(Posted April 29, 2020)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Winners of the two contested races in the Madison County Republican primary election are Plain City resident Chris Wallace for county commissioner and London resident Stacey L. McKenzie for county treasurer, according to unofficial results posted on April 28 by the Madison County Board of Elections.
Wallace received roughly double the votes of each of his opponents, Darrell Champer of Mount Sterling and incumbent David Hunter of London, tallying 1,543 votes to their 740 and 823, respectively. Wallace is running for the commissioner term that starts on Jan. 3, 2021. Incumbent Mark Forrest of West Jefferson ran unopposed for the commissioner term that starts on Jan. 2, 2021.
McKenzie is running to fill the seat of Treasurer Donna Landis, who is retiring from the position at the end of her term. McKenzie, a London resident, received 1,598 votes to Cooper’s 1,273. Cooper is from Mount Sterling.
All three issues on the ballot pertained to Plain City and all three passed.
Residents approved the village’s request to form a commission to frame a new charter for the village. They also approved a list of 15 people to serve on the commission: James Baker, Linda Beachy, Kerri Ferguson, Sherry Headlee, Darren Lee, Michael Malone, Anthony Matessa, Melissa McCoy, Carrie McGlaughlin, Amy Rucker, Raymond Skidmore, Michael Terry, Galen Troyer, Bobbi Watkins and Glenn Wheeler.
The commission has one year to draft a constitution setting how the municipality will function, from how legislation is passed to how council members are elected. When the draft is complete, it will be put on the ballot for a vote. The charter commission question was put before voters in expectation that the village will achieve city status following the 2020 census.
Voters passed the Plain City police department’s request for replacement of its 5-year operations levy for a continuing period of time.
Voters also favored the Plain City Public Library’s request for renewal of a 1.5-mill property tax for five years for current expenses. The library’s tax base covers the Jonathan Alder Local School District.
Based on the Madison County Board of Elections’ unofficial results, 4,944 of the county’s 24,627 voters cast ballots in the primary election, for a turnout of 20.08 percent. The election was originally scheduled for March 17 but was postponed to April 28 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The board will run the official canvass on May 19. Still to be counted are 273 provisional ballots and any mailed-in ballots postmarked by April 27 and received by May 8.
For a full rundown of the unofficial results, visit Madison County Primary Election Results 2020.
CANDIDATES
The candidates who received the most votes are marked with an asterisk (*).
Madison County Commissioner (Term starting on Jan. 2, 2021)
*Mark Forrest 2,555 (100%)
Madison County Commissioner (Term starting on Jan. 3, 2021)
Darrell Champer 740 (23.82%)
David Hunter 823 (26.5%)
*Chris Wallace 1,543 (49.68%)
Madison County Treasurer
Ashley Cooper 1,273 (44.34%)
*Stacey McKenzie 1,598 (55.66%)
Madison County Prosecuting Attorney
*Nicholas Adkins 2,600 (100%)
Madison County Sheriff
*John Swaney 2,742 (100%)
Madison County Recorder
*Charles Reed 2,670 (100%)
Madison County Engineer
*Bryan Dhume 2,636 (100%)
Madison County Coroner
*James Kaehr 2,644 (100%)
Madison County Court of Common Pleas Judge, Probate Division
*Christopher Brown 2,649 (100%)
Madison County Clerk of Courts Common Pleas
*Renae Zabloudil 2,629 (100%)
State Senator – 10th District
*Robert Hackett 2,703 (100%)
State Representative – 74th District
*Bill Dean 2,566 (100%)
