MANSFIELD — The peacocks at Kingwood Center appeared piqued with curiosity by a large crowd in the King Ballroom on Friday morning.
Several of the bright feathered birds gazed into the lower half of the ballroom’s floor-to-ceiling windows as more than 100 election officials from 16 counties gathered for the Ohio Association of Election Officials Northeast Regional meeting.
Representatives from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office were also present to lead a series of tabletop discussions during the nearly eight-hour event.
Matt Finfgeld, director of the Richland County Board of Elections, took a moment before the day started to thank the staff that serves with him.
“They are amazing. Anything we need, anytime we need them,” the director said.
Following Finfgeld, each of Richland County’s three commissioners addressed the meeting’s attendees. Commissioners discussed how a functional and productive relationship between their office and the Board of Elections is vital to local government.
“You’re the defenders of democracy,” Commissioner Cliff Mears told the room of election officials.
“Often times when elections are criticized, they’re the people that get the criticism. But here in Richland County, there’s no room for that,” Mears said. “The people, the process, what we do in Richland County is just absolutely phenomenal.”
The commissioner added the way Democrats and Republicans work together in Richland County and at the Board of Elections should be a lesson to other levels of government.
Mears said interactions between the two groups locally is an example of how parties “can work together for the common good.”
“We do not have a good relationship with the Board of Elections, we have a great relationship,” Commissioner Tony Vero added. “It is a joy to work with them.”
Bill Freytag, board chairman, emphasized the importance of respect between commissioners and the Board of Elections.
“Over the 14 (or) 15 years that I’ve been involved (with the Board of Elections), we’ve always had a great relationship with our board (of commissioners),” Freytag said. “I know that’s not always the case in every county.”
Tasseff talks Richland County offerings
Lee Tasseff, president of Destination Mansfield-Richland County, took a chance to speak to a room filled with people from around northeast Ohio about all the county has to offer.
He spoke highly of the event’s location for the day — Kingwood Center — which meeting attendees could tour during or after the event.
Tasseff also highlighted the variety of places folks can visit throughout the county, including the historic Ohio State Reformatory, the Buckeye Imagination Museum, the Mansfield Art Center and the Ohio Bird Sanctuary.
“Everything you want to get to doesn’t take very long,” he said. “There’s a lot more things here (Richland County) than what people imagine.”
(Below are more photos from Friday’s Ohio Association of Election Officials Northeast Regional meeting at Mansfield’s Kingwood Center.)
