Three vie for 1st Ward council seat

The field of applicants seeking an appointment to represent Findlay's 1st Ward on Findlay City Council includes two familiar names and one potential newcomer to political office. Former 1st Ward council representatives Charles "Bud" Haas and Holly Frische are seeking the appointment, along with John Seng, who has not held a political office. Brad Wisener, a Republican who represented the 1st Ward since Jan. 1, resigned on July 1 due to a job relocation. Wisener defeated Haas, the incumbent, to represent the 1st Ward in the 2021 Republican primary election, and ran unopposed in the 2021 general election. Appointment to the unexpired term will be made by the Hancock County Republican Party. State law requires the appointment to be made within 45 days. The party's appointee will serve out the remainder of the term, which expires in December 2023. To be considered for the appointment, candidates must live in Findlay's 1st Ward and be 18 or older. Information packets, sent to the Hancock GOP, were required to be postmarked on or before July 6. As of Monday, only three packets had been received by the party. All three applicants will be considered, said Heather Pendleton, executive committee chairman. "The GOP leadership will not be forming a screening committee because all three applicants provided packets containing the information requested (letter of interest, resume, and up to three letters of support) and all three applicants are well-known to the party. Therefore, all three are 'qualified' to serve on council for the city of Findlay," said Pendleton. Representatives from all seven Findlay precincts, about 22 people in all, will vote July 25 on the appointment at the regular meeting of the party's central and executive committees. Haas, 66, of 616 E. Foulke Ave., is a retired Findlay police officer and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Haas was appointed as interim treasurer for the city in 2011, and held the office for a few months. He represented the 1st Ward for a single term in 2020 and 2021. Frische, 44, of 1926 Queenswood Drive, was elected to represent the city's 1st Ward in 2013, and was reelected twice. She made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for Findlay mayor in May 2019. Frische works as a medical and health insurance agent. Seng, 40, of 1909 Gayle Lane, is a sales associate at Taylor Kia of Findlay. This is his first attempt at a public office. Grant: 419-427-8412