Hamilton races: School board not decided yet, council incumbents return

Nov. 8—The 2023 general election isn't over, at least with the Hamilton City School Board race.

Uncounted provisional ballots and whatever late-arriving mailed absentee ballots are received by the elections office in the next few days still need to be counted. And those numbers could change the outcome of the Hamilton school board race.

As Tuesday night ended, Dr. Joseph Copas led the field of four candidates with 30.46% of the unofficial vote, a nearly 7 percentage-point lead over the second-place finisher, Shaquila Mathews. However, her position isn't safe as it's only a quarter-percent lead over first-time candidate Robin Szary. With still votes to be counted, Mathews ended Election Day with a 49-vote lead.

Mathews is hopeful the yet-to-be-counted ballots will maintain her election-day lead.

"I continue to lean on my faith and continue to thank God," she said. "I know I feel that the work on the board is not finished, and that's what I lean on."

Szary said she feels "really good" about her campaign, and win or lose, she'll be involved with the district.

"I've been supported throughout this entire campaign ... but this really shows that every vote matters," she said, who is already committing to a 2025 school board bid if she loses.

Fourth-place finisher, Cameron Binegar ended Election Day with 22.62% of the vote, and though she's not mathematically eliminated, she would need to garner most of the provisional and late-arriving ballots.

The official run of Tuesday's election is scheduled for Nov. 28, where the uncounted votes will be added and then certified. If an automatic recount is required ― which is any race within a half percent ― the board will make that determination at that time.

HAMILTON COUNCIL

Hamilton City Council's three incumbents won re-election to the board, according to Butler County's unofficial election results Tuesday night.

Council member Eric Pohlman is the top vote-getter with 31% of the unofficial vote, followed by Council members Susan Vaughn (26.95%) and Carla Fiehrer (26.86%).

All three incumbents said they were happy with the results as they will be able to keep the same team for at least the next two years.

Fiehrer said "there's no denying" that Hamilton is on a roll.

"I'm thrilled," she said on winning. "With all of the things we have going on, it will be nice to not miss a beat."

This council will be intact for at least the next two years as the other members who weren't up for election this cycle, as well as the mayor, will be on the ballot in 2025.

Vaughn said winning re-election will help keep the momentum in the city, but believes there will "be challenges down the road."

"The economy's very different, things are different, but this is a group that we can take off running," she said of the current makeup of City Council. "But this is a group that will be able to meet the challenge."

Economic development, homelessness, removing blight, and improving neighborhoods are all issues she believes the council will need to address, Vaughn said, as well for Fiehrer, who added, "We're just headed down the right road."

"We've got to take care of Hamilton, first," she said. "We have to find ways on to how to resolve things here in Hamilton."

Political newcomer Andrew Conn trailed the field with 15.18% of the early vote. Fiehrer said she's happy Conn was part of the process and hopes he stays involved with some board or committee within the city.

Being the top vote-getter, Pohlman will again be the vice mayor for the next two years. He was vice mayor after winning his first four-year term in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited him from fulfilling all the vice mayoral duties.

Pohlman said his No. 1 priority is to help move the North Hamilton Crossing project along, and specifically the Great Miami River overpass.

"We need to decide next year where the bridge is going and we need to start working on funding," he said. "I know in my next four years it's not going to be built, but in that time I'd love to have a great game plan, funding and possibly break ground on it."

LOCAL OPTION

Hamilton voters supported the two local liquor options amendments for the city's two Community Entertainment Districts, according to Butler County's unofficial election results.

Issues 15 and 16, which permits business owners with liquor permits to bypass the signature collection phase in attempting to get a Sunday alcohol sales option on an election ballot, received 72.8% and 73% of the vote, respectively, according to unofficial results.

"This is a great day for Hamilton," said Joe Hoelle, of Hamilton's Urban Backyard, calling the ability for small businesses within the two Community Entertainment Districts to bypass the signature-collection process to place a local option on a future Hamilton ballot "a game-changer."

Hamilton City Council earlier this year decided it wanted to allow businesses within its two Community Entertainment Districts (CEDs), which are on either side of B Street, to bypass the signature-collection process when seeking a Sunday sales local option on the ballot.

Businesses with an existing liquor license (D1 or D5) will still be required to file paperwork with the Butler County elections office to get the issue on a future ballot.

This voter-approved signature bypass process, however, is only permitted by Ohio law for businesses within a CED, which is a nuanced and complex process to create. Hamilton's two districts were created several years ago and the primary two components in creating the specialized districts included a minimum of a $50 million investment (it can be a single project or multiple projects) and an existing property owner must petition for its creation.

Hamilton's two CEDs were created because of the Spooky Nook Sports Champion Mill development.