Unofficial results released Tuesday show incumbent Trotwood Mayor Mary McDonald losing by just two votes to challenger Councilwoman Yvette Page— 1,847 to 1,845.
The results are not considered official final results until the Montgomery County Board of Elections has a chance to process all provisional ballots and collect any last-minute absentee ballots. Absentee ballots needed to be postmarked by no later than Nov. 4 to be considered for a valid vote. The official final result with be announced by the board of elections on Nov. 26 at 8:30 a.m.
“Nobody thought I had a chance in this race at all, but I did,” Page said. “Everybody thought I didn’t have the experience, but what they didn’t know was that I had the history. I had Trotwood being here for 41 years. I knew my community, I knew what the tornado did.”
Mayor McDonald said after 14 years of hard work for Trotwood, she will be OK with whatever voters have decided.
Once all votes are in and a final result is settled, if the margin is less than half of one percent, the board of elections will conduct an automatic recount.
Both women said recovering from the Memorial Day tornadoes will be top priorities.
“In the months to come the attention is on helping our citizens connect to the many services that are available for them,” McDonald said during the campaign. “Many that did not get approved for FEMA still have the opportunity to apply for additional relief made available by other local and state resources. We are actively working daily to connect our people to those services.”
Page said Trotwood needs a system to track the needs of tornado victims.
“We also need to implement a Trotwood Toronado Hotline for tornado victims. This will help us in tracking citizen progress and needs,” Page said.
Here’s a look at some of the other local mayor elections from Tuesday:
RIVERSIDE
Pete Williams won the race to repleace longtime Riverside Mayor Bill Flaute, according to unofficial results.
With all precincts reporting, Williams had 52% of the final vote.
Williams was at home helping his three sons finish their homework when he found out he’d won.
MORE: Pete Williams beats 3 for Riverside mayor; road levy fails
“This shows that the city and its residents want a new direction,” Williams said. “This is vindicating for me, but the work begins now.”
Mike Denning, Sara Lommatzsch and Shirley Reynolds also ran for mayor of Riverside. According to unofficial results from the Montgomery County Board of Elections, Williams got more votes than all three of his opponents combined.
“From the time I pulled petitions to run in July, the overwhelming thing I heard was that people wanted change,” Williams said. “I want to move Riverside forward.”
During the campaign, Williams said the economy was Riverside’s biggest challenge.
“The biggest challenges facing the city of Riverside stem from our diminished economic position under the status quo. While we see neighboring cities take advantage of the expanding economy with growing business corridors, well maintained infrastructure, and revived commercial districts; here in Riverside we see more empty office buildings and vacant storefronts every year,” he said.
BEAVERCREEK
Incumbent Mayor Bob Stone became Beavercreek’s first directly elected mayor Tuesday. He won 54% of the vote and Julie Vann garnered 46%.
Prior to this year’s election, the councilmember who received the most votes became the mayor.
During the campaign, Stone said recovering from the Memorial Day tornadoes is a priority.
“The aftermath of the tornado has shown us all that Beavercreek is a vibrant and caring city that will always reach out to help each other. I have always been proud of our city, but I am now so very proud of our people,” Stone said. “From here on, we must be actively involved with the regional planning relief efforts and our own Emergency Management Agency so we are prepared to address the long term recovery.”
ENGLEWOOD
Englewood will have a new mayor, but he is a familiar face.
Thomas Franz, who has served on city council since 1991, defeated challenger Mike Klinger on Tuesday.
“Perhaps the most pressing challenge is providing the proper funding for our safety forces; Police Department and the Fire and EM services,” Franz said during the campaign. “Also, maintaining the infrastructure; water lines, sewer lines, and the streets is important. Replacing old water lines with new non-corrosive lines will help prevent water main breaks. Directing our tax dollars to these areas is of utmost importance.”
Franz said he enjoyed a quiet election night at home on Election night with his wife of 50 years, as his daughters who also live in Englewood kept him updated on election results via phone.
“It was a little scary and then exhilarating … Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Franz said to voters. “I’m not sure what the word is right now, but you never know. It’s not like a national election where people can scream at you that they hate you. … Thank you for showing confidence in me and my fellow council.”
