Wednesday, November 8th, 2023

Auglaize, Mercer voters elect mayors, some in a landslide

By Erin Gardner

Voters in Mercer and Auglaize counties elected three mayors in their respective towns on Election Day.

Rockford

Voters elected Ron Searight as mayor of Rockford on Election Day.

Searight defeated opponent Chris Rasbach by taking in 205 votes (57%) to Rasbach's 153 votes (43%), according to the unofficial results of Mercer County Board of Elections.

Searight, 67, is the current council president and has served on council and a variety of its committees for about 10 years.

He said he wants to emphasize village communication and transparency.

"One thing I'd like to do is have office hours where the people can come and actually discuss things with me," he had said. "We're going to look at how we run business within the administration. What I'd really like to do is get input from not only the heads of certain area departments but also through the town council. I want to be a part of that."

St. Marys

Joseph E. Hurlburt Jr. handily won the mayor race on Election Day, according to unofficial results from the Auglaize County Board of Elections.

In a 1,852 (73%) to 698 (27%) vote, Hurlburt defeated Ashley R. Randolph.

Hurlburt has said he's a lifelong St. Marys resident and plans to attend various civic and operational community meetings such as those held by Friends of the St. Marys Theater and Grand Opera House and SummerFest.

"By gathering information, I will be able to have your back," he had said. "Out on the street, if I hear someone say, 'Do you know what the Rotary Club is doing?' I could honestly say, 'I have been to the Rotary meetings, and the information you are sharing is not true. This is what they are doing.' So in a sense, I've got your back."

Minster

Five-term village councilor Craig Oldiges defeated longtime mayor Dennis Kitzmiller in Tuesday's mayoral race.

Oldiges received 885 votes (62%) to Kitzmiller's 542 (38%) votes.

"Obviously, I'm pretty excited," Oldiges said Tuesday night. "I am looking forward to the opportunity (to serve as mayor). I have the utmost respect for Dennis (Kitzmiller)," Oldiges said.

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- Reporter Tom Millhouse contributed to this report.

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