He's back. Republicans name Shane Gunnoe as new mayor of Dover

Jon Baker, The Times-Reporter
·2 min read
New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day, left, shakes the hand of Shane Gunnoe after Gunnoe is renamed as mayor of Dover by the Tuscarawas County Republican Central Committee. He replaces Interim Mayor Justin Perkowski,
New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day, left, shakes the hand of Shane Gunnoe after Gunnoe is renamed as mayor of Dover by the Tuscarawas County Republican Central Committee. He replaces Interim Mayor Justin Perkowski,

DOVER ‒ Shane Gunnoe is back as the mayor of Dover.

He was picked for the post Tuesday at a meeting of the Dover Republican Party Central Committee.

He replaces Richard Homrighausen, who was sentenced in January on charges of theft in office, dereliction of duty and four counts of soliciting improper compensation. Homrighausen is permanently barred from holding public office.

More on Homrighausen:Former Dover Mayor Richard Homrighausen ordered to pay $17,210, avoids prison

The central committee met to select someone to fill out the remainder of Homrighausen's term, which ends Dec. 31. Gunnoe, who served as interim mayor for the past nine months while Homrighausen was suspended from office, was the only candidate for the position. Gunnoe is also seeking the Republican nomination to run for mayor in November, which voters will decide at the polls.

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity to lead the city of Dover through the end of this year, at least," Gunnoe said after the selection. "I grateful to represent the Republican Party as their person who they appointed to this position, and I'm going to do everything I can to work very hard and continue the good work that I think we started over the last nine months as I was interim mayor to continue to see that through and advance the city in a positive manner.

New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day, left, congratulates Shane Gunnoe after he is nominated to be the next Mayor of Dover by the Tuscarawas County Republican Central Committee, replacing Interim Mayor, Justin Perkowski, Tuesday, Feb. 7.
New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day, left, congratulates Shane Gunnoe after he is nominated to be the next Mayor of Dover by the Tuscarawas County Republican Central Committee, replacing Interim Mayor, Justin Perkowski, Tuesday, Feb. 7.

"My goal is to represent the office with integrity and to make the citizens of Dover proud of the work that we're doing and try and leave things in a much better situation than when we first found them some time ago."

He plans to begin work on Thursday.

“I congratulate Shane Gunnoe on his appointment by the Dover Republican Party Central Committee. Now Dover Republican candidates can prepare for the upcoming primary election," said New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day, who serves as chairman of the Tuscarawas County Republican Party Central Committee.

Facts about Dover's Shane Gunnoe

  • Gunnoe is a 2001 graduate of Dover High and a 2005 graduate of Capital University in Bexley with a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science.

  • He was a Dover Ward II councilman from 2008 to 2014, served as president of council from 2014 to 2022 and was interim mayor from May 2022 to January 2023. He was appointed interim mayor by the Tuscarawas County Probate Court. He was an intern at the Governor's Office of Appalachia in 2004, a page in the Ohio House of Representatives in 2005 and southeast Ohio field director for the Ohio Republican Party in 2006.

  • Gunnoe was a senior account specialist for Astro Inc. in Independence, Ohio, from 2007 to 2022.

  • He and his wife, Kelsie, have been married for eight and a half years. They have two children ‒ Bryden, 5, and Brystal, 3. "They are the light of my life," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover Republican Central Committee names Shane Gunnoe as mayor