Union County voters will have a lot of choices to make Nov. 2.
Voters will decide seats for each city and village council in the county, as well as each township board of trustees and board of education. Plain City’s mayor, Union County’s Municipal Court judge and Marysville’s law director will also be decided in November.
Additionally, a variety of local issues will be decided.
“This is actually a very important election because you are electing local officials who will impact your day to life, things like taxes and zoning and schools,” said Tina LaRoche with the Union County Board of Elections.
LaRoche said the board still needs to verify petitions and make sure paperwork is correct.
“Just because they have filed, does not mean they will be on the ballot,” LaRoche said, explaining that the board of elections will certify the petitions at its Aug. 16 meeting.
LaRoche said she thinks this election will be under tighter scrutiny given the recent attention to election security and integrity.
“I think there will be more people watching, but we really are O.K. with that,’ LaRoche said. “I believe that everybody can have confidence in our local elections. Our board and staff is completely bipartisan. They know us. We live in the community.”
She said that the process all around the state is a bipartisan effort.
“We do it right in Ohio,” LaRoche said.
She said the board of elections has already started to prepare for the election.
To vote in the Nov. 2 election, residents must be registered to vote by the end of the day Oct. 4. That day, the board of elections will be open until 9 p.m.
Early voting, in person and by mail, will begin Oct. 5. The Union County Board of Elections office, 835 E. Fifth St., Marysville, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the first three weeks.
“The hours will vary that last week to accommodate as many people wanting to vote and their different schedules,” LaRoche said.
Those with questions about the election or the elections process may contact the board of elections office by phone at (937) 642-2836 or by emailing boardofelections@unioncountyohio.gov.
While the Union and Champaign county election boards were able to list candidates and issues that had been filed, at press time, the Madison County Board of Elections did not know if any candidates had filed for the Jonathan Alder Board of Education, Plain City Village Council seats or to run for Plain City mayor. Because Madison is the most populous county for those districts, candidates would need to file with the Madison County Board of Elections in London.
Union County
Municipal Court Judge (1): Andrew Bigler, Bob Parrott, Sharon Robinson-Walls
Villages and Cities
Marysville City Council-at-Large Member (3): Henk Berbee, Scott Hunter, J.R. Rausch, Mark Reams
Marysville City Law Director (1): Tim Aslaner
Village of Magnetic Springs Village Council (4): Marynelle Liston, Rex Pierce, Craig Ridgeway, Darrell Wheeler
Village of Milford Center Village Council (4): Sandy Ladd, Kerry D. King
Village of North Lewisburg (4): Nathan Holycross, Ted Murphy Jr., Robin Street, Matthew Warner
Village of Plain City Village Council (4): Not available at press time
Village of Plain City Village Mayor (1): Not available at press time
Village of Richwood Village Council (4): George Showalter, Pat Morse, Von Beal, Jackie Hamilton, Steven Lotonu’u Si’ufanua
Village of Unionville Center Village Council (4): Joel Beachy
School Districts
Fairbanks Local School District Board of Education (3): Angie Bouic, Eric Hall, Brian Phelps, Derek Nicol
Jonathan Alder Local School District Board of Education (3): Not available at press time
Marysville Exempted Village School District Board of Education (3): Dick Smith, Josh Bochkor, Zach Yoder, Adrienne Woodring, Nanette Savidge, Bill Keck
North Union Local School District Board of Education (3): Matt Staley, Brian Davis, Matt Hall
North Union Local School District Board of Education Unexpired Term (1): Brad DeCamp
Triad Local School District (2): Jason Kyle Huffman, Matthew S. McConnell, Mike Perry, Kristin Smith
Townships
Allen Township Trustee (2): Rick Kingham, Jack Rausch, Jarrod Weiss, Josh Shaw
Claibourne Township Trustee (2): Joe Wiley, Rod Goddard
Darby Township Trustee (2): James R. Scheiderer, Dennis Blumenschein
Dover Township Trustee (2): Dan Westlake, Tony Ackley, Chris Rigano
Jackson Township Trustee (2): Cody Johnston, Charles Ehret, Don Wasserbeck
Jerome Township Trustee (2): Ken Gordon, Joe Craft, Wezlynn Davis, Barry Adler
Leesburg Township Trustee (2): Jeffery Robinson, William Lowe
Liberty Township Trustee (2): Mike Moffett, Jack McCoy
Millcreek Township Trustee (2): Keith Conroy, Bill Jordan
Paris Township Trustee (2): Steven Westlake, Dave Cook
Taylor Township Trustee (2): Beth Marshall, Dennis Schertzer
Union Township Trustee (2): Chad Jolliff, Rob Thompson
Washington Township Trustee (2): Ron Jones, Randy Sullivan
York Township Trustee (2): Judy Christian, Bruce Davis, Justin Gravatt
Issues
All of Union County:
– A 9-1-1 renewal levy of 1 mill for five years.
– A Union County Health District replacement levy of 0.5 mills for 10 years.
Village and Cities:
– Marysville City Charter amendment to replace the title “mayor” with “President of Council,” except as it relates to the mayoral role in performing ceremonial duties.
– Marysville City Charter amendment to replace the title “Director of Administration” with “City Manager” to more accurately conform to the city’s form of government.
– Marysville City Charter amendment to change the responsibility to create departments and divisions from city council to the city manager but would also more clearly define that the responsibility to set the number of permanent employees and the salaries rests solely with council.
– Marysville City Charter amendment to include all employee classifications and salaries in the city directory.
– Village of Magnetic Springs renewal levy of 5 mills for five years, for operating expenses.
Townships:
– Darby Township renewal levy of 3 mills for five years, for fire protection and EMS service.
– Union Township, including the Village of Milford Center, renewal levy of 1 mill for five years, for current operating expenses.
– York Township renewal levy of 1 mill for five years, for current operating expenses.
– Jerome Township (Unincorporated) renewal levy of 1.1 mills with an increase of 0.1 mill for a total of 1.2 mills for five years, for police protection.
– Jerome Township zoning referendum for The Homestead at Scotts Farm.
– Jerome Township zoning referendum for Jerome Village – Village Neighborhood 10.
– Millcreek Township replacement levy of 2.15 mills for five years, for police protection.
Fire District:
– Northwestern Joint Fire District, an additional 8 mills levy for a continuing period of time.
– Southeast Hardin Northwest Union Fire District an additional 5 mills for five years.