Election results: Republicans win three of four Mansfield City Council races
Republicans won three of four Mansfield City Council races Tuesday.
In final, unofficial results, Stephanie Zader, Laura Burns and The Rev. Eleazer Akuchie each collected more votes than their opponents.
The lone Democrat to win election to council was Aurelio Diaz, who defeated incumbent Jason Lawrence.
Zader, 33, appointed in January to one of council's two citywide seats, won election to a full four-year term. The Realtor and real estate investor garnered 60% of the vote to defeat Sam Dunn, a former councilman who represented the fourth ward between 2011 and 2014.
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"When you're appointed it's kind of like 'OK, central committee voted.' But when you win a primary and a general (election) that feels very satisfying," Zader said.
In the first ward — the southernmost part of Mansfield — Burns, 40, also won election to a full four-year term after being appointed to her seat in Jan. 2020.
The group supervisor for data coordination at Charles River Laboratories in Ashland garnered nearly 70% of the vote to defeat Josh Koehler, a pharmacy technician at Walgreens who made his first run for public office.
Burns, in a phone interview, said her family joined her in campaigning.
"My ten and twelve-year-old were knocking on doors for me. It means a lot to me that their efforts were also rewarded because this sets the tone for them and things they get involved in in the community as an adult," she said.
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In the third ward, first-time candidate Akuchie defeated Jon Van Harlingen by a mere 24 votes out of 824 cast.
Akuchie, 75, leads the Richland Community Prayer Network, a loose affiliation of churches and denominations which he co-founded in 1998. He also leads a group called Richland Family Coalition.
"I just want to say a big thanks to all the people who voted for me and trusted me enough," Akuchie said.
"It's time to roll up my sleeves and go to work. I'm looking forward to what we're going to accomplish in the next four years."
Van Harlingen, 66, a Democrat, has represented the third ward since 2014 when the state auditor released Mansfield from fiscal emergency. During his time on council, Van Harlingen developed a reputation as someone who keeps a close eye on city finances.
"The voters spoke. I'm done," Van Harlingen said. "I have no regrets of what I have said and stood for while on council."
In the fifth ward, which encompasses much of downtown and part of the North End, including Lahm Airport, Diaz garnered 62% of the vote to defeat Lawrence, who ran for reelection as a Republican instead of a Democrat.
This was Diaz's second run for council. He unsuccessfully ran for council president in 2019. "Last time was really new for me. I learned the dos and don'ts of that," Diaz said. "I said (at the time) that win or lose I'm still going to be doing stuff in the community... and I think people knew that."
Diaz, 45, is a case worker at Third Street family Health Services, helping people who are at high-risk for HIV infection. He's also worked for Richland Newhope, Downtown Mansfield Inc, and John Boyd, a local attorney.
Lawrence, 52, was first appointed to council in 2014 and won reelection unopposed in 2017.
Turnout among Richland County's 81,564 registered voters was 19.5%, about where election officials predicted. Citywide, that figure was 13.8%.
Below are final, unofficial results of the Mansfield City Council races released Tuesday night by the Richland County Board of Elections.
Council at-large
Sammie J. Dunn Jr. (Democrat) - 1,546
Stephanie Zader (Republican) - 2,328
1st Ward
Laura Burns (R) - 793
Joshua Koehler (D) - 347
3rd Ward
El Akuchie (R) - 424
Jon Van Harlingen (D) - 400
5th Ward
Aurelio V. Diaz (D) - 105
Jason Lawrence (R) - 64
mtrombly@gannett.com
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Twitter: @monroetrombly
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield City Council: Republicans win three of four races
