BAY COUNTY, MI -- A candidate for Bay County sheriff is a repeat sex offender and must register as one for the rest of his life.

Kenneth J. Zolnierek, 52, is a write-in candidate for sheriff in the fall 2016 election. He has at least eight felony convictions dating back to 1984, three of which are of a sexual nature.

Two convictions were for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Alpena County in 1994. Fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge is limited to touching and does not involve penetration.

Zolnierek in an interview with The Bay City Times said there was no actual victim in the 1994 case.

"I was young, dumb, and stupid," he said.

Zolnierek said he was urinating outside a bar in Alpena when he said something lewd to a woman who pulled up with two children in her car.

"That wasn't right and I was drinking," he said. "I quit drinking. I want to try to better myself and the community."

However, the Michigan Department of Corrections' website indicates the two convictions stem from incidents are separate dates -- Oct. 22 and Dec. 16, both in 1994.

The Michigan Department of Corrections discharged Zolnierek in December 1996, but he still had to register as a sex offender.

The third sexually related charge is from a Bay County case.

Having relocated to Bay City in 2006, Zolnierek once again came to law enforcement's attention in 2008. A mother in March alerted police that Zolnierek had been cajoling teen girls to pose with his pickup truck.

Police executed a search warrant on Zolnierek's residence and found photos of him grabbing the breast of a clothed 16-year-old. Zolnierek's 17-year-old then-fiancee also turned over photos to police that she had been keeping at another location that showed her and the younger girl engaged in sexual activity as well as photos of the 17-year-old and Zolnierek having sex.

"I used to own a company called Bad Kitty Productions and what we done is made calendars for mechanic shops, welding shops, all that stuff," Zolnierek said, adding an employee of his took some photos which he said were not meant to be seen by others.

Models in sexually explicit photos must be at least 18 years old in Michigan for the images to be legal. The age of sexual consent is 16.

In September 2008, prosecutors charged Zolnierek with one count of distributing or promoting child sexually abusive material, a seven-year felony. He ended up pleading no contest to the charge and in August 2009 Bay County Circuit Judge William J. Caprathe sentenced him to 34 months to seven years in prison with credit for 368 days already served.

"I believe the defendant in this case, with his prior history with sexual assaults, the nature of the photographs, the fact that he was showing them around to people that he knew, it's time for Mr. Zolnierek to go to prison," Bay County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko said at the sentencing hearing.

Addressing the judge, Zolnierek objected to Borushko's characterization of his crimes, and added he had leukemia, lung cancer, rectal cancer and throat cancer.

"I've never showed them around," he told Caprathe. "I've got limited time left so, you know, I'm not much worried about that. You know, what I am worried about is the accusations and innuendos of me supposedly showing them around. I never did. I understand this, it's not a good charge. It is pretty much a heinous charge. And as far as my past goes, Mrs. Borushko, it's for kissing a 16-year-old girl when I was 18. I'm not an animal. I'm not a, you know, heinous person."

The MDOC discharged Zolnierek on Aug. 6, 2015. He must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Zolnierek told The Times his cancer is in remission.

As for why he wants to be sheriff, he said he thinks he can enact some positive change.

"No. 1, protocol needs to be changed," he said. "If you take a look back, in 2009 a 15-year-old got stun-gunned to death. Recently, there was a report about a man who sexually molested a girl and if they had asked her more questions, that man wouldn't have barricaded himself in his house and he wouldn't be dead today."

The incidents Zolnierek is referring to is the Taser-related death of Brett Elder on March 22, 2009 and the Feb. 19, 2016, standoff between Leroi D. Kocsis and police. Kocsis was free on bond on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a relation between the ages of 13 and 16 when he opened fire on police attempting to arrest him on a bond violation. He injured one officer in the process.

After a nearly 24-hour standoff, Kocsis fatally shot himself.

The two incidents were not related to the Bay County Sheriff's Office, although deputies provided support at the scene of Kocsis' standoff.

"Here in the city, they're running pretty smooth right now but we need to crack down on drug dealers selling to kids," Zolnierek said. "Kids are running around with weapons, stuff like that. That's my main concern. Make the streets safer and people feel more at home so they don't have to lock their doors. Bring that old country feeling back. We shouldn't have to lock our doors, we shouldn't have to do all that."

Asked why the citizenry should vote for him, Zolnierek said, "Because I'm for a better change, to try to better the community, to make everybody equal, to make everybody feel that they're equal and they're treated equal."

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards states a person cannot legally be employed as a law enforcement officer with prior felony convictions, including those expunged from a person's record. However, because the sheriff position is elected, and state election laws don't preclude him from running for the office, it's still legal for Zolnierek to run for sheriff.

"It depends on the type of felony conviction," said Fred Woodhams, with the Michigan Department of State's Communications Office. "We're unaware of laws prohibiting (a candidate from running) for crimes other than fraud or deceit."

The Michigan Constitution states a person is ineligible to run for public office if he or she has in the preceding 20 years been "convicted of a felony involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud or a breach of the public trust and the conviction was related to the person's official capacity while the person was holding any elective office or position of employment in local, state, or federal government."

Amber Davis-Johnson, director of Bay County Corporation Counsel, said that she also believes Zolnierek is eligible to run.

"Most of time when you look at those types of offenses (precluding eligibility), it's offenses involving theft, embezzlement, or uttering and publishing; basically, crimes of deceit," she said.

While Zolnierek's rap sheet includes a conviction for uttering and publishing, that dates back to 1988, and is outside of the 20-year window.

Also running for sheriff are Undersheriff Troy Cunningham, Pinconning Police Sgt. Terry Spencer, retired Deputy Robert C. "Bobby" Lee, and Jason Holsapple. The former three are Democrats, and the victor among them in the Aug. 2 primary will advance to face Holsapple, a Republican, in the Nov. 8 general election.

Bay County Sheriff John E. Miller is not seeking reelection.