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CELINA - Six candidates are vying for three open seats on Celina City Council in the Nov. 7 general election.
City council is poised for a shakeup as veteran Democrat member June Scott opted not to seek another term while Republican Michael Sovinski is running as a no-party candidate on the ballot.
The three Celina City Council at-large seats presently held by Scott, Sovinski and Eric M. Lochtefeld, a Democrat, are all in play. Lochtefeld is on the ballot as well as Democrat Kyle N. Bruce and Republicans Matt Gray, Thomas R. Sanford and Joe Wolfe.
The three candidates who get the most votes will each win a seat. Candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
Bruce, 23, is a 2018 Celina High School graduate who helps manage his mother's restaurant, The Bay, and also works at The Anchor, both of which are in Celina.
If elected, this would be Bruce's first time in office.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Bruce said he's tried his best to not let fear prevent him from attempting something new that he could excel at. Bruce cited his experience as co-founder and president of Small Town Pride, a local LGBTQ+ non-profit.
"I've worked on a campaign team for state representative," he said. "I've done a fellowship with the largest voter turnout organization in the country. I've assisted in the creation of a local political action committee."
On top of that and a 50-hour workweek, Bruce said he still has plenty of energy to put back into the community.
Asked why he's running for city council, Bruce noted that Celina's median age is 38.
"If you look at Celina City Council with where it stands now, I don't think it's representative of the population," he said. "Our female-to-male ratio is also nearly like a perfect 50/50 split, and not only do we not have a single woman on city council, but we don't even have one running. I think, in more ways than one, we need to be more diligent about ensuring our local government is representative of the population."
Bruce said he is committed to being a productive and informed leader on city council, pointing out he's taken tours of city facilities such as the water treatment and wastewater treatment plants.
"That has also given me a great opportunity to speak to city employees and learn what these departments will need from the next council," he said.
Gray, 54, is an engineering coordinator for Honda Transmission. He and his wife, Tracy, have five children.
He has an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology from Rhodes State College and a bachelor's degree in organizational management from Bluffton University.
If elected, this would be Gray's first time in office.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Gray pointed to his many years leading groups and teams to finalize projects at both Celina Aluminum Precision Technology and Honda Transmission.
"I've been in the casting industry and automotive industry for well over 30 years," he said. "I've had engineering and leadership and supervisor roles throughout that entire career."
He believes the leadership skills he's accumulated over the course of his career would carry over well on city council.
Additionally, Gray said he's involved in the community, mentioning he coached recreational soccer for 12 years. He also said he helped lead a mission trip to the Dominican Republican where volunteers built a portion of a school building and assisted Haitian refugees.
"I have a servant background," he said. "I want to serve my community, a community that's been very good to me and my family."
Asked why he's running for city council, Gray said he's at a point in his life where he can give back to the community after having spent many years growing a family and building a career.
To prepare himself for the position, Gray said he has regularly attended city council meetings since last November and has received a lot of great advice and direction from those in city and county government, as well as residents.
Gray said he would work to resolve hot button topics that have cropped up over the last few years.
"I want what's best for Celina," he said.
Gray was one of nine individuals who circulated petitions that were filed with the board of elections seeking a recall election of Celina City Council members Scott, Sovinski, Myron Buxton and Lochtefeld, all of whom had voted against legislation that would have outlawed abortion in Celina.
Lochtefeld, 29, is an information technology specialist at the Mercer County District Library in Celina. He also owns Lochte Technology Ltd, a web design business.
He graduated from Celina High School and Tri Star and has degrees in computer networking and business administration from the University of Northwestern Ohio.
Lochtefeld was first elected to city council in 2019.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Lochtefeld said he's worked with the public for 11 years at the library and enjoys serving the community. He also serves on Our Home Family Resource board and the newly formed Ohio Marshallese Community board and is a 4-H advisor.
"I'm running for reelection because over the last four years I've learned a lot, but I'm not done learning or serving," he said. "Quickly after being sworn in we were thrown into the rollercoaster that was COVID-19, and due to COVID and other hot topic issues, I really think council has been distracted, and they haven't been focusing on real community issues."
More needs to be done to retain and attract young adults and encourage businesses to invest in Celina, Lochtefeld said.
Lochtefeld noted that during COVID, council was forced to go virtual and broadcast online, a feat done quickly to keep the city running and one in which he was heavily involved. He said he's proud that council meetings have since been broadcast online.
"It really helps people access their government and provides additional transparency," Lochtefeld said, adding he hopes to continue to incorporate technology in city operations if reelected.
Sanford, 38, is the owner and operator of Eagle Eye Home Inspections of Ohio, based in Celina. He is a founding director and teacher at Kingdom Harvest Ministries and director and teacher of Destiny School of Ministry.
He and his wife, Laura, have three children.
Sanford has a master's degree in education from Wright State University and a master's degree in biblical studies from Destiny School of Ministry.
If elected, this would be Sanford's first time in office.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Sanford said he served six years in the Ohio Army National Guard, is a former public school teacher and an ordained deacon and youth leader at his church.
He's a volunteer with Mercer County Prevention Coalition that's run by his wife and created its Youth Business Alliance for at-risk youths.
Sanford also said he cares about his community and wants to make the world a better place for his children.
"I believe with my education, with my life experiences, I believe that I can be a great leader to keep Celina strong and prosperous, and I believe strong families will create healthy communities," he said.
Asked why he's running, Sanford said he wants to be a conservative voice on city council.
"What I've seen across America in the last couple years, I want to stand in the gap, and I want to make sure that I can be a voice for the conservative values that we have in this area," he said.
He also wants to facilitate more activities in the parks.
"I want to create all kinds of activities for kids, because I really feel that the kids are the future and what our community is going to look like in 20 years in what our kids are doing now," he said.
Sanford was one of nine circulators and one of three individuals who filed the petition seeking a recall election for the four city councilors who voted against Celina becoming a sanctuary city for the unborn.
Sovinski, 75, is retired after a career that saw him employed with the city of Celina for over 30 years and later on with Choice One Engineering of Sidney.
He and his wife, Kathy, have a daughter.
Sovinski has a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture from Michigan State University.
He's served as a Republican on city council for over 12 years. This time around he's running as a no-party candidate, primarily due to timing, he said. He didn't commit to seeking another term until after the deadline to file as a partisan candidate had expired.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Sovinski cited his decades with the city, both as an employee and a council member. He came on board with the city in 1974 in the engineering department and held tiles ranging from administrative assistant, community development director and safety service director.
"Running municipal government is not like running a private business," Sovinski said. "What I can bring is my years of experience working in the municipal government field."
There are many more regulations and rules to conform to in the government, he added.
"My goal is to make sure that council stays on municipal issues," he said. "There are issues that we have talked about over the last four years that are not in the municipal realm of the government."
If reelected, Sovinski said he would continue to be the voice of common sense and good governance.
Wolfe, 60, is a part-time truck driver. He worked for the city of Celina for more than three decades, retiring as public works superintendent in 2022.
He and his wife, Linda, have three sons and six grandchildren.
If elected, this would be Wolfe's first time in office.
Asked what experience he has that qualifies him to serve on city council, Wolfe pointed to his lengthy employment with the city.
"I think I still have more to offer to the city," he said. "I enjoyed working for the city of Celina for over 30 years, and I think the experience that I had working for the city would be beneficial to bring to city council."
Wolfe said if voted onto council, he would bring his vast public works background to the table, lending insights into the day-to-day operations of the city, helping continue the street programs and making upgrades to utilities.
"I was a lineman for seven years. I understand the electrical system," he said. "I understand the water distribution system which I supervised for a few years. The sanitary and storm sewer systems, the streets, parks and recreation, I oversaw that for 18 years."
