Tuesday November 2, 2021 is Election Day

Kettering Ohio-The 2021 General Election will be held Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Kettering residents have several decisions to make regarding City leaders.

Kettering Mayor Don Patterson announced his retirement after nearly 16 years of service as Mayor. So, Kettering residents will be selecting a new mayor to serve a four-year term. The only candidate who filed a petition to run was Peggy B. Lehner. Lehner is a republican who previously served as a State Senator for Senate District 6 from 2011 to 2020, Ohio House of Representative in District 37 from 2009 to 20011, and a Kettering City Councilwoman from 1998 to 2008. While on the Kettering City Council, Lehner served as Vice-Mayor from 2004 to 2006. On her website, www.peggylehner.com, Lehner says that she wants to use her experience in State and local government “… to work for you as we lead Kettering toward a brighter future.” Lehner specifically spoke of the challenges of leading Kettering out of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Kettering will also elect two At-Large members of the City Council who represent the entire City. Three individuals, Jacque Fisher, Jyl Hall, and Joseph Patak, are running for the two seats. current at-large council member, Bill Lautar is not running for re-election.

Fisher is currently an At-Large Councilor. Fisher is a long-time community volunteer and retired with 38 years of service as a civilian employee at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Fisher founded the Kettering Backpack Program. Fisher has also worked with the Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry, Greenmont-Oakpark Community Church, and the Montgomery County Children’s Service as a court-appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem.

Fisher believes that her experience on Council and as a community volunteer is one of her strongest attributes for the job of At-Large Councilor. Fisher says her top priorities would be reducing the tax base, working for the poor and seniors, and maintaining Kettering’s leadership stability.

Hall currently works as an Adjunct Professor at United Theological Seminary and as an affordable housing advocate in Dayton. Hall has worked in the community with Faith 2020/Faith Forward, Leadership Focus International, the Kettering Board of Community Relations, Montgomery County Corp as a trustee, Miami Valley Goodwill/Easter Seals as a trustee, and the Dayton Chamber of Commerce.

Hall says that she has “the passion, experience, and knowledge to help make a differing for Kettering working families”. Hall's top priorities as an At-Large Councilor would be job creation, and delivering efficient services and help for working families.

Patak currently works for GM, RS Hill Construction, Inc, and served as an Ohio Army National Guard combat medic for 6 years. Patak is a conservative and has served as a Republican Party Precinct Captain, is involved with Ohio Right to Live, the National Rifle Association, Feed the Hungry Compassion International, the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, and the Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership.

Patak says that if elected he would work hard for Kettering residents and would serve with “integrity”. Patak also believes that his experience as a business owner and operations director for a worldwide non-profit would also benefit Kettering.

Patak says that public safety is his top priority. In addition, Patak says that he would also work to keep property value high and taxes law and to create more opportunities for small businesses.

Kettering residents in Council District 1 and 2 will also be going to the polls to fill two Council seats left vacant by resignations District 1 council member Rob Scott resigned earlier in 2021 to accept an appointment as Clerk of the Kettering Municipal Court. District 2 Councilman Joe Wanamaker also resigned in June 2021 due to health reasons.

There are three candidates vying for the District 1 seat, David Brown, Lisa M. Duvall, and Darrell Meshew. District 1 covers Kettering’s Northeast quadrant.

Brown said that his top priorities would be to address housing concerns, particularly poorly maintained rental properties, in the District, addressing City income tax losses that occurred because of the COVID-19 crisis, and attracting jobs to the City by making sure the Kettering business development team has all the tools and resources it needs.

Duvall graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in Secondary Education, and currently works for Edict Systems, Inc. Duvall serves on the Kettering Board of Community Relations and the Kettering Parks Advisory Council. Duvall’s priorities are improving the City’s infrastructure, attracting businesses and jobs to the City, and addressing “growing mental health issues”.

Meshew is semi-retired, but still works as a part-time high school government teacher. He graduated from Write State University with a degree in Education. Meshew says his top priorities are improving internet access, particularly for students, across the City, properly allocating infrastructure funds, and keeping taxes low.

District 2 has two candidates running, Bob Scott and John J. White. District two stretches along the Eastern border of Kettering.

Scott is a senior product manager at BJG Electronics. He also owns his own business Scott Associates, LLC. Scott is seeking to claim the seat that his son Rob Scott previously held before becoming Kettering Municipal Court Clerk. Scott says that his top priorities are addressing income tax revenue losses caused by COVID-19, attracting new businesses, and dealing with the City’s empty retail storefronts. Scott also supports rolling back Council’s 50% increase in pay that was approved earlier this year.

White is the Director of Partnerships for Think Tank, Inc. Scott has previously served on the Kettering City Council and as a State Representative. Scott is also the husband of current State Representative Andrea White. Scott’s priorities are to attract new jobs to the region, addressing income tax losses caused by COVID-19, and improving the educational opportunities for Kettering’s students.

Voters will also select a new Court Clerk for the Kettering Municipal Court. The Kettering Municipal Court serves the communities of Kettering, Moraine, Centerville, and Washington Township. Thus voters in each of these communities will be voting to decide who will fill the Court Clerk vacancies.

There are two candidates for the Court Clerk positions, Republican Rob Scott and Democrat Keara Dever.

Dever is an attorney with the VanNoy Law Firm. She practices in the areas of immigration law, criminal law, and domestic relations law. Dever also coaches girls’ tennis at Bellbrook High School. Dever said that if elected her priorities would be to improve Court accessibility for attorneys, unrepresented defendants, and the public, to increase e-filing services, and to develop a court assistance program to provide help for people with license issues, fines, and sealing records.

Scott took over as Municipal Court Clerk when former Court Clerk Andrea White was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. White says that during his time as Clerk he worked with Montgomery County to secure $3.5 Million in funding to develop a new regional courts case management system. White says the new paperless system will streamline Court records for attorneys and the public. In arguing to be elected, White relies heavily on what he has done with the Court since taking over as Clerk. White also says that he has been endorsed by chapters of the Fraternal Order of police, and believes that he has the support of the jurisdictions the Court serves.

Kettering will also select among 4 candidates to fill 3 school board vacancies. 3 of the 4 candidates are incumbents. Jim Ambrose and Toby Henderson were previously elected to the Kettering School Board and are seeking re-election. Mark Martin was appointed to the Board last year and is now seeking election to the Board. Lynn Quillen is running for the first time.

All of the candidates are graduates of the University of Dayton,

Ambrose is currently President of the Kettering School Board. Ambrose says that his priorities are to monitor and observe economic trends to help graduates succeed, to help students to learn to think critically, and to continue to utilize district funds and resources in a responsible manner.

Henderson is an attorney and is a veteran of the United States Airforce. Henderson wants to continue the district’s efforts to prepare students for life after graduation.

Martin was appointed by the Board in October 2020 to fill the Board seat vacated by the retirement of Julie Gilmore. Martin works as the Executive Direct of Manufacturing for Community Tissue Services. Martin says that Kettering needs to evaluate economic trends in order to prepare students for success after graduation.

Quillen owns her own small business. Quillen believes that students would benefit from more community involvement programs. Quillen also said that the district’s success is dependent on “continuous improvement. Quillen said that she got into the race because it appeared that the incumbents would not be challenged.

On Tuesday, polls open at 6:30 A.M. and close at 7:30 P.M. You can find your poling location and view a sample ballot for your precinct by going to https://lookup.boe.ohio.gov/vtrapp/montgomery/vtrlookup.aspx#.