ONTARIO — Ontario voters in the May primary will see the first contested mayoral race since 2013 on their ballots.
According to the list of candidates and issues from the Richland County Board of Elections, the Republican primary will have Josh Bradley, Kris Knapp and Troy Sapp.
Democrat Cody Zeigler filed unopposed for the primary and will advance to the general election in November.
The last contested mayoral race in the city was former mayor Randy Hutchinson’s victory against David Metzger in 2013.
Knapp was appointed to the mayoral post in July 2024 after Hutchinson stepped down.
City Council members Bradley and Sapp are also running in the primary. Bradley serves as the economic development committee chair on council and Sapp is the parks committee chair. They have been on city council since 2020 and 2022, respectively.
The Richland County Board of Elections will meet Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. to certify petitions and set the official ballot.
Until that meeting, all petitions are classified “pending review.”
Three at-large seats on Ontario City Council are also up for election this year. The current at-large members are Troy Sapp, David Rehfeldt and Kyle Webb. Each of their terms end Dec. 31.
Webb, a Republican, filed for re-election to his seat and Democrat Brennen Finfgeld also filed for one of the seats.
Rehfeldt is not seeking re-election for his seat, which could leave two open seats on council. Sapp is unable to run for two elected city positions at once according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Write-in candidates for any position have until Feb. 23 to submit petitions. Independents wanting to appear on the general election ballots have until May 5 to declare their candidacy.
The Ontario Central Committee may accept applications and appoint people to any vacant seats.
Council president Eddie Gallo, city treasurer Shannon Lorentz-Wiese and law director Andrew Medwid each filed unopposed to retain their seats.
Auditor Mary Ann Hellinger did not file for re-election to her post.
The primary election will be May 6. The voter registration deadline for the primary election is April 7.
