The road to November: Richland County Board of Elections certifies the ballot

MANSFIELD — Don’t tell Matt Finfgeld this November represents an off-year election.

It’s a flat busy time to be the director of the Richland County Board of Elections.

The local bipartisan elections board on Wednesday certified the ballot for Nov. 4, races that include cities, townships, school boards and a raft of tax and other issues.

“Off-year elections are harder,” Finfgeld said with a laugh. “We don’t have 100 offices up for election during (presidential or statewide) election years.

“It’s certainly not really any easier,” he said.

The board of elections staff had to approve more than 120 different candidate petitions, checking each signature before certifying candidates for the ballot.

In one instance on Wednesday, a candidate was removed from the ballot because he failed to obtain the required number of valid signatures on his petition.

Finfgeld, a Democrat, and Deputy Jane Zimmerman, a Republican, handle day-to-day operations of the elections board, along with their staff.

The four members of the bipartisan board are Democrats Venita Shoulders and Larry Weirich and Republicans Bill Freytag and Megan Whatman.

The last day to register to vote in the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 6. Early voting begins Oct. 7.

Here is a look at some of the key races and issues on the November ballot:

Five candidates seek three spots on the Mansfield school board

There are three seats up for grabs on the Mansfield City Schools Board of Education.

Voters in the district will have an opportunity to return three incumbents to the board while also being offered the choice of two newcomers.

Incumbents Chris Elswick and Linda Golden will appear on the ballot. A third incumbent, Gary Feagin, is a write-in candidate for the five-member board.

The two newcomers in the non-partisan race are Deena Hamilton and Rebecca Wayman.

Mansfield City Council has four contested races

Nothing has changed on the ballot for Mansfield City Council since the primaries in May.

Voters will make decisions in four races — one At-large seat and three ward seats.

Republican Shari Robertson and Democrat Phil Scott square off in the At-large race, a contest that features two current lawmakers.

Robertson was appointed by local Republicans to the seat in 2024 to complete the unexpired term of Stephanie Zader. Scott, who is midway through a term as council president, is seeking a return to the At-large seat he gave up two years ago to seek the president’s seat.

The 1st Ward race matches Republican Michael Miranda against Democrat Amber Thompson. Both won contested primaries in May as current 1st Ward Councilwoman Laura Burns decided not to seek re-election.

Incumbent Republican Rev. El Akuchie faces a challenge from Democrat Crystal Davis Weese in the 3rd Ward. Both were unopposed in the primary.

In the 5th Ward, independent incumbent Aurelio Diaz is opposed by Democrat Joetta McCruter-Polk. Diaz was elected four years ago as a Democrat, choosing to become an independent during his term. There are no Republicans in the race.

There is competition down in the Valley

Village councils in both Bellville and Butler will have contested races in November.

Bellville voters will elect four representatives and there are six names on the ballot in the non-partisan race, including three current council members.

Incumbents Debra Carver and Timothy Truax are seeking re-election while Edd Black is seeking to retain the seat to which he was appointed to finish an unexpired term.

Also on the ballot are Amy Frontz, Steve Haring and Benjamin Stewart.

In Butler, six candidates are vying for the four positions open, including incumbents Natasha Waltz and Russell Watts. Also on the ballot are Michael Palmer, David Secrist, Alan Smith and Joy Stover.

(Below is a PDF with all of the candidates for office on the November ballot around Mansfield and Richland County.)

Two county-wide tax issues on the November ballot

Voters in Richland County will decide 17 tax issues on Nov. 4, including the renewals of two county-wide property tax renewals.

As renewals, neither of the countywide issues will result in additional taxes.

Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services is asking voters to approve a 1-mill, 10-year renewal first approved by voters four decades ago.

“If you do not have good mental health, you do not have good physical health. Without those two things, people can’t really stay employed and be prosperous members of our society,” Sherry Branham-Fonner, the agency’s executive director, told county commissioners in June.

Carey Vogt, Richland County MH&RS associate director/CFO, told commissioners the tax currently costs property owners 10 cents per $100 of appraised property value. For a property valued at $100,000, the cost would be roughly $100 annually.

Vogt said the levy has generated slightly more than $2 million annually the past few years.

Richland Public Health is seeking the renewal of a 0.9-mill, 10-year property tax issue. The issue is separate from the agency’s 10-year, half-mill levy, which was most recently renewed by voters in 2023.

RPH Commissioner Julie Chaya told county commissioners in July the levy renewal request comes as federal and state funding opportunities may be in jeopardy.

“If for whatever reason, Richland Public Health receives little to no federal funding, as long as we have a local levy that’s helping to support us, I will do everything possible to make sure that we have other sources of revenue,” Chaya said.

If renewed, the 10-year, 0.9-mill levy is estimated to generate $2,077,881 annually for the department.

Among other issues and tax questions on the Nov. 4 ballot:

Madison Local School District offers income tax issue

The Madison Local School District has placed a five-year, 1.5-percent earned income tax levy on the November ballot.

If approved, the levy would generate approximately $6.27 million annually.

District board members voted to approve a provision that would cease collection of a 7.5 mill property tax if the income tax levy is passed.

That 7.5 mill property tax was narrowly approved by voters in 2023. It generates approximately $2.94 million annually. 

Thus, the district would see an overall revenue bump of approximately $3.33 million each year.

The district’s most recent five year forecast, completed in May, projected Madison Local Schools would have a negative cash balance of just over $1 million by the end of the 2026-2027 school year, if no changes are made.

“We’ve decreased expenditures. We’re continuing to decrease expenditures,” district Treasurer Bradd Stevens said in July. “We need to try to increase revenue.”

Madison Township voters asked to OK fire levy renewal

Township voters will decide a four-mill renewal levy that would generate approximately $600,000 annually for fire services over the next five years, beginning in tax year 2026. It would first be collected in 2027.

The cost to property owners would remain the same: $140 per $100,000 of appraised value.

Township trustees said the levy is critical to keeping emergency services running in Richland County’s largest township.

“It’s really important that people understand this is a renewal, not a replacement,” trustee Dan Fletcher said.

The distinction is important. Voters have twice rejected a replacement levy, in May 2025 and in November 2024 — a decision trustees attributed in part to confusion about what the levy would actually do, and how much it would cost.

The replacement attempt was for a continuous levy first passed in 2000 and collecting revenue based on 1999 home values, which would have been permanent.

The new renewal plan has a five-year expiration, which trustees say is more palatable for residents.

Shelby voters facing charter amendment question

Shelby voters will determine the fate of a proposed candidate filing deadline extension.

City Council voted in July to send the proposed charter amendment to the November ballot during a special meeting Friday morning.

The change would extend the filing deadline for Shelby political candidates to 90 days, an increase from the current 75-day period.

A filing deadline is the last chance a person has — ahead of a primary election — to file a declaration of candidacy and petition and pay fees required by Ohio Revised Code.

Currently, Shelby is the only government entity in Richland County with a 75-day candidate filing deadline.

Bellville voters voting on cannabis

Voters in the Village of Bellville will determine the future of cannabis sales.

The issue on the Nov. ballot asks if the village shall “permit the establishment and operation of an adult cannabis dispensary within the village and direct village council to enact legislation regulating the operation of such dispensary.”

The village Planning Commission hosted a public forum on the topic in 2024. More than 150 people attended the event, with nearly 30 people speaking during the meeting’s public comment period.

“I strongly feel this should go to a vote in the village,” Mayor Teri Brenkus said afterward. “From what I heard tonight, this was a 50-50 split for and against a dispensary.

“I do not believe the planning commission or the council should be the ones to decide this,” she said.

(Below is a PDF file with all of the tax questions and issues on the Nov. 4 ballot.)