Findlay mayor could face challenger in May primary

Findlay's Republican voters could have three city races to decide in the May 2 primary election, including mayor and council seats representing two wards. Republican Haydee Sadler has filed candidate petitions to challenge Mayor Christina Muryn for the party's nomination. The filing deadline was Wednesday. Petitions must now be certified by the elections board before the candidates are official. Director Jody O'Brien said the board is expected to certify candidate filings on Feb. 13. Every city office, with the exception of the treasurer, is up for election. That includes the mayor, auditor, law director, all ward and at-large council seats, council president and municipal court judge. Most will go unchallenged in the primary. Independent and write-in candidates could still enter the Nov. 7 general election and vie for a city office. The filing deadline for independent candidates is May 1, and the filing deadline for write-in candidates is Aug. 28. Muryn was first appointed as Findlay's mayor in 2019, and was then elected to the position. She is serving her first full, four-year term. Sadler, 47, of 220 Defiance Ave., is a financial administrator. She ran in August 2022 for the Republican woman's seat on the State Central Committee for the 1st Senatorial District. She finished third in the three-way race, with the seat going to Gina R. Campbell. The mayor's salary is $90,156 this year, and the term is for four years. In the city's 2nd Ward, incumbent Councilman Dennis Hellmann, a Republican, has filed petitions to seek reelection. Hellmann is serving his fourth term. Republican Michael Gentry, 722 Red Fox Road, has filed petitions to challenge him. In the city's 3rd Ward, incumbent Councilwoman Beth Warnecke has filed for reelection. Candidate petitions for the 3rd Ward have also been filed by a challenger, Kraig Kutschbach, of 1726 Windsor Place. Democrat Shaun Mason, of 606 Bright Road, has also filed candidate petitions to represent the 3rd Ward. He faces no primary challengers, and there will be no primary for Findlay Democrats in May. Auditor Jim Staschiak and Law Director Donald Rasmussen, along with Council President John Harrington have all filed for reelection and are unopposed for the party's nomination. Staschiak is serving his third, four-year term, and Rasmussen, who succeeded Law Director Dave Hackenberg in 2011, 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 at-large councilmen Randy Greeno, Grant Russel and Jeff Wobser have also filed for reelection and are unopposed for the party's nomination. Greeno, a former 5th Ward councilman, is serving his first at-large term. Russel is a four-term at-large councilman for the city of Findlay. Wobser was first appointed to council in 2015. In the 1st Ward, Councilwoman Holly Frische has filed for election and is unopposed. She was first elected in 2013 and was 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. Also seeking reelection and unopposed in the Republican primary are councilmen Jim Slough, 4th Ward, serving his third term; Brian Bauman, 5th Ward, serving his first term; Jim Niemeyer, 6th Ward, first appointed to Findlay Council in 2014; and Joshua Palmer, 7th Ward, serving his second term. This year, the city law director's salary is $134,729. The auditor's salary is $90,044. Council members, including council president, will be paid $8,440. Since 2017, Findlay council members receive the same yearly pay raise given to non-union city employees. Both the law director and the auditor serve four-year terms. Council members are elected for two years. Most Findlay Council seats went uncontested in the May 2021 primary election, with Republican voters deciding only two races. All city offices are held by Republicans. A slate of issues has also been filed for the May primary, including: - Appleseed Joint Ambulance, an additional 5-year, 2.8-mill levy, to be used to provide ambulance service. - Voter approval of a gas aggregate program for the village of Bluffton. - Renewal of a five-year, .75% income tax for the Cory-Rawson Local School District, to be used for current expenses. - Renewal of a three-year, 1% income tax for the Riverdale Local School District, to be used for current expenses. - Renewal of a five-year, 1.5-mill levy for the Southwestern Joint Fire District, which includes Union and Van Buren townships, Jenera and Rawson, to be used by the fire department and commencing in 2023. - Renewal of a 10-year, 3-mill emergency levy for the Van Buren Local School District. - Renewal of a five-year, 1-mill levy in Washington Township, to be used for the operation of the fire department. - Precinct 4C — Findlay Brewing Company LLC, local option question 2, Sunday sale on/off-premise sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor. - Precinct 6D — Wolfies Carry Out, local option, Sunday sales off-premise of beer, wine and mixed beverages. - Allen West Precinct — Dark Horse, local option question 2, Sunday sale on-premise sales of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor.