Election 2023: Schaber, Collins win GOP primary election races

Marion City Councilman Jason Schaber is moving on to the general election after holding off a challenge in the Republican Party primary election on Tuesday, according to unofficial results released by the Marion County Board of Elections.

Schaber topped challenger Carie Fuller by 30 votes, 97-67 (59.15% to 40.85%), to win the party's nomination for the 3rd Ward seat on city council. Schaber will face Democratic Party candidate William Moodie in the Nov. 7 general election. Moodie is a newcomer to the political scene in Marion.

Following the release of the unofficial final results on Tuesday evening, Schaber reiterated his belief that members of the Marion County Republican Party were trying to unseat him from his position on city council. Schaber, a maverick who has been at odds with the local GOP leadership for several years, stated that belief last week during an interview with Marion radio station WGH.

"I believe (Fuller) was talked into (running for office) just to come after me," Schaber said Tuesday night. "That's the way I look at it. And the only reason I say that is because the people that she was surrounded by and probably getting advice from are the Republican Party candidate/campaign committee chair people. So these individuals were responsible for helping candidates with their campaigns and recruiting candidates."

Looking ahead to the general election, Schaber said he has known Moodie since Moodie and Schaber's twin sons played T-ball together when they were children. Moodie's father coached the team, Schaber said.

In regard to strategy for the general election, Schaber said he will go back to the basics that have been successful for him in previous elections.

"I'll campaign like I always do. Knock on all the doors in the 3rd Ward, introduce myself or reintroduce myself," he explained. "In the last three (election) cycles, my victories were 60-40 (percent) victories. My numbers really didn't change (in this primary election), but I'll still get out there and campaign like I always do."

In the GOP primary election for mayor of Marion, former Marion police chief Welcome W. "Bill" Collins easily bested Susan McGowan, 907-197 (82.16% to 17.84%), to advance to the general election in November.

"I think this (election result) is just indicative of what I felt about wanting to run for mayor and all the people that supported me, asked to run, thought I would do a good job at it," Collins said during an interview on Tuesday night. "I think that it shows that people have a belief in the fact that I can do the job. I think anybody's that seen a city council meeting lately knows that it's going to be a tough road ahead for the city. I think they certainly will want somebody that's led the city in the past (as police chief) in different areas and can think outside the box and move the city into the future and get us back on the right track."

Pending the certification of independent candidate petitions that were filed on May 1, Collins will face Democratic Party candidate Glenn D. Coble and independent candidate Bobbie Jo Meachem in the Nov. 7 general election.

Coble ran without opposition on Tuesday, in the general election. Coble previously ran for the 86th District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in 2018 and ran for Marion Township Trustee in 2013.

Meachem submitted her petition to run for mayor on Monday, the final day to do so. She resides in Marion's 4th Ward, according to the Marion County Board of Elections website.

Scorecard for Marion municipal office races in November

In the races to fill seats on Marion City Council, there will new people representing the 1st Ward, 4th Ward, 5th Ward, and 6th Ward as well as a new city council president in 2024 following the Nov. 7 general election.

Republican Party candidate Shawn Barr is running without opposition in the general election for the 1st Ward city council seat after incumbent Councilman Jeff Gerritsen, a Democrat, decided not to run for the office he was appointed to last summer. Barr, who co-owns a local construction company, is seeking public office for the first time.

Incumbent Councilman Ayers Ratliff, a Democrat, is facing a challenge from Republican Pamela K. Larkin in the 2nd Ward. Ratliff and Larkin met in the 2021 general election with Ratliff winning reelection to a seat he's held since 2005.

Democratic Party candidate Dana Hanif Booker and Republican Twila Laing are seeking to represent the 4th Ward on Marion City Council in November. They each ran without opposition in Tuesday's primary election. Incumbent Councilman Joshua Feliciano was bounced from the primary election due to "fatal errors" he made filling out his petition.

Democrat Cory Brown and Republican Thaddaeus Smith are seeking to become the new 5th Ward representative to Marion City Council in the general election. They each ran without opposition in the primary election. The winner in November will replace Councilwoman Karen Fosnaugh, who chose not to seek reelection.

Democrat Bart Wolfe and Republican Ronald Prater have filed petitions seeking to become the new 6th Ward city council representative when they meet in November. Incumbent Councilman Mike Neff, a Republican, fell victim to census-mandated redistricting which resulted in his home address being moved out of the 6th Ward and into the 5th Ward.

Neff is running for one of the three At-large seats on Marion City Council alongside fellow Republicans and council incumbents Brett Cornelius and Aaron Rollins. No other candidates filed petitions to run for the At-large seats on city council in the general election.

Republican Mary Stoneburner is facing independent candidate Theresa Lubke in the race to become president of Marion City Council. Stoneburner ran without opposition in the primary election. Lubke filed her petition to run as an independent candidate on Monday of this week. Lubke's petition must be certified by the Marion County Board of Elections.

Marion Municipal Court Judge Teresa L. Ballinger, a Republican, is facing a potential challenge in her bid for reelection this fall. Jennifer Ryan, chief probation officer for the Marion County Common Pleas Court, has filed a petition to run for municipal court judge. Ryan, formerly a Republican, is running as an independent. Ballinger ran without opposition in the primary election on Tuesday. No other candidates have filed petitions seeking to become judge of the municipal court.

Another former Republican is the lone candidate running for auditor of the City of Marion. Incumbent Miranda Meginness is the only person who has filed a petition to run for that embattled office. She was appointed to the office in November 2021 by the Marion County Republican Party Central Committee to fill out the unexpired term of former Auditor Robert Landon, who resigned in October 2021. Meginness resigned from the Republican Party in July 2022.

No candidates filed petitions to run for auditor in Tuesday's primary election. Besides Meginness, no other candidates have filed petitions for the auditor's election in November.

Law Director Mark Russell, a Democrat, ran without opposition in the primary election and is unopposed in the general election. No other candidates have filed petitions to run for that office.

For information about elections in Marion County, go to the Marion County Board of Elections website www.boe.ohio.gov/marion.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Election 2023: Schaber, Collins win GOP primary election races