Gary Burkholder elected as Etna Township Trustee after contentious campaign
After a contentious campaign season that followed a contentious two years, Etna Township voters have selected a new trustee.
Gary Burkholder won the seat after receiving 2,148 votes during Tuesday's general election, followed Trent Stepp earning 1,407 votes, Ryan Davis receiving 857 votes, and Steven Perkins getting 473 votes, according to final, unofficial results from the Licking County Board of Elections.
The four-year term runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2027.
Incumbent Jeff Johnson, who has been in office more than a decade, did not seek reelection.
Burkholder said Tuesday night he was emotional after emerging from a difficult campaign, and thanked his supporters for all their work over the last few months.
"This was a true team effort and the victory belongs to the residents of Etna. They turned out and they heard the message and they responded, so I'm very thankful, very appreciative," he said. "I'm ready to get to work. Now it's time to get to work. It's time to deliver. It's time to bring people together and do what's right for the community."
Burkholder, 69, told The Advocate last month that he was the experienced leader the township needed to restore calm and stability on the board.
"The board needs to focus on the issues affecting our residents, not the personalities," he said in a candidate questionnaire. "I have the policy and leadership skills to bring the board together, tackle our current challenges, protect our quality of life, and take advantage of future opportunities to improve our community."
Burkholder, who previously served as a township trustee from 2004-2007, has been actively involved in Etna Township for more than 20 years. Currently, he is a member of the township's comprehensive plan citizen advisory council. Burkholder previously worked as a city manager for Brookville, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton.
Etna Township's trustees have spent the better part of the last two years infighting, and that animosity made its way to the campaign trail this fall. In early October, two billboard attack ads depicting Burkholder with trustee Mark Evans were placed, and camera footage from Evans's February altercation with a township employee was published on YouTube.
The billboards, which first appeared Oct. 4, had Evans' and Burkholder's faces photoshopped on the Dr. Evil and Mini-me characters from the "Austin Powers" film series and read "Say No To 2.0" "Stepp Forward" and "Vote Trent Stepp Etna Township Trustee."
mdevito@gannett.com
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Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Gary Burkholder elected as Etna Township Trustee
