Meet Ontario mayor candidates Bradley, Knapp & Sapp

ONTARIO — Three Republicans and a Democrat are seeking election to the post of mayor of Ontario.

It’s the first contested election since former Mayor Randy Hutchinson was elected in 2013.

Kris Knapp, 56, was appointed to Hutchinson’s term in July 2024. He seeks to retain his seat against council members Troy Sapp, 39, and Josh Bradley, 43.

Knapp’s appointed term runs through the end of 2025. Whoever wins the primary election will face Democrat Cody Zeigler in the general election. The general election winner will take office in January 2026.

The mayor is paid $56,650 for their first year in office. Elected officials make their own schedules, as hours are not specified in the city’s ordinances or Ohio Revised Code.

Voters who choose a Republican ballot can vote in the Republican primary. Early voting is now open at the Richland County Board of Elections, or city residents can go to their local polling places on May 6. 

Each of the Ontario mayoral candidates answered the same questions from Richland Source. Here were their responses.

RS: What made you want to seek elected office as mayor?

Bradley: I believe the people of Ontario should always always be at the center of every decision. That’s how I’ve led as a councilman and helping to create our comprehensive plan — by listening to the community and not making choices behind closed doors. Keeping residents involved through community surveys and things of that nature. As mayor, I’ll keep putting our residents’ voices first and work to make sure that every decision reflects what’s best for all of us.

Knapp: The knowledge I gained as service-safety director of the day-to-day operations of our city inspired me to apply to the position when Mayor Hutchinson stepped away because I wanted to continue his vision to grow the city. As a school teacher for 33 years, I’ve always been a community-service driven individual. I grew up here in Ontario and am committed full-time to our citizens, our businesses and our community.

Sapp: I have always had an interest in our local government and how it operates. Long before I ran for city council, I took the time to research the City of Ontario, how it functions, what makes it successful and what opportunities for growth there were. I grew up here and made the conscious decision to raise my family in this community because I love it.

RS: What other elected positions have you held and for how long?

Bradley: I’ve been on city council since 2020, as councilman for the 4th Ward. I chair the economic development committee and also serve on the safety and finance committees. I also chaired the parks committee my first year, which was the start of the major parks improvement project of the inclusive playground, extending the walking paths and the splash pad.

Knapp: I have not been elected to office because service-safety director is an appointed position, which has allowed me to understand the operations of the city down to details of street lights, water, electric aggregation and the fundamentals of that. I earned appointment to the role of mayor in July when the central committee appointed me.

Sapp: I have served on the Ontario City Council since 2021. I’ve also had the privilege of chairing the utilities committee and most recently the parks committee, while also serving on the finance committee.

RS: Tell us more about your life outside of council — where you work(ed), community organizations you’re involved in and what you want to share about your family or anything else.

Bradley: Outside of council, I’ve dedicated the last 24 years of my life serving this community as a firefighter and paramedic with Springfield Fire. It’s a role that’s taught me the value of teamwork, staying calm under pressure and putting others first.

My wife, Dr. Amy Bradley, has been an educator with Mansfield City Schools for nearly 26 years. We’ve raised our children in Ontario.

Over the years, I’ve been involved with different volunteer efforts and community events, the 4th of July committee and toy drives — things like that. As a hobby, I keep bees. It’s something my whole family gets into.

Knapp: I was a teacher, athletic trainer and coach for Ontario Local Schools for 33 years. I enjoyed leading the Kiwanis Key Club, growing it from six students to 96 students.

My wife Shelly is also a school teacher, she works in Lexington. We both graduated from Ontario, and so did our daughters.

When I’m not in my office, I really enjoy visiting our businesses in the city. When the Chamber did Small Business Saturday, I personally went out to multiple businesses with their fliers and invited them to be part of it.

Sapp: I began my professional life in the banking industry, particularly in mortgage lending. I have also worked in manufacturing in the areas of quality and supply chain. 

After I beat cancer in 2016, I fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning my own business — an ice cream shop — and obtaining my real estate license.

I have been a coach for Ontario Youth Sports for 10 years, have coached Ontario Middle School girls’ basketball for the past two seasons and I have volunteered on the Ontario 4th of July Committee. I also serve on the Avita Health Foundation board. 

RS: What are some things you’re proud of accomplishing in any leadership positions or elsewhere?

Bradley: As chair of the economic development committee, I worked really closely with Reveille and members of our comprehensive plan steering committee to create a plan that reflected what residents asked for and promote resident-driven growth.

I believe in long-term thinking for the decisions we make for Ontario, whether that’s for modernizing our zoning codes, the street grading system or major improvements to our parks.

We took ownership of 2.83 acres of land to expand a green space east of Stowell Park that I’m excited about. I approached the Richland County Land Bank about that last year and we found out we could purchase the property and only pay the filing fees, so it cost a couple hundred dollars to help improve that neighborhood in the future.

Knapp: (Raising) Cane’s coming to town is a huge accomplishment. As service-safety director, I called the Cane’s developer every Friday to open the lines of communication before anything was signed or announced.

Communication has been something I’m proud to have improved in the eight months since I’ve been mayor — whether that be with Mark Romanchuk and Jim Jordan on power at the GM property, or going down to the Ohio Department of Transportation office in person to get the $3.2 million safety grant for the roundabout at 4th and Rock Road. I didn’t have to go down to Columbus and tell them why that was important to our city, but I did, and we received all the funding for it.

Sapp: I have had a chance to work on a few projects that have been impactful and very rewarding. The one that sticks out the most was facilitating our Military Tank and Military Honors project.

Moving a tank is no small task — you must have permission granted from the appropriate personnel. Ensuring that the tank was moved and positioned properly was very important to me. Every last detail was taken into consideration, right down to me spending time in the spot where the tank is now located to ensure that the tank’s gun was not pointed at the school or anyone’s home. Our community is full of veterans and active duty military personnel so it was vitally important to me to make sure we followed the procedure exactly how it should be.

RS: What issues are important to you in advocating for your constituents if elected?

Bradley: For me, it all comes down to doing what’s best for the people who live here. That means supporting our safety services with tools and staffing they need and the basics like roads, water lines and our long-term infrastructure plans. 

I’m also focused on smart, responsible growth. I understand we need more housing options, but it has to make sense for our community. I am not for high-density developments that strain the services we have now. 

And, we do need to bring life back into some of these vacant commercial properties to make sure that our economy keeps moving forward. 

More than anything, I want people to feel heard. I’ve always believed in open conversations, listening to the residents and making sure every decision reflects what’s best for the community and not just a few voices. 

Knapp: Safety and security is a priority — I attend the county chiefs breakfast regularly to get updates and see how we can help each other out and make sure our own departments have the equipment and training they need.

I know the infrastructure in our city as well as anyone because that was my job to coordinate those logistics. Which brings us to controlled growth — you don’t want to have too much growth if your infrastructure can’t handle it. With housing, we want to make sure that the housing we put in, that our infrastructure and logistics can handle it. 

There’s been a lot of business movement in the city from Cane’s, Wing Stop, East of Chicago, Starbucks, The Ontario Center — they’re all growing. I was directly involved with all that. What I like doing is communicating and getting things set up to watch it fall into place.

I also want to improve our industry, zoning and upgrading the ‘Old Ontario’ area with help from our Community Improvement Corporation.

Sapp: The former site of General Motors is not only unsightly but presents a lot of safety and environmental issues … that would be an important issue to tackle.

Adding industry and jobs means that the city needs adequate housing for these individuals. If the city wants to grow and bring jobs, it is important to ensure they have a place to live.

Safety and ease of access to our parks is another important issue. Cities have the opportunity to apply for and obtain grants to build sidewalks and provide safe access to our parks. 

Educating our senior citizens is an area that I plan to address. There are a great deal of resources available that many of our seniors aren’t aware of. We have an opportunity to work with other organizations in the area to help individuals and their families understand what is available and get much needed assistance.

RS: What experiences do you think have shaped your views on those issues?

Bradley: I’ve been thinking lately about a conversation I had with Betty Bemiller as a bag boy for Hawkins Market — my first job growing up.

She was the sweetest lady and always talked about public service. Her husband was a mayor.

I went in for an interview for volunteer firefighters, but I didn’t have any fire or EMS experience. The chief was nice about it and said they’d keep my application on file. 

A week or two later, I’m taking Betty’s groceries out again and she asked me how the interview went and I told her. She says, ‘just keep at it.’ The next day, Chief Henry calls me and says they’d like to hire me and he asks how I know Betty Bemiller. 

If that wonderful woman hadn’t stuck her neck out for me there, I don’t know where I would be. I still carry those values of being neighborly and looking out for each other today.

Knapp: Working at the school for 33 years, I still have a lot of connections from when I might have been someone’s teacher or classmate. 

I feel like I’ve gotten to know the history of this city from growing up here and remembering riding my bike up Lexington-Springmill Road when it was just houses back in the ’70s. I was raised near Old Ontario. My dad worked at GM, my mom worked at Sears. The history of this town and what it’s offered me has really shaped how I want to move the city forward.

That’s what’s shaped my focus on communication and building those relationships. I’m always willing to have conversations, even about difficult issues.

Sapp: My experience in owning a business, the real estate market and manufacturing gives me a clear understanding of what it takes to integrate your business into a community. There can be many roadblocks, but I have the background it takes to overcome them.

I have seen many people walking to and from the parks on the side of busy roads and I was concerned for their safety. I want our residents to feel safe going to and from our beautiful parks and attending all of the events we host. 

When meeting with a group of senior citizens in one of Ontario’s condo communities, I learned that they were not aware of many of the resources available to them. It made me realize that we were not providing the education that they needed to get the help that they deserve.

RS: Would you be a full-time mayor? 

Bradley: I work 24-hour shifts at the Springfield Township Fire Department and plan on keeping my position there. I fully intend on working full-time hours as mayor. On the rare occasions I’m not in the office during regular working hours, if there was an emergency in the city, I’d be one of the first ones there as a firefighter, so I see that as a benefit.

Knapp: I am a full-time mayor now, I do not work another job. I choose to do this.

Sapp: I will serve full-time and give the city the attention it deserves. Real estate also provides me the opportunity to work in the evenings or around the city’s needs.

RS: What goals do you have if elected to this position?

Bradley: I want to make sure Ontario keeps growing in a way that makes sense and feels right for the people who live here. That means making smart decisions about development, improving our roads and infrastructure and continuing to invest in our safety and public services. 

I want to keep building transparency and communication between the city and the residents. People should always feel like they’re part of the process and not left out of it —whether that’s through those community surveys, town halls or just picking up a telephone, I want folks to know that they have a voice and that it actually matters.

Knapp: I want to amplify the growth of Ontario. When you enter the city, I think of that as our front door. I want it to be welcoming and nice to look at whether you’re going out to eat, visiting a friend or maybe you want to live here. But also, make sure that growth is controlled so that we don’t do things that we regret later.

Continuing the relationships and communication that I already have with elected officials in Richland County and the state — and with business owners — is another one of my goals.

I’m also very excited about the strategic plan and establishing a CIC.

Sapp: My main goal is to continue to advocate for every member of our community. When I was younger, most people expressed a desire to leave Ontario because they felt there was not enough to keep them here. Whether it be job opportunities, entertainment or activities for children, my goal is to make this a destination to work, play and grow.

The relationships I have formed through my collective experiences allow me to facilitate these opportunities for the community. There are individuals and businesses who want to be part of our city and invest in this area, and I can facilitate those relationships.

RS: What else should voters know about you?

Bradley: My roots are here. I graduated from Ontario schools and now, I get to watch my own kids grow up in the same community that helped shape who I am, and that means a lot to me. 

I definitely don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I’m always willing to listen, put in the work and stand up for what’s right. I care about the people here, not just as a candidate, but as a neighbor, a parent and someone who truly wants to see Ontario thrive. 

This isn’t about politics or chasing a title for me, it’s making sure the city my kids inherit is even better than the one I grew up in. 

Knapp: I’m committed, I’m driven and I’m experienced. I think the Central Committee chose me above three other applicants in July because those three things stood out.

When I say I’m going to do something, I follow through with it. I stayed at Ontario schools my whole career even though I had opportunities to leave, because I stayed committed to my hometown and our community. I feel lucky to have grown up here and to serve our city as your full-time mayor.

Sapp: I think the most important thing I would like voters to know about me is how my professional and personal experiences have shaped my approach and intentions.

Being in leadership roles, owning my own business, working in real estate gives me a well-rounded approach to community needs. I want to make it clear that none of my experiences are a conflict despite what certain rumors have indicated. My intention is to build on the growth and success of an already great city. 

I fully believe that every person in Ontario matters and that they are part of its continued success. My desire is to do what is best for the entire community. 

Being a cancer survivor has completely changed my perspective on life and how I interact with others. I listen to understand, instead of listening to reply. 

About Cody Zeigler

Democrat Cody Zeigler’s name will not be on ballots this spring, as Ontario Democrats are unopposed for their respective primary races. Zeigler will face whoever wins the Republican mayoral primary in November.

Zeigler, 32, said he was inspired to run for office after picketing in 2021 and getting involved with his union at ArcelorMittal in Shelby.

“I am a third generation Ontario graduate and plan on my three children graduating from Ontario,” Zeigler said. “Getting involved with my local union and being a father has shaped me to care about the people around me more.”

Zeigler said his core focus areas if he were elected would be jobs, housing for middle- and lower-income households and infrastructure improvements.

“I have seen parts of the world from Haiti to Germany, and I think what makes Ontario so great is the opportunity it brings,” Zeigler said. “I want to continue the tradition of building Ontario from the ground up and show the grit we all have from growing up a Warrior.”

Voters can see sample ballots for the Republican party or an issues-only ballot on the Richland County Board of Elections website. All Ontario Democrats are unopposed, so registered Democrats will receive an issues-only ballot unless they ask to change their registration.

The City of Ontario also has three at-large council seats up for election.

Kyle Webb is the only name who will appear on Republican ballots, but 19-year-old AJ Roll has filed as a write-in. 24-year-old Brennen Finfgeld has filed as a Democrat. Those council terms also begin in January.