By Kim Gasuras, Freelance Journalist | FreeWire—Your News, Your Voice
BUCYRUS—The petitions are in and have been certified by the Crawford County Board of Elections for the general election in November. There are a variety of races throughout the county.
In Bucyrus, current council member Kevin Myers is vying for the position of Bucyrus City Council President against newcomer Gregory White. The position is currently held by Kurt Fankhauser, who is not seeking re-election.
Incumbent council member C. Aaron Sharrock is running to retain her position on council against newcomer Allison LeClair.
While no one officially filed for third ward council member, a position currently held by Terry Spiegel who was appointed in May after Zyan Hickman resigned, Spiegel is running as a write-in candidate after the RCC missed the August 11 filing deadline.
Meanwhile, four candidates are running for three council-at-large seats: incumbent James Mee, newcomers Robert Taylor and Ray Thitoff, and write-in candidate Alena Fox.
Current council member Chris Mauritz and law director Brandon Gobrecht are running for re-election unopposed. Newcomers Cody Scott, running for fourth ward council member, and Adrienne Kemery, running for the position of city treasurer, are also running unopposed.
The mayor’s race in Galion has drawn six candidates after Mayor Tom O’Leary announced he would not seek re-election. City Auditor Brian Saterfield is among those seeking the seat, along with council members Marcia Yunker and Catherine George, newcomers Bryon D. Grenfell Jr. and Robert A. Johnston, and former city law director Thomas Palmer.
Local attorney and current Galion City Treasure r Roberta Wade is running unopposed for city auditor, while Michael Bear, appointed earlier this year to replace Palmer as law director, is also unopposed in his bid to keep that position.
Former council member Thomas Fellner is running unopposed for council president. Current council president Eric Webber is seeking the second ward council seat, also without opposition.
In the first ward, incumbent Ken Bodkins will face newcomer Terry Gribble. In the fourth ward, Todd D. Brown and Carrie Zeger are competing for the seat. No one has filed for the third ward position.
Four candidates will compete for three at-large council seats, including incumbent Kara Ault and newcomers Heath Watkins, Matthew Strickler, and Joshua Woodmansee.
In the village of Crestline, Cheryl Downey, Kimberly Bauer-Gonzales, and David Sharrock are seeking four open council seats, leaving room for a write-in candidate to fill the final slot.
Two people are vying for the position of New Washington mayor, including Scott Hiler and Matthew Weithman.
Several school board seats will also be on the ballot, including three open seats on the Bucyrus City Schools Board of Education. Morgan Jones and Chad Redmond are on the ballot, but no one has filed a petition to run for the third seat.
For the Crestline Exempted Village School District, Clayton Herold, Robyn Almanson, and Molly Belcik are running unopposed for three seats on the board of education.
In Galion City Schools, two candidates, Michael Mateer and Isaac Strickler, have filed to run for three open positions, leaving one seat without a candidate.
There are four candidates vying for three available seats on the Buckeye Central Board of Education, including Lisa Aicholz, Adam Dallas, Christopher Martin, and Kurt Martin.
Gordon Groves and Jason Fankhauser are running to fill two of three open seats on the Colonel Crawford School Board, while Levi Hartschuh and Matthew Stahl are running to fill two of three open seats on the board for the Wynford School District.
Township races: Brittany Workman and Angela Lilly are vying for the position of Bucyrus Township fiscal officer, while Caleb Hanes and Gregory Hartschuh are running for one open seat for Lykens Township trustee.
In Chatfield Township, four people are running for two open seats, including Arnold Auck, Jeremy Dunn, Richard Hanes, and Bernard Schneider.
For more details about the election, visit the Crawford County Board of Elections website at https://crawfordcountyohioboe.gov/.
This article was updated to reflect Terry Spiegel’s write-in candidacy.
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