “managing the status quo.”

The same ballot fills three of the six City Commission seats. Four candidates are running for them: sitting commissioners Ray Bauer and Scott D. Marble, plus Nathan Moran and Brian R. Smith, according to the city clerk’s certified candidate list. Habusta’s own commission seat is one of the three on the ballot, so the commission will have at least one new face no matter who wins the mayor’s race.

The mayor serves a two-year term ending Nov. 7, 2028. Commissioners serve four-year terms ending Nov. 5, 2030. The mayor is paid $7,000 a year and each commissioner $4,500, both paid per regular meeting attended, according to the city. Winners are to be sworn in by City Clerk Robin R. Troyer at the commission’s organizational meeting on Nov. 9 and take office right away.

The incumbent: steady hand, more of the same projects. Gerrie, a fourth-generation Sault native, told SooLeader in a July candidate Q&A that he has spent 23 years helping rural communities line up money for housing, infrastructure and economic development, after earlier work in banking. He is a past president of the Michigan Municipal League. He pointed to the Carbide Dock and Easterday Avenue truck-route project, which he called the largest capital project in city history, along with sewer separation, water upgrades and wastewater plant work. Asked what he would do with a $1 million grant, he said he would use it as matching money for downtown redevelopment and housing so each dollar draws more investment, adding that “stretching public dollars creates lasting benefits for taxpayers.”

The challenger: roads first, less red tape. Habusta came to the Soo in 1998 for Lake Superior State University, where he now works as an assistant athletic director. He spent more than 20 years as a local pastor and more than 15 seasons coaching swimming and diving at Sault High, he told SooLeader. He wants what he called an aggressive, multi-year road plan instead of “just patching potholes,” faster snowbank removal downtown and in neighborhoods, and a city “known for cutting red tape” and lowering barriers for people starting businesses. With a $1 million grant, he said he would fund small-business micro-grants and a neighborhood road and sidewalk “blitz,” so residents see their tax dollars at work “on their own blocks, not just downtown.”

Where they split. SooLeader asked both men about the city going months without a permanent city manager and downtown development director, and about the DDA board’s firing of director Jon De Roo. Gerrie said city services never stopped, praised the acting management team and said active litigation keeps him from discussing the firing. Habusta said the firing “absolutely could and should have been handled better” and promised more open board decisions. Habusta called the commission’s unanimous vote to hire Patrick Reagan as city manager a big step forward, Gerrie called the new manager highly qualified, and both said the city must plan now for the day the new Soo Lock is finished and its construction workforce leaves.

The race has been unusually polite. In September the two candidates issued a joint statement asking supporters to avoid personal attacks and leave each other’s yard signs alone. City races are nonpartisan, and both men told SooLeader they want to keep it that way.

City voters will also see statewide races, two statewide ballot proposals and Chippewa County questions on the same ballot. The Mitten Daily’s earlier story on the county’s tax limitation renewal explains that question.

Michigan voters can request an absentee ballot by mail or online through 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and in person at their clerk’s office through 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. Early in-person voting runs through Sunday, Nov. 1, and polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. You can still register in person at your clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Check your sample ballot and polling place at the Michigan Voter Information Center. County canvassers must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers by Nov. 23.

Sources:
City of Sault Ste. Marie, “2026 City Election for Mayor or City Commissioner” (offices, terms, certified candidates, pay, swearing-in), https://www.saultcity.com/elections/page/2026-city-election-mayor-or-city-commissioner
SooLeader, “From ice cream choice to political partisanship — Mayoral candidates answer the tough questions in SooLeader Q&A,” July 17, 2026, https://www.sooleader.com/local-news/from-ice-cream-choice-to-political-partisanship-mayoral-candidates-answer-the-tough-questions-in-sooleader-qa-12544697
SooLeader, “Gerrie, Habusta call for respectful campaigning ahead of Nov. 3 election,” Sept. 5, 2026, https://www.sooleader.com/local-news/gerrie-habusta-call-for-respectful-campaigning-ahead-of-nov-3-election-12746889
Michigan Voter Information Center, https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/
Photo: Antony-22, “Sault Ste. Marie MI City Hall 2025a.jpg,” July 23, 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sault_Ste._Marie_MI_City_Hall_2025a.jpg

Sault Ste. Marie · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Sault Ste. Marie · Election 2026 · Mayor · City Commission · Chippewa County · Local Government