Plain City’s newest mayor took office today.
Council President Jody Carney was sworn into office by Madison County Common Pleas Court Judge Eamon P. Costello.
Earlier this month, former Mayor Darrin Lane purchased a home outside of the village’s corporate limits and announced his resignation.
Lane was first elected to the position in 2015. He was unopposed in his 2019 bid for reelection.
According to Ohio Revised Code, if the mayor resigns before the end of his or her term, the council president assumes that role.
Carney will serve as mayor until the May primary election, when candidates – including Carney – will be able to run to fill the remainder of Lane’s four-year term.
Carney was elected to village council in November 2017 and took office in 2018.
Originally from Athens County, Carney has been involved in the Plain City community throughout over a decade of living in the village.
While working as agriculture educator for Fairbanks High School, she co-founded the Plain City Farmers’ Market along with Chris Long of the Plain City Public Library.
She has also served in various other capacities, including chair of the tree lighting ceremony for Uptown Plain City Organization’s annual Christmas Under the Clock and chair of the Madison County Farm Bureau’s Farm-to-City program that brings local farmers into elementary schools.
Carney earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture and education from Wilmington College of Ohio and a master’s degree from Wright State University in Teacher Leadership.
She has roots in the agriculture sector, as she grew up on a grain farm and raised beef cattle for 4-H.
Her career in the field continued with positions as a crop consultant for Crop Production Services, organization director of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation in Delaware, Franklin, Madison and Union counties, and a sales representative for Mayer Seed Solutions.
She lives in the village with her husband, Adam, and their children.