MANSFIELD — Perhaps those writing the City of Mansfield charter saw this coming when they inserted term limits into the top leadership offices of the city.
The mayor, finance director and law director cannot serve more than three terms in office, thereby guaranteeing new faces in those seats from time to time.
But 2023 is a rarity, even by those standards. Voters in November will elect new leaders in all three seats at the same time.
Mayor Tim Theaker, Finance Director Linn Steward and Law Director John Spon all hit the three-term wire at exactly the same time.
But Republican and Democratic party voters have to make crucial choices in all three races on May 2 — which will set the stage for what’s to come in the general election.
Christopher Brown and Rollie Harper are Democrats competing for law director. Kelly Blankenship and Mark Abrams are Republicans seeking to become finance director.
And there are four Republicans on the primary ballot to become the city’s next mayor, the new Mansfield CEO responsible for putting a fresh team together at a true inflection point in the city’s history.
How big a role will the new mayor play in the next four years? The city charter speaks to that:
“The Mayor shall exercise supervision and control over all administrative departments of the City. (The Mayor) shall be the chief conservator of the peace within the City and shall ensure that all laws, ordinances are fully obeyed and enforced. (The Mayor) shall be the ceremonial head of the City.”
Make no mistake. For better or for worse, the mayor is the face of the City of Mansfield.
(Watch the video above to see the Candidate Conversation with all four Republican candidates for mayor done before a live audience at Idea Works in downtown Mansfield on April 20.)
Here is a look at the four candidates in the Republican Party primary for mayor of Mansfield. The winner will face Democrat Sherry Vaught in November. She is unopposed in that party’s primary.
JIM HOLSINGER
The 46-year-old resident of 825 Woodville Road is making his first run for public office. He will also quickly tell you he is not a politician.
“The politicians are not doing their jobs,” he said in explaining his decision to get into the race. “I have got to step up and do it. We have got to make a change, stop the wasteful spending and get crime in this city under control.”
The 1994 Madison Comprehensive High School graduate has worked for the last seven years in the warehouse at Fin-Feather-Fur Outfitters in Ashland.
Holsinger, who has also worked as a private investigator and in the loss prevention office for Buehler’s Fresh Foods, said he has spent most of his campaign time doing it the old-fashioned way — trying to knock on every door in the city to seek votes.
“I pay attention and I listen to what’s been going on around here,” he said.
Holsinger’s campaign platform is simple and straight-forward: reduce crime, stop wasteful spending and seek to lower residents’ taxes. He said current and prospective city leaders won’t attack those issues.
He said he recognizes there are other issues in the city. But none of those matter if basic needs are not met and pressing problems are not fixed.
“They will all talk about it. But they won’t do anything about it. They will just keep spending,” said Holsinger, a life-long area resident who moved into the city three years ago.
“I’ve seen how the city has been for years with crime,” he said. “The politicians aren’t doing their job. Every mayor I’ve known has done nothing with crime.”
Holsinger said he has a plan to restructure the police department to help accomplish his task. But he isn’t ready to roll it out until he is elected.
“It’s like a football game,” he said. “When the offense huddles up, they don’t tell the defense what play is coming.”
The mayor of Mansfield serves a four-year term and is paid $91,775 annually, according to the city finance office.
Here are the duties of the mayor:
— (A) The Mayor shall exercise supervision and control over all administrative departments of the City. He shall be the chief conservator of the peace within the City and shall ensure that all laws, ordinances are fully obeyed and enforced. He shall be the ceremonial head of the City.
— (B) In addition, the Mayor shall:
(1) Exercise judicial powers granted to mayors under the Constitution and laws of Ohio;
(2) Participate in the discussions of the Council and make recommendations to Council for its consideration; – and
(3) Perform such other powers, duties and functions as are authorized or required under this Charter, the ordinances and resolutions of the City, and the laws of Ohio to the extent that such laws are not inconsistent with this Charter and the City’s ordinances and resolutions.
Section 4.03 Veto Power.
(A) Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, each ordinance and resolution shall be presented to the Mayor by the Clerk of Council. If the Mayor approves the ordinance or resolution, he shall sign and return it, but if he does not approve it, he shall return it as vetoed with a statement of his objections to the Council, which objections shall be entered in the records of the Council.
(B) The Council may then reconsider the vote on the passage of legislation vetoed by the Mayor, not later than at its next regular meeting which occurs at least five days after the Mayor’s objections are returned to the Council. If, on reconsideration, it is approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to Council, it shall become effective as provided under this Charter.
(C) If any ordinance or resolution shall not be returned by the Mayor within ten days after it was presented to the Mayor, it shall become effective in the same manner as if it had been signed on the last day of the ten day period.
Source: City of Mansfield charter
JODIE PERRY
The 46-year-old resident of 366 Davis Road, Perry is also a political newcomer, albeit one who has been dialed into making Mansfield better for the last decade as the leader of Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.
Perry, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ashland University, said building a successful team is essential to success. “Team Mansfield” has been her mantra since she entered the campaign in September 2022.
“We are at a pivotal moment for the future of our community. To move forward, we must grow — both in bringing in more jobs and residents to the area.
“We need a mayor who will be out in front of issues, relentlessly positive, and able to bring people around the table to solve tough issues. I believe I have the experience, abilities and relationships to do that and successfully guide our community to a more prosperous future for all,” Perry said.
She has focused her campaign on three areas: growth and economic development; improved infrastructure; and increased safety.
“We must grow. We are being outpaced by similar communities and I know we have incredible assets here that will us to grow in an efficient and effective manner. We need more jobs and more people and I believe my background with the Chamber has me best positioned to lead that,” Perry said.
She said the city’s aging infrastructure needs a strategic investment plan to bring it up to 21st Century standards.
“Many infrastructure needs should be able to be forecast — such as the need to upgrade water lines — and that can be planned for,” she said. “We also need to leverage local dollars with outside sources to help us accomplish this.
“We also invested in a (city) parks master plan, but need to be able to prioritize work that can be done so our public spaces are places we can all be proud of.”
She said the next mayor must also focus on safety for residents and that safety forces “must be fully staffed, properly trained and equipped with the right tools to do their jobs.”
“I also think deterrence is important and that by offering more opportunities for our young people we can ensure they stay on the road to a productive future,” Perry said, citing the need to work with schools, athletic teams, youth services providers, parks staff and others.
Perry said her work in economic development and relationships she has built around the city, county and region help to solidify her as the best candidate.
“From the Mansfield Rising project, community branding, Main Street reinvestment project, pop-up park, the merger of (the Chamber and Richland Community Development Group) and others, I have shown I can pull people together to tackle an issue and bring about positive change,” Perry said.
“That’s why I believe in the ‘Team Mansfield’ concept so fully. I know the power of collaboration from first-hand experience,” she said.
LINN STEWARD
The 63-year-old resident of 212 Richland Avenue is in the final year of her third, four-year term as Mansfield’s finance director.
A Certified Public Accountant, Steward earned an associate’s degree in horse management at OSU-ATI and an associate’s degree in accounting from the Wooster Business College.
Steward said she is a fiscal conservative who helped to lead the city of out state-ordered fiscal emergency in her first term in office.
Her office was honored by the state auditor’s office in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the city’s bond rating has improved during her time as finance director.
“I have worked hard as finance director to lead and leave the city in a better financial position than how I found it,” she said. “It is important to me to continue to work for financial sustainability.”
She said as mayor she would put greater priority on the city’s economic development department.
“There is a lot of opportunity for development. I think widening State Route 13 north to the airport needs to be looked at. I had heard that a company did not want to locate at the airport due to congested traffic flows, especially during shift changes. The federal infrastructure and jobs act funds should be taken advantage of while they are available,” Steward said.
She said the city must be ready with a plan when the West Park Shopping Center is taken down along Park Avenue West.
“It would be big enough for multi-purpose (usage) with housing, walking and outside spaces, retail, etc. There are many programs at the state level with incentives for developers and I will work closely with the law department to utilize those incentives,” Steward said.
She also said the city should consider the possibility of an “outerbelt” for State Route 13, “especially if Intel impacts our industrial park.”
“This would detour the semi-trucks from having to go through our downtown and allow faster, smoother routing for all businesses using State Route 13,” Steward said.
She also cited infrastructure improvement needs, including aging city water lines. But Steward said she was not in favor of adding a “readiness-to-use” fee onto water bills.
The fee was requested earlier this year by the city administration and was approved by City Council. If additional revenue was needed, it should have been done through rate increases, she said.
“I am not for fees in general. It does not allow the public to vote on them and fees never seem to go back down. At least funding city services through tax levies allows the public to vote for or against them,” she said.
Steward said her experience in elected office sets her apart from her opponents.
“I have been in office longer than two of my opponents have been residents of Mansfield,” she said. “I have been a resident of Mansfield for 25-plus years and I have been paying Mansfield city taxes longer than all three of my opponents for 40-plus years.
“I have a vested interest in the future success of Mansfield, not only for my family, but all the citizens, businesses and visitors of Mansfield,” Steward said.
STEPHANIE ZADER
A 35-year-old resident of 559 S. Main St., Zader is midway through her first four-year term as an At-large member of City Council.
She was appointed by Republicans in January 2021 to fill an unexpired term and then was retained by city voters during the general election in November of that same year.
A Realtor and real estate investor, Zader said she is running for mayor “because I want better for my city, my children and my grandchildren to come.”
“I have spent countless hours researching and learning about our city and I believe there are many ways I can improve it,” she said.
As mayor, Zader said she will focus on a transparent and “straight-forward” government with emphasis on economic development and strategic internal planning.
“As I have already proven, I will be present in our community, available to the citizens and honest, regardless of the blowback I may receive,” she said.
“I will continue to work with business owners, entrepreneurs, housing developers, investors and our city departments to grow our city.
“I will make a dedicated effort to increase our tax income base, hoping to stimulate enough economic growth to double the total tax collection in my first term, to then reduce the tax rate overall for the citizens of Mansfield,” she said.
Zader said she would be an active mayor.
“I think that’s evident just by how I’ve conducted myself in my office as a councilperson. I’ve been told several times to stay in my lane, but my lane is to understand what I’m making decisions about.
“We just haven’t seen council people be as active as I am and as plugged in and as in the know of what’s going on in the city. I take that very seriously now and I’m a legislator.
“So I am definitely going to take that seriously as mayor. I’m going to come in (to council meetings) with updates about what’s going on in the city. Transparency is vital and we have had a lack of that,” she said.
She said he plans to do a “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats” analysis of every city department “on my own time and my own dime” before taking office.
“I will then compile this information into a plan to move our city forward quickly and strategically,” Zader said.
She said she has spent a great deal of time meeting with every department in the city and has earned the respect of city employees.
“I am personally invested in winning and making our city better. I have self-funded the majority of my campaign and I have been personally invested in Mansfield as a property and business owner since 2012.”
