MANSFIELD — Jodie Perry relaxed Tuesday night for the first time in about six months.
The Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development chief operating officer easily won the four-way Republican Party primary to be the next mayor of Mansfield.
“I’m overwhelmed to be honest,” said Perry, who launched her first campaign for office in September. “I am relieved and extremely excited. It’s been a lot of things for the last six months or so.”
Surrounded by supporters in the Cypress Hill Winery inside Hudson & Essex in downtown Mansfield, Perry celebrated after earning 56.15 percent of the vote to easily outdistance current Finance Director Linn Steward (22.79 percent), At-large Councilwoman Stephanie Zader (11.56) and newcomer Jim Holsinger (9.50 percent).
Perry received 1,584 votes, according to final, unofficial totals from the Richland County Board of Elections. Steward had 643 votes while Zader had 326 and Holsinger received 268.
Perry will face Democrat Sherry Vaught in November’s general election. Vaught was unopposed in her party’s primary on Tuesday, receiving 1,315 courtesy votes.
Perry thanked volunteers who helped her knock on more than 2,500 doors during the campaign.
“One of the things that I enjoyed even more than I was anticipating was just all the conversations with the constituents and the residents,” Perry said. “Whether I was knocking on their door or at an event or in a function there’s a feeling that people do want Mansfield to be more successful and so it’s been gratifying to be able to tap into that.
“You’re definitely under a microscope though, and I knew that to a point. But, that has been eye-opening. I’ve been answering all my own comments on the internet and so that’s its own interesting thing at times.
“But I’ve actually I’ve had a lot of really great conversations that way, too,” Perry said.
The political newcomer said she got good advice from the start.
“They said the biggest focus is voter contact. Anytime you can get in front of people and make sure you’re on the ground, knocking on doors, direct mail (and) one-to-one contact was really the most important thing you can do.
“So that’s what I did. I had a lot of volunteers too. We knocked on more than 2,500 doors, but it was definitely not me alone doing that. I think my secret weapon is just all the people that have helped make tonight possible,” Perry said.
She also gained endorsements from a bevy of established, local Republican Party officials.
“I certainly think that was important because it kind of brought some legitimacy to it. I was really honored that they chose to do that. I think that was based on the fact that we’ve all worked together on a lot of projects over the years,” she said.
“They know how I work, they know my collaborative leadership style. So the fact that they were willing to be public about that (support) in a primary really did mean a lot to me,” Perry said.
She said she will take a break for a couple of days and then get back to work for the general election.
“I think the plan is, is more of the same — really focusing on voter contact. You’ll still see me absolutely being public, diving in, really trying to be prepared so that I’m elected in November,” Perry said.
