Election creates 2 vacancies on Beavercreek council

Don Adams (left) and Peter Bales will be sworn in in January as new members of Beavercreek City Council.

Don Adams (left) and Peter Bales will be sworn in in January as new members of Beavercreek City Council.

Elections ordinarily lead to seats being filled in public offices, but this month’s polling day resulted in two new vacancies on Beavercreek City Council.

Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone’s historical win as the city’s first directly elected mayor means he will not finish his term on council, and neither will Councilman Ryan Rushing, who was elected to the Beavercreek Twp. fiscal office in an uncontested race.

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The city will solicit residents next month and in January to submit resumés and fill out questionnaires to be considered as candidates to serve out Stone’s and Rushing’s remaining terms, which end in December 2021.

Two new people already will join council in January — Don Adams and Peter Bales, who were the top two vote-getters on Nov. 5. Councilman Charles Curran also won his campaign to remain on the seven-member panel.

It’s possible the majority of council members will be new by spring, and City Manager Pete Landrum said, “It’s always exciting to have new people.”

“The people who ran for council came in ahead of time and asked questions and met with some of the city’s department heads,” Landrum said. “They did a nice job trying to pre-educate themselves before running for office.”

Adams is a long-time volunteer on the city’s Citizens on Preventive Patrol program and with the school district. Bales is a former assistant city manager for neighboring Fairborn and formerly worked in Beavercreek’s parks and recreation department.

To fill the vacancies, three council members will serve as the appointment committee to review the applicants, then all of council will be involved in January in the discussion and vote to narrow down those who will be interviewed, according to Beavercreek Clerk of Council Dianne Miscisin.

Stone’s council seat becomes vacant after the first of the year, but Rushing will remain on council until his term begins as the township fiscal officer on April 1.

Council is expected to make the appointment to fill Stone’s vacancy in February, while the appointment to finish Rushing’s term will be made after Rushing resigns.

“The April vacancy will not be appointed until after Council Member Rushing’s resignation. At this time, the plan is to appoint this vacancy from the applicants interviewed in February,” she said.

Council members’ annual salaries will go up at the first of the year from $6,000 to $10,800.

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