PLYMOUTH — Plymouth voters will see familiar names on the ballot this November when choosing who to elect as lawmakers.
Five candidates are running for four seats on Plymouth’s six-member council. There is only one challenger, Matthew Patrick, among four current Village Council incumbents.
However, Patrick has previous experience — as recent as 2023 — serving on Plymouth Village Council.
The four seats up for grabs on the Nov. 4 ballot each have a term length of four years, beginning Jan. 1, 2026 and expiring on Dec. 31, 2029. It is a non-partisan race.
Richland Source interviewed each candidate ahead of the upcoming election.
Susan Broderick – Incumbent
Susan Broderick, 76, has served on Plymouth Village Council for six and a half years. She filled a vacant seat the first two and a half years and was elected to a four-year term in 2021.
Broderick is a 1967 graduate of Plymouth High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Bluffton University and her master’s from Central Michigan University.
Broderick spent most of her career teaching in North Carolina.
Paired with a business background, the retired educator said both business and education are skills she brings to the council table. Broderick also has experience with grant writing.
“I was the person who wrote the grant for the splash-pad renovation for the pool,” she said.
“I care about everyone in the village and their concerns, whether I think they’re valid or not.”
One of the biggest issues Broderick hopes to tackle if elected to council again is communication — something she said is “somewhat not happening” currently.
She’d also like to see some overall aesthetic improvements throughout the village.
“I’ve been working on getting new benches and trash cans up town,” she said. “I’d like to see streets and sidewalks taken care of (too).”
Although she spent time away from Plymouth, the village is where Broderick grew up.
“I care about the village,” she said. “It was a wonderful, thriving place when I was growing up here. It was a great place to be and I want to continue to help it be a great place for everyone.”
Jeffrey Brown – Incumbent
Jeffrey Brown, 61, has been serving on Plymouth Village Council for just under four years. He was appointed to a seat vacated about a month after the past election.
Brown graduated from Plymouth High School in 1982. After graduation, he joined the Plymouth Police Department, where he served part-time for seven years. During his service, he attended The Ohio State University.
Brown said he brings a strong business experience with him to council. He has experience as the executive manager of a trucking company for 12 years.
He said this experience has allowed him to develop strong negotiating and dialogue skills.
“I really think I help bring together people that are struggling with understanding certain things or trying to build a bridge between the lack of communication that can sometimes develop over time,” Brown said.
One of the biggest initiatives Brown would like to continue to work on is creating more opportunities for children in the village, he said.
Specifically, Brown would like to see things the village has for kids to do — like parks —spread a bit more evenly across Plymouth.
Street improvements are also high on Brown’s to-do list.
“We’re trying to make that happen. It’s not always easy with limited funding,” he said.
Amanda Clark – Incumbent (Write-In)
Amanda Clark, 39, has been a member of Village Council for more than two years after being appointed by Plymouth Mayor Cassaundra Fryman. She currently chairs council’s finance committee.
Clark was raised in Plymouth and graduated from Plymouth High School in 2004. After high school, she earned her bachelor’s degree in education at Ashland University.
Clark also earned a master’s degree at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and an associate’s degree in theology from PeaceMakers School of Theology.
She works remotely as the director of marketing and communication at Care Net, a national pro-life ministry out of Landsdowne, Virginia.
As someone who enjoys serving others, Clark said serving on Village Council is another opportunity to give back to her community.
“That’s what I look forward to, is how can I serve others?” she said.
The biggest issue Clark wants to continue to work on is ensuring the village is a wise steward of its resources, time, personnel and taxpayers’ dollars, she said.
“As a smaller community, we don’t have big manufacturing or things that can bring in all that revenue,” she said. “It’s really important to make wise decisions with what we do have.”
Clark also said she’d love to be on council to see the West Broadway Street bridge project completed.
“My goal is to serve my community,” she said. “A lot of Plymouth residents are the parents of people I graduated with or friends from school. When you have a name to the person, you just care even more and you want to make sure they’re taken care of well.”
Richard Hurles – Incumbent
Richard Hurles, 71, was appointed to a vacant council seat in November 2024. That marked the second time Hurles has served on council after a seat was vacated.
Hurles is a graduate of God’s Bible School & College in Cincinnati, which serves as both a high school and college. He also earned a bachelor’s degree from International Bible College & Seminary.
He works as the lead pastor at Plymouth’s LifePoint Community Church.
Hurles said serving on council has been another opportunity to hopefully better the community.
“I think I have a very positive attitude and I know how to work with people,” he said. “I’ve worked with committees, boards, congregations and community leaders for years at my ministry.”
One thing Hurles would like to continue to work on if reelected is being more forward with his thoughts and opinions, particularly when it comes to the village’s service department.
Hurles currently chairs the public service committee.
“I want to be able to extend my leadership and instill that leadership into those that are in those departments,” he said. “I think that’s lacking, the leadership in some of these areas.”
Matthew Patrick – Challenger
Matthew Patrick, 62, is seeking a return to Village Council. Patrick’s past stint serving on council ended after a narrow defeat in the November 2023 election.
A 1981 graduate of New London High School, Patrick said he had no intention of puttting his name on the ballot again.
But after several residents asked him to consider it, Patrick said he agreed.
An Army veteran, he said he’s always valued serving his country and community.
During his previous time on council, Patrick worked closely with Broderick on improving the community pool. He said there is more he thinks he can accomplish if voters elect him Nov. 4.
“The streets are a big thing,” Patrick said. “We need streets, bad. That would be one of my big goals.”
Patrick also specified that he’d like to attract some more small businesses to downtown Plymouth, creating some more revenue for the village, he said.
With an entrepreneurial background, Patrick feels his ability to barter could be an asset to council, he said.
“If I become a councilmember, I want people in the village to feel free at anytime to call me or contact me and I will answer any questions that I know and I will always bring it to the front court,” Patrick said.
For more information about the Nov. 4 election, visit the Richland County Board of Elections website.
