Ohio’s Nov. 7 election passed two progressive issues on the state level, but it was business as usual for local Athens elections. To view the full breakdowns of all local issues, visit https://www.thepostathens.com/section/news.
Abortion rights enshrined in Ohio constitution
Issue 1, an initiative to establish a right to reproductive health care in the Ohio Constitution passed. Reproductive care includes abortion, but it is not limited to abortion care. The issue allows abortion restrictions only if a fetus is deemed viable by a physician and not at risk to the carrier’s health.
According to a New York Times report, as of Nov. 8, it passed with 56% of the vote; 2,186,962 votes were in favor of the issue, and 1,675,728 votes, or 43% of the votes, were opposed.
“We found that people across the board were interested in getting that on the ballot,” Solvieg Spjeldnes, a democratic Athens resident, said. “It was like shooting fish in a barrel. I mean, of course, we did this in Athens, but even across the county and in other nearby counties, we got a lot of cooperation.”
Spjeldnes is the 1st ward representative on the Athens City Council, but she said her comments and work on Issue 1 were as a citizen, not a council member.
In Athens County, 12,583 votes, or 72% of votes, were in favor of the issue.
Recreational use and cultivation of marijuana legalized
Similarly to Issue 1, Issue 2 passed, which legalizes the recreational use, sale and home-growing of marijuana in Ohio. It also established a 10% sales tax for adult recreational marijuana purchases on top of the existing sales tax.
According to a New York Times report, as of Nov. 8, 2,183,734 votes were in favor of the issue, which accounted for 57% of the votes; there were 1,649,384 votes, or 43%, votes against it. In Athens County, 12,096 votes, or 69% of votes cast, were in favor of Issue 2 passing.
The laws established by the issue will go into effect Dec. 7, 30 days after it passed.
Athens City Schools bond issue to replace high school passed
The Athens City School District had a bond issue on the ballot for city residents to raise funds to build a new high school and eventually demolish the current one in The Plains.
The Athens City School District levy will increase taxpayers' current property taxes by about $30 more in 2025 than in 2024 for every $100,000 of appraised value per year, ACSD Superintendent Tom Gibbs said.
The levy will provide ACSD with the funds it needs to construct a new high school. Gibbs said the property taxes associated with this levy will start being collected in 2025.
The school district bond issue passed with 4,658 votes or 58% of the vote for and 3,349 or 42% against.
"People in our community have continued to support our school district, and they know that education is important … they've been gracious to continue to support the school district when there's need," said ACSD School Board member Sean Parsons.
Tax levy to fund Athens County Emergency Services (ACEMS) passed
The funds will be used for various necessities and daily operations, including wages, trucks, buildings and insurance.
Rick Trask, a paramedic at ACEMS and president of the ACEMS International Association of Fire Fighters Local #5126, said the levy will also help raise the base pay for the paramedics within the ACEMS, which has been behind other emergency and medical services.
Amber Pyle, the ACEMS Chief, said an ACEMS levy has never failed in Athens County, and this passage continues to show support from the community.
The Athens County Emergency Medical Services levy will provide the department with $1,913,870 in additional tax revenue.
The county EMS tax levy passed with 10,508 votes, or 62% of the votes in favor, with 6,430 votes against, or 38% of the vote.
Patterson retains his position as mayor
The only contested election in Athens city this November was the mayoral race between Democratic Incumbent Steve Patterson and independent challenger Damon Krane.
It is the second race between the two, the first being in 2019. Patterson will serve his third term as Athens mayor.
“I would have to say, the trajectory that we're on,” Patterson said. “There's nothing that I would do any different to continue to accelerate the progressive movement here in the city of Athens.”
Initially, Patterson assumed office in 2016 after winning his first mayoral election in November 2015, when he ran unopposed and secured 100% of the vote.
Throughout his two terms as mayor, Patterson has focused on addressing limited affordable housing options in Athens and has actively investigated its root causes within the city.
He emphasized the challenge is not exclusive to Athens but a widespread issue across the nation. According to a previous Post report, he stressed that unless Athens takes steps to make housing more affordable, it won't be able to attract new residents.
Damon Krane, Patterson’s opponent, said his budget for this year’s campaign was one-eighth of his budget in 2019.
“I think the outcome isn't terribly surprising for that reason, but I'm happy with my performance,” Krane said. “I got new voters registered; I gave the city its only contested race; I boosted the turnout for Issues 1 and 2.”
Patterson garnered 3,490 votes, whereas Krane received 816 votes and lost by 81%.
Athens City Council has new faces, but all candidates ran unopposed
Each Athens City Council democratic candidate won their seat unopposed.
Former 3rd-Ward Councilmember Sam Crowl won the election for Council President with 3,659 votes, replacing Chris Knisley, who did not run for reelection.
“Sam is going to be a well-educated, well-versed Council president,” Mayor Patterson said. “President Chris Knisley did a fantastic job; I think the world of Chris Knisley … I think that (Crowl) is going to reflect a lot of what the decorum was with Chris Knisley.”
Michael Harrison Burchby Wood will be the new 3rd-Ward Councilmember, replacing Crowl. He received 934 votes.
Micah McCarey was reelected for his at-large Council seat with 2,724 votes, joined by Beth Clodfelter, who received 2,684 votes and Jessica Thomas, who received 2,653 votes, replacing Ben Ziff and Sarah Grace, who did not run for reelection.
“I know the new at-large candidates … and I feel as though they’re very competent. They’re very nice,” Councilmember Solveig Spjeldnes said.
Spjeldnes was reelected to the 1st-Ward seat and received 756 votes. Jeffrey Risner will return to the 2nd-Ward seat with 822 votes. Alan Swank will return to his 4th-Ward seat with 891 votes.
Auditor, treasurer and law director
Kathy Hecht ran unopposed for the city auditor position, gaining 3,624 votes. She has held the position for 20 years.
The city auditor is responsible for supervising the Income Tax Department, overseeing payroll, accounts payable, fixed assets and estimating and reviewing the revenue that each source will generate throughout the year.
Hecht served on the Athens City Council two years before running for auditor.
"When I realized as a council member that we were struggling with resources and having enough money for additional or unexpected expenses in the general fund, I wanted to make sure that we could cover our expenses and things that we needed," Hecht said.
Josh Thomas ran as a write-in for Athens city treasurer, winning with 331 votes after being appointed treasurer two years ago. “I'm basically up for reelection because I was appointed into the position,” Thomas said. “Instead of actually just having a four-year term, if you're appointed into a position like that, you have to kind of run in the next general election.”
He said the treasurer is responsible for overseeing the reconciliations of all the city accounts.
Lisa Eliason ran unopposed for the law director position, gaining 3,581 votes. She has held the position in Athens for the past eight years.
The law director is responsible for giving legal advice to city officials and supporting and defending Athens lawfully.
While it's Eliason's last term running for law director, she said she is confident the current assistant law director, Jesse Branner Hittle, will be a beneficial asset to the future law director.
Donovan Hunt, Anna Miller, Paige Fisher, Harshita Singhania, Payton Daugherty and Suzanne Piper contributed to this report.
