MANSFIELD — A former city finance director wants her job back. A long-time city employee would like to advance his career.
That’s the stage for the Republican Party primary on May 2 between former finance director Kelly Blankenship and current city parks and recreation Supt. Mark Abrams.
The winner advances to the November general election against Democrat Jon Van Harlingen, a former member of Mansfield City Council and a retired city worker.
The Mansfield Finance Director is paid $85,651 annually, according to the city’s finance department.
Here is the finance director’s role:
— The Director of Finance shall be elected from the City at Large for a term of four ( 4) years and shall be qualified to hold office by education or experience; provided, that the electors of the City shall be the sole judge of the qualifications required by this Charter.
(A) The Director of Finance shall be the chief fiscal officer of the City. He shall, on behalf of the City, collect all taxes, assessments and monies due; disburse funds as authorized; select depositories; invest funds when available for investment; maintain an efficient general accounting system according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (G.A.A.P.) as restated in Governmental Accounting for Financial Reporting (G.A.F.R.); specify and supervise departmental accounting, including invoicing, receiving and, where appropriate, cost accounting systems; and represent the City with other governmental fiscal agencies. He shall sit as a member of the Board of Control and act with the same powers and duties as other members of the Board of Control as set forth and provided in the Ohio Revised Code. The Director of Finance shall perform all duties and functions now or hereafter imposed on City Auditors and Treasurers by the laws of the State of Ohio which are not in conflict with the provisions of this Charter.
(B) The Director of Finance shall: for the Council and the Mayor report the current financial status of the City not less than quarterly; provide Council all supportive financial information requested for consideration of the annual appropriation ordinance or resolution; and make a yearly report covering all accounts and obligations of the previous fiscal year.
(C) The Director of Finance shall serve as fiscal advisor to the Mayor and the Council. He shall assist the Mayor in the preparation of the yearly budget, appropriation ordinances or resolutions and statements of anticipated income, and accept any other duties assigned to him by the written request of the Mayor, if such request has been submitted to the Council and approved, by motion, by a majority vote of all members elected to the Council.
(D ) The Department of Finance shall consist of the Finance Director and staff, and the Income Tax Division.
Source: City of Mansfield charter
Here is a look at both GOP candidates:
Mark Abrams
The 49-year old Abrams, a resident of 40 Glenwood Blvd., has worked for the city for 28 years in a variety of roles, the last 10 as the leader of the parks and recreation department.
He led Local 3088 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees for six years during his tenure with the city.
“I am running for finance director because I feel it is an important position that needs someone who will show up and work hard every day,” Abrams said.
Abrams, a 1991 Madison Comprehensive High School graduate, earned an “associate professional in human resources” certificate from the Human Resource Standards Institute in 2022.
The City of Mansfield is nine years removed from a state-ordered fiscal emergency that began in August 2010 and ended in July 2014. It emerged after a series of painful cost-cutting moves, including layoffs and financial enhancements.
Abrams said the city administration and City Council needs to develop annual spending plans that don’t exceed anticipated revenues.
“This can be accomplished by working with the administration and establishing a policy that addresses this,” he said.
“The city has to continue to have sound fiscal policy. We have to keep looking at things like the budget stabilization fund, the (employee) separation fund and the 27th-pay fund. (We need to) plan for these for future expenses and lessen the burden of huge, one-time expenses,” he said.
He also cited a need for fiscal transparency.
“We have to continue to give better access to the citizen so that they can see how their tax dollars are being spent,” Abrams said.
Abrams doesn’t have formal financial education. Instead, he said, he has nearly three decades of working in the city whose finances he would help guide.
“I understand how the city functions on the employees’ level, department-head level and the union level,” he said. “I have been a part of several contract negotiations.
“I have dealt with government finance on a (day-to-day) basis for over the last 10 years,” Abrams said.
Kelly Blankenship
Running as a Democrat, Blankenship won the 2007 finance director’s race. She defeated Republican John Rutledge in the general election while earning 56.54 percent of the vote.
She then narrowly lost the position by 24 votes to Republican Linn Steward in 2011 — 5,896 to 5,872. Steward went on to win two more four-year terms and is now prohibited from seeking a fourth term due to term limits.
“My family were all Democrats growing up, so I was automatically a Democrat,” Blankenship said in explaining the transition from one party to another.
“As time went on and I became more aware of political events and reasons people choose one side or the other, I decided the Republican Party was a better representation of my own personal beliefs.”
A 52-year-old resident of 895 Andover Road, Blankenship earned a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis on accounting from Coastal Carolina University in 1999.
For the last five years, Blankenship has been the executive drector of the local homeless shelter Wayfinders Ohio, formerly the Harmony House.
Blankenship said she tried to warn other elected officials of the coming fiscal storm while she was in the finance director’s office.
She said it’s now “an opportune time to take advantage of the momentum that has been happening in our community that needs nurtured with the right people in the right place.”
Blankenship said it’s just a matter of time before the national economic difficulties impact local finances.
“It’s imperative that we have someone in office who can read the signs, prepare and help guide the city with experience and ability,” she said.
“Since I have performed this job before, I have that experience, along with the education. The responsibilities of this office are skills that I have employed in other jobs, as well. It’s essentially my wheelhouse,” Blankenship said.
She said she has worked in multiple financial positions.
“I worked in managing investment portfolios. I still perform fund accounting. I manage an organization and helped it grow financially. I own a tax business and I prepare payroll,” Blankenship said.
As the finance director, she said she would “ensure all elected officials are aware of their fiduciary responsibilities they have in regard to their office and departments, and work as a team to ensure Mansfield has a balanced budget without spending carryover funds.”
Like Abrams, Blankenship said she believes in fiscal transparency with the the public.
“I will work to simplify the budget and financial reports in a more concise manner and publish more frequent financial updates for public information,” she said.
