2019 General Election results

On November 5, 2019, Ohioans took to the polls for a host of local elections. The 2019 General Election did not feature any statewide ballot issues but featured several interesting local races around the state.

Here is Bricker & Eckler’s overview of the 2019 general election results and details on races of particular interest. All percentages and vote totals are based on the results available at the time this summary was drafted.

JUDICIAL RACES

Cleveland Municipal Court: Cleveland residents voted for three judicial seats on the Municipal Court.

For Cleveland Municipal Court Judge, incumbent Judge Marilyn B. Cassidy defeated challenger Joseph Russo. Judge Cassidy received 55.1% of the vote.

For Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Housing Division, incumbent Judge Ronald J.H. O’Leary faced W. Mona Scott. Scott prevailed with 55.6% of the vote compared to Judge O’Leary’s 44.4%.

Finally, Judge Charles L. Patton was unopposed for Cleveland Municipal Court Judge.

Franklin County Municipal Court: Franklin County residents voted for three judicial seats in 2019.

For the Franklin County Environmental Judge, the race featured recently appointed incumbent Judge Stephanie Mingo and William Sperlazza. In a hotly contested race, Judge Mingo earned a full term on the bench, receiving 52% of the vote, while William Sperlazza received 48%.

Two seats for Franklin County Municipal Court were also contested. Incumbent Judge Jodi Thomas faced Trent Dougherty and, in the other race, incumbent Judge Amy Salerno faced Jessica D’Varga. Judge Thomas won with 60% of the vote, compared to Dougherty’s 40%. D’Varga prevailed with 56% of the vote, while Judge Salerno received 44% of the vote.

Judge James E. Green was unopposed for another term on the Franklin County Municipal Court.

Hamilton County Municipal Court: Hamilton County residents voted for eight judicial seats in 2019.

For Hamilton County Municipal Court, five seats were contested. In District 1, incumbent Judge Elisa Murphy faced Janaya Trotter Bratton. Voters selected Ms. Bratton with 75.6% of the vote compared to Judge Murphy’s 24.4%. In District 2, incumbent Tyrone K. Yates faced John K. Coleman. Judge Yates received 74.5% of the votes compared to 25.5% for Coleman.  

In District 4, incumbent Josh Berkowitz faced John Kennedy. Judge Berkowitz won with 56.8% of the vote compared to Kennedy’s 43.2%. In District 5, incumbent Heather S. Russell faced Kari L. Bloom. Voters reelected Judge Russell with 63.4%, while Bloom received 36.6% of the vote. In District 6, Mike Peck defeated Arica Underwood with 72.5% of the vote.   

In Districts 1, 3, and 7, incumbents Dwane Mallory, Ted Berry and Gwen Bender were all unopposed.

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL RACES

Columbus Mayor: Incumbent Andy Ginther was unopposed in running for his second term.

Columbus City Council: Four seats for Columbus City Council were up for grabs. Incumbents Liz Brown, Shayla Favor, Emmanuel Remy and Rob Dorans were elected. Council President Pro Tempore Brown received the most total votes. For Council Members Favor, Remy and Dorans, who were all appointed to their seats filling vacancies, this marked the first time they faced Columbus voters. Also running were Liliana Baiman, Joseph Motil, Scott Singratsombourne and Tiffany White.

Dayton City Commission: Dayton voters chose two members for city commissioner on Tuesday. Voters re-elected two incumbents, Chris Shaw, who was re-elected to his second term, and Matt Joseph, already the longest-serving member of the commission, who was re-elected for a fifth term. The two were challenged by Shenise Turner-Sloss and David Ersati.

Akron Mayor: Mayor Dan Horrigan faced challenger Josh Sines and successfully earned a second term with 77.4%% of the vote.

Parma Mayor: Incumbent Mayor Tim DeGeeter was unopposed and reelected for a third term.

Lakewood Mayor: The race for Mayor of Lakewood featured two city council representatives, Meghan George and Sam O’Leary. George narrowly prevailed, capturing 50.7% of the vote.

Marietta Mayor: The race for Mayor in Marietta was a three-way race featuring Mayor Joe Matthew, seeking a sixth term, City Council President Josh Schlicher and former Councilman Harley Nolan. Council President Schlicher emerged victorious, receiving 43.7% of the vote, while Mayor Matthews garnered 27.1% of the vote and Nolan tallied 29.2% of the vote. 

St. Clairsville Mayor: This local election was also a three-way race among incumbent Mayor Terry Pugh and challengers Bill Brooks and Kathryn Thalman. Thalman prevailed with 42.1% over Mayor Pugh with 25.1% and Brooks with 32.8% of the vote. 

Toledo City Council: In the Glass City, electors selected six council seats in individual districts. In District 1 incumbent Tyrone Riley defeated challenger Shaun Strong with 58.9% of the vote. District 2 featured incumbent Matt Cherry, who prevailed with 60.2% of the vote against Abigail Sadowy. In District 4, Yvonne Harper sought reelection and won with 73.6% of the vote against June Boyd. District 5 was another open race with Sam Melden defeating Tom Names 61.9% to 38.1%. Finally in District 6, incumbent Chris Delaney faced Ron Murphy with Delaney winning with 57.9% of the vote.

District 3 was too close to call. The race for an open seat featured Theresa Gadus and Glen Cook. Unofficial results showed Gadus leading by only 14 votes.

OTHER ISSUES OF INTEREST

City of Cleveland Issue 20: Voters approved Issue 20 in Cleveland, creating a residency requirement to hold office in the City of Cleveland. Now, a person must have been an elector in Cleveland for a minimum of 12 months to run for elected office in the city.

Library Levies: Ohio voters continued their strong support for local libraries. For example, several library ballot measures across central Ohio received more than 65% support with a few pushing 80% support. Overall, 28 of 30 library levies passed on Tuesday. Both of the two losing library levies (Ashtabula County District Library and Louisville Public Library) were very narrow losses of approximately 100 votes or fewer.

School Levies: Across the state of Ohio, school levies also mostly succeeded. Overall, 113 of 154 school levies passed. Renewal levies had a 95% passage rate (78 of 82), while only 49% of new levies succeeded (35 of 72). Levies were approved in communities like Tipp City, Troy, Westerville, Bexley, Perrysburg, Lorain and Avon. However, voters in Euclid and Loveland, among others, rejected school district levies.