SC levy passes; Willard goes down

NORWALK — There was good news and bad news for southern Huron County schools at the polls on Tuesday night. Voters narrowly passed the South Central Local School District renewal levy. The five-year, 1 mill permanent improvement levy received 734 for votes and 687 against. Ben Chaffee, superintendent at South Central, said he was especially happy with voter turnout. The South Central voting district had a 52% turnout and he cited low voter turnout as a contributing factor to recent failures to pass a school levy. "The board members and I were just very pleased with the community — a 52% voter turnout speaks volumes and we appreciate that," Chaffee said. Chaffee said the decision to pass the levy spoke volumes about the community's trust in school officials to spend money wisely. "We are pleased with the levy's passage. We think we are really good financial stewards of the residents and this shows the community agrees. We are going to continue being fiscally responsible in making capital improvements at the school." Meanwhile, the results for an additional .25 percent annual income tax to cover current expenses didn't come back in the favor of the Willard City School District. The school's levy was defeated 2,038 to 895. The Greenwich Police Department, Clarksfield Township Fire Department and Plymouth Parks levies also failed. Voters approved an amendment to the city of Norwalk's charter amendment, changing how the fire and police departments select their chiefs. Voters also said yes to issues for Christie Lane, the Monroeville library, a New London income tax issue and the Tri-Community Ambulance district. Renewal levies for Milan, Lyme township and Bellevue Parks and Recreation all passed. There were no local contested races. Auditor Roland Tkach (D) and county commissioner Harry Brady (R) each ran unopposed Tkach received a total of 12,064 votes while Brady tallied 14,263 votes. Huron County had 18,559 of its 36,582 registered voters cast their votes — 50.73% — mail-in ballots will drive this number up over the next several days. These numbers are unofficial until all absentee and provisional ballots are counted. Absentee ballots postmarked by Monday and arriving within 10 days of the election will be counted. Statewide races: Republican Dick Stein won re-election in the 54 District of the Statehouse. Stein received 61% of the overall district vote. He outpaced Democratic Bryan Burgess in Huron County 5,253 votes (69%) to 2,325 votes. D.J. Swearingen (R) also won re-election in the 89th District with 62% percent of the vote. Swearingen received 7,826 (74%) votes in the county, while his Democratic challenger Jim Obergefell had 2,675. Republican Nathan Manning was also re-elected to State Senate, defeating his opponent Anthony Eliopoulos. Manning received 58% of his district's votes and carried Huron County with 5,198 (69%) votes to Eliopoulos' 2,291. Teresa Fedor won the nonpartisan District 2 race for the Ohio State Board of Education with 56% of the vote. Her opponent, Sarah McGrevey, outpaced her in Huron County with 7,884 (62%) votes to 4,745 for Fedor. Roundup of unofficial vote totals: (Proposed constitutional amendment) to require courts to consider factors like public safety when setting the amount of bail — Jurisdiction wide. Yes 14,495; No 3,488 • (Proposed constitutional amendment) to prohibit local government from allowing non-electors to vote — Jurisdiction wide. For 15,372; Against 2,733 • Huron County/Christie Lane, renewal, 1 mill for five years, community programs and services — County wide. For 12,402; Against 5,756 • City of Bellevue, renewal, 1 mill for five years, parks and recreation — Bellevue 3 and 4. For 638; Against 306 • Village of Greenwich, additional, 5 mills for five years, police purposes — Village of Greenwich. For 195; Against 233 • Village of Plymouth, additional, 1 mill for five years, parks and recreation — Village of Plymouth. For 74; Against 125 • South Central Local School District, renewal, 1 mill for five years, permanent improvement — South Central Local School District. For 734; Against 687 • Tri-County Ambulance District, additional, 2.5 mills for five years, ambulance and EMS — Greenwich village, Greenwich Twp. and Ripley Twp. For 580; Against 379 • Clarksfield Township, additional, 2.25 mills for five years, fire and EMS — Clarksfield Twp. For 275; Against 324 • Monroeville Public Library, additional, 1 mill for 10 years, operating expenses — Monroeville Local School District. For 846; Against 619 • City of Norwalk, charter question/modify procedure of chief selection for police and fire — City of Norwalk. Yes 3,148; No 1,509 • Village of Milan, renewal, 3.5 mills for five years — Village of Milan. For 97; Against 34 • Willard City School District, additional, .25 percent annual income tax, current expenses — Willard City School District. For 895; Against 2,038 • Village of New London, renewal, .5 percent income tax, police and fire departments operations only — New London Village #1, New London Village #2. For 368; Against 190 • Lyme Township, renewal, 2 mills for five years, current expenses — Lyme Twp. For 289; Against 135