Fort to pick council reps (11/05/05)

FORT RECOVERY — Residents here will be going to the polls Tuesday to elect for four town council members and township trustees.

Although Indiana voters have the year off, Ohio residents will also be voting on several county and state level issues.

Five residents are running to fill the four seats on the Fort Recovery Town Council. They are incumbent long-time council members Rod Thobe, Diana Grile, Dave Garman, and Dave Bretz. Newcomer Scott Pearson, has also tossed his hat into the ring for one of the seats.

Thobe has been on the council for more than 22 years; Grile has been on the council for six years; Garman was elected to the council 12 years ago; and Bretz has been on the council for 15 years.

Additionally, residents in Gibson and Recovery townships will be electing two trustees for each township this year. Candidates in Gibson Township are Daniel Timmerman and Gary Post, and candidates in Recovery Township are Milton Bergman, Nick Kremer, Gary Steinbrunner, and write-in candidate Jesse Timmerman.

Local issues Fort Recovery residents will help decide include a request for an additional proposed tax levy for the Mercer County Board of Mental Retardation and Development.

State issues facing voters will be:

•Issue 2 — Allowing registered Ohio voters to cast ballots by mail.

•Issue 3 — Reducing the cap on individual campaign contributions from $10,000 to $2,000 for a statewide candidate and $1,000 for a legislative candidate.

•Issue 4 — Giving power to draw lawmakers’ districts to a five-member board.

•Issue 5 — Shifting oversight of elections from the secretary of state to a bipartisan, nine-member board.

The power to create districts appears to be the most contentious, election officials have speculated, since the party that draws the lines can shape public policy for decades by forging districts to include voters favorable to its candidates.[[In-content Ad]]