ONTARIO, Ohio – Prior to Thursday’s Ontario City Council meeting, Ken Earhart was sworn in as the new councilman-at-large, replacing Neil Chitwood who resigned due to military obligations. Chitwood left on a one-year deployment, leaving the council seat open.
Earhart served on council back when the village of Ontario became a city. He was the 3rd Ward councilman and served a two-year term but decided not to go further since his young children (Ryan and Katie) were getting into sports and he knew he could not be as committed as he needed to be. “Being on council takes a lot of time to do it right, and I knew I would end up missing some of my kids’ sports activities if I stayed on,” explained Earhart.
“My kids are 22 and 18 now and both out of the house, so I decided to get involved again,” said Earhart. When he heard about the opening on the council he approached Mayor Randy Hutchinson who put him in contact with the Republican Central Committee. The committee interviewed seven candidates and chose Earhart.
