MADISON TOWNSHIP — The Madison Township trustee race includes an incumbent and challenger with similar experience in the position.
Voters will be asked to choose between incumbent Thomas Craft, who has served since April 2012, or Catherine Swank, who previously held the role for seven years. Swank served as trustee from January 2000 to December 2007.
The winner will begin a four-year term in January 2020, joining current trustees Dan Fletcher and Jim Houser. The position is considered part-time and pays $13,000 annually.
This race is considered non-partisan.
Thomas Craft
Craft, 58, says he’ll “continue to be fiscally responsible,” if elected for another term.
A resident of 1219 Poth Road, Craft was appointed to the board of trustees in April 2012 to replace Mark McDaniel. He then ran and was elected for a partial term in 2013 and for a full term in 2015.
“In my seven years of being a trustee, I have learned about government rules and have been fiscally responsible,” Craft said.
If re-elected, he plans to “find more ways to maintain streets,” while staying within the township’s financial means, or “at the least cost,” he said.
Since 2012, Craft explained how he and the other trustees have replaced one supervisor’s truck, a dump truck, a roller and a hot box (asphalt repair equipment) in the road department and two squads, two engines and the chief’s vehicle in fire department. Much of this was covered by grants.
Craft was born in Johnstown, Penn., and moved to Mansfield in 1966 with his family. He graduated from the Mansfield City School District in 1979 and has lived in Madison Township since 1981.
He currently works as the general manager of an HVAC business, an experience that he says “gives him the best opportunity to serve the citizens of Madison Township.”
Further, he says he enjoys the “daily challenge of being a trustee.”
Outside of his role as a trustee, Craft said he serves as a deacon at Mission Point Church in Mansfield and is a member of the Richland County Land Bank, Kiwanis Club of Mansfield and Richland County Agricultural Society.
Catherine Swank
Craft’s challenger, Catherine Swank of 1339 Park Ave E. isn’t the traditional newcomer. She’s familiar with the position.
The life-long Madison Township resident served as a trustee from January 2000 to December 2007. She ran for the term beginning in January 2018, but lost to her opponent.
“I ran, but my husband was sick at the time, so I didn’t put in the effort in the campaign,” she said. “(But) I loved the job, was very dedicated to it, and I very much want it again.”
During her time in the role, she worked to obtain new equipment for the road and fire departments through a rotation strategy and to organize the township meetings, turning them from “chaos to order.”
“It was unbelievable. There was no order to the meetings. They would just argue,” she said. “And when I got there, I set up parliamentary procedures.”
It was during this time, she said, the trustees moved into their “first true” township hall.
“We were meeting in the fire station, and our records were all over the place,” she said.
She also noted how she pushed for the bridge over railroad tracks on South Illinois Avenue. She said she collaborated with the Richland County Engineer’s office for this project.
“Those railroad tracks, they’d be blocked forever sometimes … And it was such an accomplishment because it eliminated delays (of sometimes 20 to 30 minutes),” she said.
Swank, 70, is a retired teacher from Madison Local Schools, and is presently a paramedic with Madison Township Fire Department. Because of her retirement, she’s able to act as a “full-time trustee.”
“I very much would like to bring my experience to the position again, and I feel that I have a lot yet to offer this community,” Swank said.
If elected, she says she’d look to ensure the township remains fiscally responsible. In the short term, she promises to improve the township services (road, fire and zoning) and be a township trustee that is readily available during most days.
Long-term, she’d like to obtain new equipment and look into new funding for the road department. She went on to say she plans to maintain “the highest level of service and staffing for the fire department” and will look into “obtaining a water system to encourage businesses to locate along the Ashland Road business corridor.”
Swank graduated from Madison High School in 1967. She earned a bachelor’s in education from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree in education from Ashland University.
She later served as the president of the Madison Local Education Association for 12 years.
“I am well-educated and in excellent health. I have an excellent work ethic,” she said.
