By Lance Mihm
lmihm@dailystandard.com The Mercer County Board of Elections has received 14 applications for it's Director of Elections position.
The board met Friday, mostly in executive session, to discuss applicants for the opening.
Board member Owen Hall said a specific timetable has not been set to hire a director, but the board hopes to hire someone soon now that the official recount for the presidential election is finished in Mercer County.
"We expect to move forward with the hiring of a director," Hall said. "Hopefully within days or weeks we can hire someone and put this to rest."
Applicants for the position include: Beth Bader, 1127 Yorkshire Court, Celina, currently a deputy clerk at the Mercer County Clerk of Courts Title Division; Rebecca Baucher, 15 Siegrist-Jutte Road, Fort Recovery, a paralegal at Hanes, Schipfer, Hurley, McClurg, Cooper & Graber, LTD in Greenville; Susan C. Canary, 7461 Ohio 197, Celina, who was City of Celina Community Development Director from 1999 until March of 2004 and Christopher J. Dues, 4249 Siegrist-Jutte Road, Coldwater, a sales representative at WDOH Radio in Delphos; Also applying are: Kimberly Sue Fiely, P.O. Box 275, 213 Wagoner St., Fort Recovery, an employee of Fort Recovery Family Medicine in Fort Recovery; Leslie A. Fourman, 679 N. Walnut St., Celina, an advertising consultant at The Evening Leader in St. Marys; Denise J. Fullenkamp, 602 S. Main St., Rockford, who is currently a member of the Mercer County Board of Elections and Leslie R. James, 7403 state Route 197, Celina, who works as a front line customer service representative at the Holiday Inn Express in Celina.
Additional applicants are: Kevin Klingshirn, 908 W. Butler St., Coldwater, employed as a station manager/supervisor for Ottawa Oil Company; Carol G. Prenger, 7721 Riley Road, Celina, a clerk at Bair Pharmacy in Celina and Vicky L. Richards, 537 Touvelle St., #34, Celina, an office; clerical worker at Avada Audiology in Celina; Carol Rosenbeck, 331 Kenneth Drive, St. Henry, an administrative assistant at the Auglaize and Mercer Counties Convention and Visitors Bureau and Terrence E. Williams, 282 Brand Whitlock, Toledo.
Diana Grille, the current deputy director at the elections office who has filled in as the interim director, has also applied for the job.
The position has been open since June when Toni Slusser announced that she was resigning from her post to begin a new position in the staff of Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Slusser is serving as the northwest field representative for the secretary of state's office, providing support for election boards Mercer, Auglaize, and 11 other northwest Ohio counties.
Ohio law requires that the deputy elections director and director be of opposite political parties. Grille, the current deputy director is a Democrat. If Grille is awarded the position, a Republican must be hired for the job. If a Democrat other than Grille was named to the post, a new person would need to be named as deputy director. |
