GALION, Ohio — The three seats for Galion’s council-at-large are heavily contested with five individuals running, two of which are incumbents.
Gail Baldinger
Gail Baldinger, former council president, is running for one of the contested at-large seats on council. After realizing current council at-large member Jon Kleinknecht would not run for re-election, Baldinger decided to run.
As a lifelong citizen of Galion, he would like to see the city get out of fiscal emergency, a status the city has held since 2004.
“We could have been out of fiscal emergency a couple years ago when the Street Fund was made solvent,” said Baldinger. “It’s still an interest of mine to see the city out of fiscal emergency.”
In addition to his five-and-a-half years experience as council president, he worked 26 years with the fire department and served as union president. He said that experience allowed him to become acquainted with city government.
“So I’ve been on both sides of the fence, per se,” said Baldinger of the private and public sectors.
Shirley Clark
Shirley Clark has served on Galion’s council as an at-large member for six-and-a-half years. She is running for re-election. After living and working in California for a number of years, Clark said she saw potential in Galion.
“But nobody was doing much about it,” said Clark. “So, I thought, ‘well, I better give it a try and see what I can do to help.’”
Clark said her niche has been working on the city’s parks. As a member on the Parks Committee, she touted influencing getting a skateboard ramp at East Park and being instrumental with acquiring the newly constructed splash park.
“I’ve done quite a bit in our parks. I think the kids need things to do,” Clark said.
She said the main concern facing Galion is the issue with utilities, specifically the Power Cost Adjuster controversy that has dominated council meetings since early 2015. But she said working as a team is the underlying issue.
“You got to be a team player. If you can’t be a team player, you got no business on council. You got to work together,” said Clark.
Clark has lived in Galion for the last 26 years. She said she is always willing and able to get out and meet the citizens.
“And they can always call me whenever they have a question,” Clark said.
Paula Durbin
Paula Durbin, current treasurer for Galion and second vice president for the Galion Area Betterment Commission, moved to the area six years ago for her retirement. Originally from Ontario, she also lived in Lexington — before that, she lived and worked in Waco, Texas for 10 years at the city’s convention center and visitor’s bureau and local zoo.
Now she is running for an at-large seat on council because she would like to see changes made to the downtown area. She said her experience during her time at Waco’s convention center and visitor’s bureau will give her an advantage to working out a strategy to attract businesses to Galion’s downtown area.
“It just doesn’t look attractive for prospective businesses. [As an at-large member] I’ll bring it up and try to get some support from the council members and citizens to do something about it,” said Durbin.
Alluding to the attention she has recently garnered during city council meetings, Durbin said her personality is one that is straightforward, a trait that she said helps keep government open and honest.
“We don’t have the right people in place right now. When I bring up something, I’ve done my research and there are facts behind it. That’s what I’m all about — truth in government. The people have the right to know,” Durbin said.
Thomas Fellner
Local dentist and current at-large council member Thomas Fellner is running for re-election. When he moved to Galion in 1991, he never thought about being involved with city government.
“Although I’m not a native, I’m very rooted in the community. I would never relocate at all,” said Fellner.
Fellner has been re-elected three times, equalling six years of city council experience. He is running for yet another term because of the division that has been verbalized in the community.
“I think in some ways they’re misrepresenting the truth. They take a kernel of truth and come at it from a small point of view. I like to take the big picture of things,” Fellner said.
Fellner said his calm nature is his biggest strength.
“I have an ability to calmly listen to both sides of the argument respectfully. And then make a decision I’m comfortable with, again in a respectful way,” he said.
Judith Gibson
Judith Gibson said she is running for an at-large council membership because she loves Galion. When she moved to the area in 1960 with her husband, Carl, she said she fell in love with the town. So when her friends encouraged her to run, she did not hesitate, she said.
“I’ve been working behind the scenes for off and on for about 10 years. Attending meetings … I’m really interested. This is my town,” said Gibson.
In addition to eliminating the negative attention spreading through town, Gibson said she wants to attract jobs and small businesses if she is elected. She said the days of bringing in big businesses are over and that Galion needs to attract small businesses.
“We have a lot of positives in this town that we work on and build on. We have such an ideal location. We’re right near (state Route) 30, right near the railroad, right near the interstates and we’re half-way to two major airports,” said Gibson.
Teamwork was another issue Gibson desires to tackle.
“I get along well with other people. I believe firmly that if you want X and Y, you’re going to have to compromise on H and J … and that’s what we need — people who are willing to work together,” she said.
