By Mac Cordell and Chad Williamson
Voters in the Marysville area cast their ballots for the names they knew.
Marysville City Council saw three incumbents re-elected, with one challenger on the outside looking in.
In the race for three seats on the Marysville Board of Education, two incumbents and a longtime educator fended off the challenge of an aggressive group of three parents essentially running as one ticket.
Marysville Board of Education
While voters in the Marysville School District threw their support behind two incumbents, it was a newcomer that garnered the most votes.
Bill Keck, a recently retired 33-year agriculture teacher at Marysville High School, pulled in 3,529 votes, more than 400 more than the next closest competitor.
Incumbents Dick Smith and Nan Savidge received 3,098 and 3,051 votes respectively.
The three winners held off a charge by three candidates running as a single ticket, Monarch Parents for School Board. Supporters did not vote straight down that ticket, as vote totals for the three members varied by nearly 350 votes.
Of the group, Zach Yoder got the most votes at 2,235 votes, while Adrienne Woodring and Josh Bochkor received 1,995 and 1,886 respectively.
Keck was humble when asked to comment on his ability to garner the most votes.
“That’s a great testament to the people who helped me with the campaign,” he said. He noted that his wife, Gail, and campaign treasurer, Ryan Lee, and other campaign workers were vital in his door-to-door efforts.
Keck simply said he is looking forward to getting to work on the issues facing the district and appreciated the local voters have entrusted him to face those challenges.
Smith said he and Savidge ran a campaign centered on their own qualifications and the accomplishments of the district.
“I pledge to continue to build Marysville Schools in a way that will bring pride and honor to our community,” Smith said via email.
He said his goals remain the same for his next four years on the board, to use data to make the best decisions for the district.
“My goal is simple – to continue to enact policies with one goal in mind …. to keep kids in school, learning, growing, and developing into successful citizens of tomorrow,” Smith wrote. “School Boards must adjust to community growth, be cognizant of student and teacher health, effectively manage emergency situations, and communicate effectively with community members.”
Smith said he knows growth in the district will be a hurdle in the coming years, but district residents will know the reasoning behind his decision-making.
“We know that challenges of growth and finance are ahead of us,” Smith said. “There are current plans to address both of these issues.
“I have been and will be unambiguous, crystal clear as to all information as I work to implement these plans.”
Savidge said this election has been an enlightening process.
“I have learned a lot during this election process and will strive to represent all students and families to the best of my abilities,” Savidge said. “We have a wonderful community and school district and I am very proud to be a member of this community.”
Both Savidge and Smith expressed their appreciation for the support of area residents.
“I would like to say thank you to all the people that showed their support for Marysville Schools by casting their votes for me and Dick Smith,” Savidge said. “I am honored and humbled to be re-elected to the Marysville School Board.”
“I want to thank the community for allowing me to continue to serve as a member of the Marysville Board of Education,” Smith said. “It is a great honor.”
Attempts to obtain comments from members of the Monarch Parents for School Board were unsuccessful.
Marysville City Council
Marysville’s City Council will not change.
Incumbents Henk Berbee, J.R. Rausch and Mark Reams all won seats on the city council while challenger Scott Hunter fell short.
According to unofficial results from the Union County Board of Elections, Berbee topped the vote with 2,314 votes. Rausch and Reams earned 2,179 and 2,175 votes respectively. Hunter earned 1,559 votes.
“I really think the three incumbents were all reelected so I think what’s next is a continuation of what we have been doing,” said Reams.
He said he thinks the community supports the city’s “slow and steady” approach to growth.
“We have a plan where we are managing our growth,” Reams said. “We aren’t letting it get out of hand.”
He said he feels the citizens have spoken that they want “a continuation of our current policies.”
Berbee said the win was “gratifying” as was the fact that he was the top vote-getter.
He noted the number of undervotes, indicating that people voted for only one or two candidates, instead of the three they could have selected. According to the Union County Board of Elections, there were 2,789 undervotes, a number Berbee noted was higher than any single candidate received.
“I think that was about people who saw a candidate with a message they liked and they voted for, rather than voting for three eligible candidates,” Berbee said.
He said he thinks it was his message people rallied around.
“I think Marysville is growing too fast,” Berbee said. “I think that is the message people followed.”
He said he wants the city to focus on infrastructure and other “hotspots” around the city, “before we take the next leap that we seem to be getting into at the moment.”
He said he feels the win, and that he earned the most votes, gives him a clear indication that voters support his ideas.
“My message, the next four years will be that infrastructure is high on my list of priorities so that we are able to handle the growth,” Berbee said.
He said growth in the city, “will have consequences” for city government, city residents and the local school district.
Like the other incumbents, Rausch said city officials have spent a lot of time planning for future growth, which he said is “going to be our biggest challenge.”
Rausch, who said he enjoys the process of getting out knocking on doors and talking to constituents, said he learned that “the majority of citizens are happy with the direction we are headed.”
“I think there are a lot of good things happening in Marysville,” Rausch said, noting that he believes that is why Berbee and Reams were also reelected.
Rausch also thanked Hunter, who he said has “a servant’s heart.”
“He is someone we need to get involved, in some way, in our city,” Rausch said.
Hunter congratulated the three incumbent winners.
“As they know, the work ahead won’t be slowing down anytime soon,” Hunter said
He did not give any indication about his plans for the future.
Hunter said he appreciated the citizens who voted for him. He said he is glad to be part of a city “filled with wonderful people.”
“I am beyond grateful that in our blessed nation, opportunities to run for office are available to the everyday Americans like me,” Hunter said. “It has been my pleasure engaging more in the community and learning to know more of you, to know more of your creative thinking and your desire to do what is good for city.”