July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Hosier, GOP dominate (11/07/07)
Hosier, GOP dominate (11/07/07)
Portland likes the mayor it has.
Bruce Hosier won re-election in resounding fashion Tuesday for a second term at the head of city government.
The incumbent Republican dominated Democratic challenger Jim Sanders in all five city precincts, outpolling the councilman by 2 to 1 most of the day.
Final totals showed Hosier with 912 and Sanders with 419. The incumbent's strongest showing was in Wayne 2 where he received more than 73 percent of the votes cast.
"We think we have the right formula for success," Hosier said Tuesday at Portland Golf Club. "So we're going to continue building upon that and taking advantage of the opportunities we've been able to create up to this point."
Sanders, who spent Tuesday evening at Democrat headquarters on South Meridian Street in Portland, said after the final results were in, "A lot of people said one thing and voted something else, I guess. I thought it would be closer than it actually was."
Hosier will be working with a strongly Republican city council as a result of Tuesday's vote.
Incumbent Republican Bill Gibson won re-election in District 1, defeating Democratic challenger Teresa Watters 132-94.
Voters in District 3 ousted incumbent Democrat Jerry Leonhard, favoring Republican challenger Michael Brewster with a vote of 122-88.
Republican Don Gillespie defeated Democrat Randy Geesaman in the District 4 council race. The final total showed Gillespie with 159 and Geesaman with 109.
Republican Kent McClung scored an easy win over Democrat Michael Martin in District 5 on a vote of 236-112.
Republican Todd Nichols was unopposed for the District 2 council seat.
Also unopposed were a pair of incumbents - one Republican and one Democrat - in the race for city council at-large. Republican Kip Robinette and Democrat Judy Aker will serve another term on city council.
"I was telling the mayor I wasn't this nervous for my wedding," Brewster said before elections results were reported.
Aker, the current council president, was upset when she learned that Leonhard had lost.
"I'm upset. Jerry's my man. I'm gonna miss them," she said of Leonhard and Sanders, who also currently on the council.
As for the future, she said, "I'm looking forward to working with a new group of people."
One of the closest council races was in District 4, where Gillespie, the former ad director of The Commercial Review, topped Geesaman.
Both candidates had campaigned heavily in their districts, and both expressed respect for one another.
"I feel like the district wins either way," said Geesaman, who wrote vote totals on a large chalk board at Democrat headquarters as they were reported. "(Gillespie will) do a good job." He said the two have talked throughout their campaigns and have a lot of respect for each other.
"I was pleased with the turnout."
The night was filled with groans of disappointment for the Democratic faithful, with the exception of results from Redkey and Dunkirk (see related story). The mood was solemn.
"Only at election time do we divide into Republicans and Democrats," Aker said. "The rest of the time the city council is just a group of people trying to make Portland a better place to live."
Incumbent Democrat Linda Kennedy was unopposed for clerk-treasurer, and incumbent Republican Michele "Mickey" Pensinger was unopposed for city court judge.
Voter turnout in Portland hovered around 40 percent.
What started around 6 p.m. at the Portland Golf Club as a small group of loyal Hosier supporters turned into a large gathering of local GOP candidates, their families and followers.â¨
As the night progressed, more people arrived. Attendees ranged from constituents, relatives and friends to state Rep. Bill Davis, Sheriff Ray Newton and Bryan Alexander, chairman of the Jay County Republican Party. â¨Uncertainty surrounded the beginning of the night. Several first-time candidates for Portland City Council admitted they had some butterflies in their stomachs. â¨
Hosier, on the other hand, displayed composure, saying he was confident that his record as mayor of Portland for the last four years spoke for itself. Before results were in, he occasionally ducked in and out of a banquet room at the golf club, taking calls on a cell phone and talking with members of his electorate.
"I feel regardless of the (election) results, we've been able to take the community to a new level," Hosier said early in the evening.
The uncertainty experienced by Republicans was short-lived though. And so was their nervousness. By 7 p.m., Republicans swept their Democrat counterparts in every contested race in Portland.
The room erupted in applause when the radio announced around 6:45 p.m. that Hosier would stay in office for another four years. Similar reactions occurred when other candidates received word of their victories. â¨
"I think (voters) have spoken. I'm certainly pleased with the message they have sent," Hosier said.
Afterward, Hosier the other candidates celebrated by meeting with attendees and giving short acceptance speeches.
Democrats Aker, Leonhard and Geesaman arrived about 7:30 p.m. to congratulate their Republican opponents and other GOP candidates.
Watters, a first-time candidate who lost to Gibson, said she was likely to run again. "I'm like bad penny; I won't be gone for long. Hell, he didn't win by that much."
******
CRâstaff members Travis Minnear, Rachelle Haughn, Jack Ronald and Mike Snyder contributed to this report.
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Bruce Hosier won re-election in resounding fashion Tuesday for a second term at the head of city government.
The incumbent Republican dominated Democratic challenger Jim Sanders in all five city precincts, outpolling the councilman by 2 to 1 most of the day.
Final totals showed Hosier with 912 and Sanders with 419. The incumbent's strongest showing was in Wayne 2 where he received more than 73 percent of the votes cast.
"We think we have the right formula for success," Hosier said Tuesday at Portland Golf Club. "So we're going to continue building upon that and taking advantage of the opportunities we've been able to create up to this point."
Sanders, who spent Tuesday evening at Democrat headquarters on South Meridian Street in Portland, said after the final results were in, "A lot of people said one thing and voted something else, I guess. I thought it would be closer than it actually was."
Hosier will be working with a strongly Republican city council as a result of Tuesday's vote.
Incumbent Republican Bill Gibson won re-election in District 1, defeating Democratic challenger Teresa Watters 132-94.
Voters in District 3 ousted incumbent Democrat Jerry Leonhard, favoring Republican challenger Michael Brewster with a vote of 122-88.
Republican Don Gillespie defeated Democrat Randy Geesaman in the District 4 council race. The final total showed Gillespie with 159 and Geesaman with 109.
Republican Kent McClung scored an easy win over Democrat Michael Martin in District 5 on a vote of 236-112.
Republican Todd Nichols was unopposed for the District 2 council seat.
Also unopposed were a pair of incumbents - one Republican and one Democrat - in the race for city council at-large. Republican Kip Robinette and Democrat Judy Aker will serve another term on city council.
"I was telling the mayor I wasn't this nervous for my wedding," Brewster said before elections results were reported.
Aker, the current council president, was upset when she learned that Leonhard had lost.
"I'm upset. Jerry's my man. I'm gonna miss them," she said of Leonhard and Sanders, who also currently on the council.
As for the future, she said, "I'm looking forward to working with a new group of people."
One of the closest council races was in District 4, where Gillespie, the former ad director of The Commercial Review, topped Geesaman.
Both candidates had campaigned heavily in their districts, and both expressed respect for one another.
"I feel like the district wins either way," said Geesaman, who wrote vote totals on a large chalk board at Democrat headquarters as they were reported. "(Gillespie will) do a good job." He said the two have talked throughout their campaigns and have a lot of respect for each other.
"I was pleased with the turnout."
The night was filled with groans of disappointment for the Democratic faithful, with the exception of results from Redkey and Dunkirk (see related story). The mood was solemn.
"Only at election time do we divide into Republicans and Democrats," Aker said. "The rest of the time the city council is just a group of people trying to make Portland a better place to live."
Incumbent Democrat Linda Kennedy was unopposed for clerk-treasurer, and incumbent Republican Michele "Mickey" Pensinger was unopposed for city court judge.
Voter turnout in Portland hovered around 40 percent.
What started around 6 p.m. at the Portland Golf Club as a small group of loyal Hosier supporters turned into a large gathering of local GOP candidates, their families and followers.â¨
As the night progressed, more people arrived. Attendees ranged from constituents, relatives and friends to state Rep. Bill Davis, Sheriff Ray Newton and Bryan Alexander, chairman of the Jay County Republican Party. â¨Uncertainty surrounded the beginning of the night. Several first-time candidates for Portland City Council admitted they had some butterflies in their stomachs. â¨
Hosier, on the other hand, displayed composure, saying he was confident that his record as mayor of Portland for the last four years spoke for itself. Before results were in, he occasionally ducked in and out of a banquet room at the golf club, taking calls on a cell phone and talking with members of his electorate.
"I feel regardless of the (election) results, we've been able to take the community to a new level," Hosier said early in the evening.
The uncertainty experienced by Republicans was short-lived though. And so was their nervousness. By 7 p.m., Republicans swept their Democrat counterparts in every contested race in Portland.
The room erupted in applause when the radio announced around 6:45 p.m. that Hosier would stay in office for another four years. Similar reactions occurred when other candidates received word of their victories. â¨
"I think (voters) have spoken. I'm certainly pleased with the message they have sent," Hosier said.
Afterward, Hosier the other candidates celebrated by meeting with attendees and giving short acceptance speeches.
Democrats Aker, Leonhard and Geesaman arrived about 7:30 p.m. to congratulate their Republican opponents and other GOP candidates.
Watters, a first-time candidate who lost to Gibson, said she was likely to run again. "I'm like bad penny; I won't be gone for long. Hell, he didn't win by that much."
******
CRâstaff members Travis Minnear, Rachelle Haughn, Jack Ronald and Mike Snyder contributed to this report.
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