Farmer VW mayor, Hatcher law director

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

It likely took longer than it appeared after a big primary election win, but Don Farmer will be the next mayor of Van Wert following a spirited write-in campaign by challenger Ken Mengerink.

Farmer won the November general election mayoral race with 1,770 votes to Mengerink’s 910 write-in ballots. “I’m glad this is over,” Farmer said of the write-in campaign after his primary win. “It’s been a long time.”

Farmer pledged to “work very hard” on making a better Van Wert, noting that he was anxious to begin working with the new Van Wert City Council members when all take office in January 2012.

One concern for the mayor-elect is the need to replace tax revenues coming into the city treasury from construction projects at Vantage Career Center and the new Van Wert elementary school, as well as the Shannon Street reconstruction project.

“We need to have something happen when these jobs disappear,” Farmer said. “We need to be working very hard to create new revenues.”

The incoming mayor also said city officials would have to pinch pennies and watch the budget to ensure declining revenues don’t force the city into unwanted budget cuts. “The last thing I want to see is cuts in services or cuts in employees,” Farmer noted, adding, “We just need to grow.”

As part of his economic development plans, the mayor-elect said he plans to hit the ground running, indicating that he plans to make “cold calls” on businesses and industrial companies that may be looking to expand or relocate. He also plans to send out a letter to existing local businesses seeking their input on what needs to be done to improve economic development in the city.

“We need to maintain a positive attitude,” Farmer said, noting that plans to stay out of what he calls “tidbit issues” and concentrate on the big issues facing the city and its residents.

Mengerink, while disappointed in his showing, was also philosophical about the election outcome, noting that his write-in campaign was the first of that type conducted in Van Wert for a city office.

Mengerink, who gave up his re-election bid for a seat on the Van Wert City Board of Education to run for mayor, said he will still have community involvement. “I’ll still be involved in Van Wert,” Mengerink said. “I love this town and I’ve lived here a long time.”

He didn’t speculate, though, on whether he would again run for city office when new elections are held two and four years from now.

Incumbent Law Director Greg Unterbrink, a Democrat, was defeated by his Republican challenger, local attorney John Hatcher, 1,800-1,106.

Hatcher said he was pleased with the results, and said he was very grateful for the voters’ support.

“I appreciate the way people came out and supported me, it means a lot,” Hatcher said, adding that he felt it was very important that Unterbrink be recognized for his service to the city as law director.

“I look forward to doing everything I can to help improve the city as we move forward,” Hatcher said. “There are a lot of things to be done and I want to be part of it.”

The only Van Wert City Council race was for three at-large seats. Four people, Republicans Stan Agler, Brent Crone and Mayor Louis Ehmer, and Democrat Jeff Agler sought the seats, with the three elected being Stan Agler, who garnered the most votes, 1,804; Crone, who received the second most, 1,712; and Jeff Agler, who received 1,525 votes.

Moreover, with the primary and general election results, Van Wert City Council will be a different entity than what it is now, with even several of those currently on Council filling different seats when the new Council is seated in January.

Other than Council President Gary Corcoran, only one current councilman, John Marshall, will fill the same seat he has currently. Marshall will continue as First Ward councilman, while Joi Mergy moves from her at-large seat to the Second Ward seat. The Third Ward seat now held by Jon Tomlinson will go to first-time council member Stuart Jewett in January, while newcomer Pete Weir will fill Stan Agler’s current Fourth Ward seat. The three at-large seats will also be filled by City Council veterans. Stan Agler will move over from his current Fourth Ward seat, while the other two seats will be filled by former at-large councilman Brent Crone and Jeff Agler, a former First Ward councilman.

Results of other county races are as follows:

• Incumbent Ohio City Mayor Dale Boroff turned back a challenge from Charles Rollins, winning 128-59, while Middle Point Mayor Michael Wolfcale did the same to challenger Kenneth Myers, 104-67.
• Jarret Hammons and Mark Dickman were elected to the Middle Point Village Council, although Dickman’s 83 votes was only two more than Scott Redding’s 81 votes.
• Chad Pugh and Robert Louth were the two top vote-getters for seats on Venedocia Village Council, with Pugh garnering 19 votes and Louth 15 votes — just one more than Marjorie Clement’s 14 tallies.
• Karen Hunziker defeated Michelle Sheets 63-45 for Willshire clerk-treasurer, while Coral E. Marbaugh won a two-person race for Liberty Township fiscal officer over Tracey Allenbaugh, 242-212.
• Kelly Bartz was a 1,794-1,270 winner over Paul Dixon for Pleasant Township fiscal officer, while William B. Evans II won a four-person race for Ridge Township trustee over Roy Cooper, Josh Evans and Brian Leathers.
• In Tully Township, Richard Mollenkopf was elected for a full term as trustee with 306 votes, while Jeff Wise had 228 votes and Jerry Parrish Sr. received 98 votes. Tom Gibson was elected to an unexpired term as Tully Township trustee, 474-135, over Craig Young.
• Brian Callow was elected Willshire Township fiscal officer over Jodi Berry, 274 votes to 178, while incumbents John Auld and Mike Schlagbaum retained their seats on the Crestview Local Board of Education over challenger Dave Thomas. Auld received 892 votes and Schlagbaum 835 votes, while Thomas had 697 votes.