2023 General Election: Barnett leads Bright Local voting; spot on Lynchburg-Clay board too close to call

Highland County voters elected school board members for all five of the county’s districts Tuesday, Nov. 7, with voters in various precincts also selecting candidates in other counties.

Highland County had a 43.7-percent voter turnout overall, according to the Highland County Board of Elections. There are 30 absentee ballots and 133 provisional ballots outstanding.

The district with the most candidates was Bright Local Schools, with three individuals to be elected out of the five running for office. Unofficial results show candidate Nicole Barnett leading the way with 663 votes and apparently unseating incumbent candidate John D. Gillespie. Incumbents Tammy Hauke and Jobey Lucas unofficially followed with the second- and third-most votes, at 636 and 600, respectively. Gillespie had 489 votes, and candidate Ethan Howard received 357, unofficially.

The Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools Board will have a new look, as none of the four candidates seeking election are currently on the board. However, that race is too close to call for one of the seats.

Unofficial results show Cathy Griffith elected with 1,050 votes and Becky Sanderson elected with 863 votes. For the third seat on the board, only five votes separate Ashley Watson, who filed to run for office this summer, and former LC educator Stacie Rhonemus, who conducted a write-in campaign. Unofficial totals show 567 write-in votes and 562 votes for Watson.

Fairfield Local Schools will also have two new faces, as candidates Casey L. McIntosh (563 votes) and Mel McKenzie (627 votes) were elected alongside incumbent, and current school board president, Ron Friend (777 votes).

Current school board member John Welling did not file, while another current board member, Corey Cockerill, initially filed petitions but then withdrew her candidacy, according to Highland County Board of Elections Deputy Director Michelle Swallen.

For Hillsboro and Greenfield, it was all incumbents being reelected, with current Hillsboro City Schools board president Bill Myers and board member Tom Milbery retaining their respective seats. Myers received 2,622 complimentary votes, while Milbery received 2,442, unofficially. For Greenfield Exempted Village Schools, school board members Sandy Free and Eric R. Wise will also each serve another four-year term. Free had 1,161 votes, and Wise received 1,197, unofficially, in Highland County.

In other districts on the ballot for certain Highland County, results included the following:

• For the Adams County/Ohio Valley School Board race (two members elected), unofficial results show challenger Sally McDaniel receiving the most votes with 3,712 in Adams County, plus 83 in Highland County, for an unofficial total of 3,795. Current school board David E. Riley (who was appointed) also unofficially was elected with 3,130 votes in Adams and 44 in Highland (3,174 total unofficial), while incumbent Rick Davis unofficially lost with 2,896 votes (2,843 in Adams, 53 in Highland).

• Unofficially, all three current school board members running for election, or reelection, to the Eastern Local Schools board won their respective races. Adam W. Bolender led the way with 1,820 votes in Brown County, plus 12 in Highland and four in Adams, for an unofficial total of 1,836 votes. Eastern school board appointee followed with 1,584 votes in Brown County, plus four in Adams and three in Highland, for a total of 1,591 votes. The other incumbent, Lowell S. Richey, had 1,437 unofficial votes in Brown County, seven in Highland and two in Adams, for an unofficial total of 1,446 votes.

The fourth challenger, Tina Aileen Tkach, had 1,273 votes in Brown, three in Highland and two in Adams, for 1,278 unofficial overall votes.

Also for Eastern Local Schools, Debbie Forsythe, who was appointed to the board, was elected to fill the unexpired term ending Nov. 31, 2025.

• Although the Fayetteville-Perry Local Schools Board was on the ballot for one local township (Salem), there were no votes cast in Highland County, unofficially. All three individuals on the ballot were elected, with incumbent Laura A. Iles leading the way with an unofficial 1,022 votes (1,021 in Brown County, one in Clinton County). Candidate Chris Kwiatkowski had 731 unofficial votes (729 in Brown, two in Clinton), and Samantha Stratton had 704, unofficially (703 in Brown one in Clinton). Current Fayetteville-Perry school board members Kathleen Johnson and Paula White did not seek reelection.

• The Miami Trace Local Schools Board had two new candidates elected in Bryan McCoy and Lindsey Worley, as current school board members Charlie Andrews and Bruce Kirkpatrick did not seek reelection.

With the Miami Trace district overlapping into parts of five counties, unofficial results show McCoy having 2,702 votes (2 in Highland, 2 in Clinton, 2,580 in Fayette, 8 in Madison, 105 in Pickaway, 5 in Ross) and Worley receiving 2,627 (2 in Highland, 2 in Clinton, 2,479 in Fayette, 15 in Madison, 124 in Pickaway, 5 in Ross).

• Elected to the Brown County ESC Governing Board were Jim Ferguson and James V. Frazier (who ran unopposed).

• For the Southern Ohio ESC Sub 3 Governing Board (also considered in Fayette County), there were only write-in candidates, as Todd J. Hixson had declared candidacy as a write-in.

• For the Southern Ohio ESC Sub 5 Governing Board (also considered in Fayette, Pickaway and Ross counties), Ruth Ann Ruth was elected.

• The Southern Ohio ESC Sub 6 Governing Board (also considered in Brown County) had one candidate, Dennis W. Mount, reelected.

• The Southern Ohio ESC Sub 7 Governing Board (also considered in Adams County) had only write-ins. Roger West was named as a write-in candidate.

• The Southern Ohio ESC Sub 8 Governing Board had one candidate, Martha Gausman, elected.