MANSFIELD – The May 8 primary election in Richland County is light on contested candidate races and heavy on local issues.
Voters will decide on which Republican candidate for Richland County Commissioner will move on to the November general election, as well as a handful of local issues from gerrymandering to school buildings.
The one local candidate race that is contested is between Republicans Dale Hulit, David Morgenstern and incumbent Marilyn John for Commissioner. The winner will move on to challenge Democrat Rebecca Hergatt in November.
Countywide issues appearing on the May ballot include Issue one, which would create a bipartisan public process for drawing congressional districts, and an operational tax levy renewal for Dayspring Assisted Living and Care Facility.
Shelby voters will be deciding two issues on May 8. Shelby City School District is trying for a second time to pass a bond issue to upgrade school buildings and facilities, and the city of Shelby is hoping to pass an income tax renewal for roadway repair.
Richland County Board of Elections Director Paulette Hankins stated voter turnout on May 8 is expected to be 25 percent – and that’s being optimistic. She noted that voters can choose from a Republican, Democrat, or Green party ballot, or an issues-only ballot at the polls.
“You can vote any party regardless of your voting record in the past,” Hankins said.
The Congressional Redistricting Amendment (Issue 1) on the May 8 ballot would reform the process for drawing congressional districts when they are redrawn again in 2021. Voting for the issue would immediately reform the drawing process, not the districts themselves.
According to Ohio Secretary of State John Husted, the proposed amendment would end the current partisan process for drawing congressional districts by a simple majority vote of the General Assembly.
“This amendment requires a map be adopted with significant bipartisan support, with the goals of keeping local communities together and having district boundaries that are more compact,” Husted said. “If bipartisan support cannot be obtained, strict anti-gerrymandering criteria would apply when adopting a congressional map.”
Currently, congressional districts are drawn according to whichever political party holds the majority in the Ohio legislature. The amendment would require support from both parties before a new congressional district is drawn and approved.
Dayspring Assisted Living and Care Facility will have a renewal of its 0.8 mil tax levy renewal on the May 8 ballot. According to Michelle Swank, executive director of Dayspring, the levy helps provide 71 percent of Dayspring’s operating budget.
The majority of the remaining income is collected from board and care fees paid by Dayspring residents. In 2017, the facility earned $137,872.97 of remaining income after $2,009,368 of facility expenses.
“Without the levy, the nearly 173-year-old facility will close, leaving all of its residents to find a new home,” Swank said in January. “Considering most are too young to qualify for other facilities, or do not meet the level of care a nursing home, their future would be uncertain.”
Shelby City Council passed a resolution on Feb. 7 placing a 0.2 percent income tax levy continuation on the ballot on May 8. The income tax levy continuation would maintain roadway and sidewalk improvements and repairs.
Voters in Shelby initially approved the levy in 2013, which paved the way for two major projects in partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
“We’ve heard loud and clear at the administration that it’s great we got the state routes and main routes done, and now we need the side roads,” said Project Coordinator Joe Gies in December 2017. “I would wholeheartedly agree with that.”
Shelby City School District’s bond issue is nearly identical to the same plan the district brought to voters in November, to build a new building to combine pre-kindergarten students, elementary students and middle school students under one roof. While all students would be on the same campus, the new building would be designed so that elementary students and middle school students are separate, including separate entrances, separate classrooms, and separate hallways.
The proposed location of the new building would be north of the current middle school, but south of the baseball field. In addition, the academic wing of the current middle school will be razed, but the David A. Jones Little Theater, the Joe Yohn Gymnasium, the music rooms, the commons, the locker rooms and the kitchen area would be preserved for future use.
The bond issue would also replace a crumbling stadium at W.W. Skiles Field, located in downtown Shelby’s flood zone. According to an outside, independent agency inspection, the life expectancy of the current football stadium is only four to eight years.
The 4.6-mill bond issue would cost the taxpayers approximately $18.9 million over 34 years. According to Superintendent Tim Tarvin, the price has raised by about $2 million for the second iteration of the bond issue. The total cost of the project in November was $39 million, but in May the total cost will have raised to $41.4 million.
Shelby voters rejected the district’s first attempt at passing the levy on the Nov. 7, 2017 general election. Official results from the Richland County Board of Elections showed 2,263 votes (58.63 percent) against the bond issue, and 1,597 votes (41.37 percent) for the issue.
