Most Findlay offices up for grabs

For Findlay residents interested in vying for a city office next year, it's go time. Every city office, with the exception of the treasurer, is up for re-election in 2023. That includes the mayor, auditor, law director, all ward and at-large council seats and council president. Candidate petitions are now available at the Hancock County Board of Elections, 201 E. Lincoln St. The petition filing deadline is Feb. 1, and the primary election is May 2. Jody O'Brien, director of the county election board, said petition forms are also available online at the Ohio Secretary of State's Office website at www.ohiosos.gov. However, O'Brien said potential candidates who are new to the process may want to pick up the petitions in person at the election board office to review the rules and to ask any questions. O'Brien said Grant Russel, a four-term, at-large councilman for the city of Findlay, has been the first candidate thus far to pick up petitions. He is circulating petitions for reelection to an at-large seat. Findlay's mayor, auditor and law director all serve four-year terms. Council members and the council president serve two-year terms. Petitions for all citywide positions, including mayor, auditor, law director, at-large councilman and council president, all require 50 valid signatures for candidacy in the primary election. Candidates wanting to represent one of Findlay's seven wards are required to gather 25 valid signatures from their ward. Most of Findlay's city offices went uncontested in the May 2021 primary election, with Republican voters deciding only two council races. In fiscal year 2021, the city law director's salary was $121,572. The mayor was paid $81,351, and the auditor was paid $81,250. Council members, including council president, were paid $7,616. Since 2017, Findlay council members receive the same yearly pay raise given to nonunion city employees. All city offices are currently held by Republicans. Incumbents include Mayor Christina Muryn, serving her first, four-year term; Auditor Jim Staschiak, serving his third, four-year term; and law Director Donald Rasmussen, who succeeded Law Director Dave Hackenberg in 2011, and has been reelected twice. Council President John Harrington was first elected to Findlay Council as an independent write-in candidate in 2013, and served three terms as representative of Findlay's 5th Ward. He was unopposed in his bid for council president in 2019. Incumbent ward council members include: * Holly Frische, 1st Ward, first elected in 2013, and reelected twice. She made an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for Findlay mayor in May 2019, and was appointed as representative of the 1st Ward again in July. * Dennis Hellmann, 2nd Ward, serving his fourth term. * Beth Warnecke, 3rd Ward, serving her second term. * Jim Slough, 4th Ward, serving his third term. * Brian Bauman, 5th Ward, serving his first term. * Jim Niemeyer, 6th Ward, was first appointed in November 2014. * Joshua Palmer, 7th Ward, serving his second term. At-large councilmen include Russel, Randy Greeno and Jeff Wobser. Greeno, a former 5th Ward councilman, is serving his first term at-large. Wobser was first appointed to council in 2015 as an at-large councilman.