UPDATED: Randy Sanders unofficial winner of Highland County Sheriff primary; HCCS levy fails

Unofficial March 19 primary election results show Highland County voters supporting current Highland County Task Force Chief Investigator Randy Sanders, who unofficially defeated challenger Brandon Stratton with 65 percent of the vote in the race for Highland County Sheriff.

Unofficial totals on Tuesday night show Sanders receiving 4,175 votes, while Stratton received 2,226, unofficially. Both candidates appeared on the Republican primary ballot. No Democratic candidates filed for the sheriff’s race. 

"I am truly humbled by the faith the voters placed in me today," Sanders told The Highland County Press early Wednesday morning. "I would like to thank my family and all those that supported me throughout the election process."

According to the Board of Elections, voter turnout was 27.4 percent, with 7,415 ballots cast out of 27,021 registered voters. There are 103 ballots outstanding.

As noted, Sanders has been the Chief Investigator of the Highland County Task Force since the agency was established in 2019, working with the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office with a focus on drug investigations. His career has also included serving with the Hillsboro Police Department, Highland County Sheriff's Office, Southwest Regional Drug Unit, Ross County Sheriff's Office and U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force.

Sanders said he got his start in law enforcement because his father was a policeman for the Hillsboro Police Department, and he decided to take the test to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the HPD.

Sanders remained at the Hillsboro Police Department for six years, advancing from serving as a patrolman to later being promoted to a sergeant and a detective.

In 1986, Sanders joined the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, under then-Sheriff Earl Mahaffey. During his first 12-year stint at the HCSO, Sanders served as road sergeant, while also working on drug investigations. Sanders later was assigned to the Southwest Regional Drug Unit, where he did undercover investigations in a nine-county area.

Sanders worked in Ross County with the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force, from 1998-2012, then returned to the Highland County Sheriff’s Office in 2012, where he served as a detective under then-Sheriff Ron Ward.

His years with the U.S. 23 Task Force have assisted him on his most recent stop in his law enforcement journey: the Highland County Task Force, where he has been employed since 2019 and is lead investigator.

A graduate of Hillsboro High School, Sanders is the son of the late Hubert Sanders and the late Betty (and Lee) Bishop. 

Sanders and his wife, Debbie, have been married for 45 years. They have three adult children, Craig, Molly and Ashley, and eight grandchildren.

In the only other countywide race, Highland County voters unofficially rejected a replacement levy for the Highland County Children Services agency, while two of the three levies in other parts of the county also failed, unofficially.

Unofficial results show the 0.9-mill Highland County Children Services replacement levy failing with 3,961 votes against the levy (55.4 percent) and 3,193 votes for the levy.

As previously reported, a proposed five-year, one-mill replacement levy for the agency also failed in the Nov. 7 general election. 

The previous tax levy, which was first approved in November 2013 and renewed by voters in November 2018, was a five-year, .9-mill levy for Children Services placement costs and expired Dec. 31, 2023. The levy the agency was seeking in the primary would have been at the same rate.

At their March 13 meeting, Highland County commissioners voted via resolution to officially endorse the levy. Among the reasons for the endorsement were the fact that “the total number of children in the agency custody since 2018 has increased 67 percent, and [there has been a] 111-percent increase in placement costs,” as “Highland County spends more than $10,000 a day in foster care costs,” according to the resolution.

Last November, after the proposed replacement levy failed, Highland County Job & Family Services director Jeremy Ratcliff said that HCCS was "approaching $4 million in placement costs this year [2023].”

“All children deserve to be protected from abuse, neglect and dependency,” the commissioners’ resolution says. “The agency strives to keep children safe, growing up in stable families with supportive communities.”

The only levy in the county to apparently pass was an additional police levy for the Village of Leesburg, which unofficially passed with 60.4 percent of the vote. The Village is seeking an additional 3.95 mills for five years, commencing in 2024, first due in calendar year 2025. 

The issue was placed on the ballot “for the purpose of providing and maintaining motor vehicles, communications, other equipment, buildings and sites for such buildings used directly in the operation of a police department, for the payment of salaries of permanent or part-time police, communications or administrative personnel to operate the same, including the payment of any employer contributions required for such personnel under section 145.48 or 742.33 of the Revised Code, for the payment of the costs incurred by townships as a result of contracts made with other political subdivisions in order to obtain police protection, for the provision of ambulance or emergency medical services operated by a police department, or for the payment of other related costs.”

The other two levies unofficially failed, but by close margins that could be subject to recount. 

An additional current expenses levy for the Village of Mowrystown unofficially failed by a margin of 32-26. The village is seeking an additional five-mill, five-year levy, commencing in 2024, first due in 2025 “for current expenses.” 

Also unofficially failing was a Clay Township Cemetery tax levy renewal, 132-118. The township is seeking 0.5 mill for five years, commencing in 2024, due in 2025, “for the purpose of maintaining and operating cemeteries.”

Otherwise, county races were uncontested, with all incumbent candidates receiving complementary votes. Those races include:

• County Commissioners Terry Britton (term commencing Jan. 3) and David Daniels (term commencing Jan. 2);

• Prosecutor Anneka Collins;

• Clerk of Common Pleas Court Dwight “Ike” Hodson;

• Recorder Chad McConnaughey;

• Engineer Chris Fauber;

• Coroner Jeff Beery; and

• Treasurer Vickie Warnock.

Also up for election are Republican County Central Committee seats, with all candidates running unopposed. Those appearing on Republican primary ballots include the following (changes based on the committee members listed by the Board of Elections site are noted):

• Greenfield North, Phyllis Matlack;

• Greenfield South, Dean Waddell;

• Hillsboro Northeast, Tracy Aranyos;

• Hillsboro Northwest, Charles Walker;

• Hillsboro Southeast, Roger Huffman;

• Hillsboro Southwest A, Jan Vosper;

• Hillsboro Southwest B, Richard Donley;

• Leesburg, Shawn Priest;

• Fairfield East, Mel McKenzie;

• Fairfield West, Ken Davis;

• Lynchburg, Chris Toller (Terry Burden current member);

• Dodson, Richard Warner Jr. (Bill Fawley current member);

• Whiteoak, Linda Roush;

• Brushcreek, Jeff Ryan;

• Concord, Chuck Emery;

• Jackson, Philip Weyrich;

• Liberty Northwest, Montey Scott;

• Liberty South, Terry Britton;

• Marshall, John Abell (Thomas Shawhan current member); 

• New Market, Joanna Mahan (Donnie Barrera current member);

• Paint North, Steven Karnes;

• Paint Southwest, Roger Ruggles;

• Penn, Tina Hughes (Jeff Duncan current member);

• Salem, Karen Faust;

• Union, Angela Smith (Peggy Hite current member); and

• Washington, John Setty.

In other contested races:

Highland County and Ohio voters supported their respective parties’ candidates for U.S. president, with Republican and former President Donald Trump receiving 87.7 percent of the vote in Highland County and 79.2 percent statewide, unofficially, and Democrat and current President Joe Biden receiving 82.9 percent of the vote in Highland County and 87 percent statewide, unofficially.

In U.S. Congressional races, the Ohio Capital Journal reported at 10:55 p.m. that David Taylor was the winner of the Second District’s Republican primary. In Highland County, Taylor received 21.8 percent of the vote, unofficially, with Highland County’s candidate on the ballot — State Senator Shane Wilkin of Hillsboro — receiving the majority of the vote at 41.7 percent. As of Wednesday at 12:30 a.m., the Secretary of State’s Office unofficial results show Taylor receiving 25.4 percent of the vote, followed by Tim O’Hara in second with 21.9 percent, Larry Kidd third with 18.9 percent, then Wilkin in fourth with 9.6 percent. 

This November, Taylor, a resident of Clermont County and owner of Sardinia Ready Mix, Inc., will face Democratic candidate Samantha Meadows of Chillicothe, who also ran against Rep. Brad Wenstrup for the seat in 2022.

For the U.S. Senate race, Republican Bernie Moreno unofficially defeated Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose in Highland County (44.8 percent of the vote) and statewide (50.5 percent of the vote). Moreno, a former car dealership owner and “blockchain technology entrepreneur,” will face current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in November. 

The lone contested judicial race on the ballot — the Democratic primary for Ohio Supreme Court, for the seat currently occupied by appointee Joseph Deters — saw Lisa Forbes defeat Terri Jamison, unofficially. Forbes, who serves as judge on the Eighth District Court of Appeals, will face Republican Daniel Hawkins, a Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge, in November.

For complete unofficial results, see the story at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/unofficial-march-19-2024-primary-e….

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.