Standing in the brightly-lit office on Court Street in her white tennis shoes and jeans Tuesday night, Jill Thompson’s life, as always, was overwhelmed by numbers.
S
tanding in the brightly-lit office on Court Street in her white tennis shoes and jeans Tuesday night, Jill Thompson’s life, as always, was overwhelmed by numbers.
The Republican incumbent for Athens County Auditor was among two dozen co-workers on the third floor of the Athens County Offices on 15 S. Court St with her husband of 23 years, after six months of campaigning.
She had just heard that she had received more than 58 percent of the votes in 56 precincts, after 14 years on the job.
Unofficial final results showed Thompson received 8,217 votes compared to Democrat Kathy Hecht’s 5,852.
But despite being awake and dealing with numbers since 6:30 that morning, Thompson was eager for more.
“We ran a positive race,” Thompson said. “This is the best I’ve ever felt about a campaign.”
Thompson remains the sole Republican serving in Athens public office, after defeating Hecht, the current Athens city auditor.
“My opponent was playing the party card right out the gate,” said Thompson, who earns $70,870 annually. “I don’t care about your party.”
Thompson only made it to the office about 20 minutes before all precincts were accounted for, as she had been picking up her campaign signs around the county for several hours.
Celebrating first with her coworkers at the office, she made it down to Broney’s Alumni Grill, 7 W. Carpenter St., to be with her fellow Athens County Republicans.
Her husband, Trevis Thompson, said the win was a big load off of his shoulders.
“Now, I’m going to eat,” he joked.
Lifting a beer in her honor, Athens County resident Carl Denbow gave a toast.
“For keeping the auditor’s position in the Republican Party,” he announced.
The bar came back with “here, here.”
Down the street, the Athens County Democrats were celebrating personal victories of their own at The Pigskin Bar and Grille, 38 N. Court Street.
“I’m just looking forward to continuing to serve the city of Athens,” Hecht, who wasn’t with her fellow Democrats Tuesday night, said. “I love my current job. I’m disappointed, but life goes on.”
Alan Trout, chair of the Athens County Democratic Party, said he was more upset with the absence of student votes in Athens.
“All the students I’ve talked to today haven’t voted,” Trout said. “You vote. It’s important, no matter what party.”
Hecht received 41.59 percent of the votes in the race.
“I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep in the past five days,” said Jacob Hupp, an Ohio University student and Thompson’s campaign manager. “This has been a relief, but all the credit goes to her. We were relentless.”
—Heather Hare contributed to this report
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