Republicans Kristin Zemis, Greg Ress win Tuscarawas County commissioners seats

NEW PHILADELPHIA – Tuesday was a good day for Republicans in Tuscarawas County as Kristin Zemis and Greg Ress won the two open seats on the board of commissioners.

Zemis was elected to a four-year term that begins Jan. 1. Ress will fill an unexpired two-year term that begins Jan. 3.

More:Sam Hitchcock and Greg Ress seek Tuscarawas County commissioner seat

According to unofficial results from the Tuscarawas County Board of Elections, Zemis, 55, of New Philadelphia, received 20,955 votes to her Democratic challenger, Mineral City Mayor Laurie Green, who got 8,773 votes.

Ress, 52, of New Philadelphia, received 19,251 votes to his Democratic opponent, Sam Hitchcock, former New Philadelphia council president, who got 10,430 votes, according to unofficial results.

Zemis and Ress both attended an election night watch party Tuesday at Union Country Club in Dover, along with family members, friends and supporters.

More:Laurie Green, Kristin Zemis seek Tuscarawas commissioner position

They each complimented their opponents.

"It's great in our county, in our democracy in general, that we have choices." Zemis said. "So I thank Ms. Green for giving voters a choice because that's really important. She ran a clean campaign, but the voters chose me. I'm excited about that. It's what we hoped for. It's what we worked for."

Added Ress, "First of all, I'm excited, extremely happy. And I also want to thank Sam Hitchcock, my opponent, for running, because it takes a lot of nerve to get out there, put your face out there and your name out there. He's provided a lot of service to the area for the last number of years."

Zemis will be only the fourth woman to serve as commissioner in Tuscarawas County's 214-year history.

"I can't wait," she said. "I'm going to start going to the budget meetings before I take office so we can get in there and really have a good idea of what's going on in the county."

Ress follows in the footsteps of his father, William "Bill" Ress, a former state senator who served one term as Tuscarawas County commissioner.

"I'm looking forward to getting into the office my dad once served. I think my dad – he's been gone three and half years – would be pretty proud," Greg Ress said.

Who are Kristin Zemis and Greg Ress?

Zemis is an attorney, guardian ad litem and Supreme Court mediator. She earned her bachelor's degree from Emory University in 1989 and her law degree from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1993.

Ress is the owner of Pam's Posies flower shops.

Zemis and Ress will be joining Democrat Chris Abbuhl on the board of commissioners. Abbuhl has served in that post since 2005.

"Chris Abbuhl is an excellent commissioner," Zemis said. "I've known him in that position for 17 years and I can't think of anybody else, other than Greg, that I would be excited about working with. He's level-headed, dedicated and he does a great job for the county. We want to do the same."

Ress agreed.

"Chris is a fantastic guy. I look forward to working with him. It'll be a great thing," he said.

Zemis takes over for Commissioner Al Landis, who was elected to the state Senate on Tuesday. Ress will fill the remaining years of the term of former Commissioner Joseph Sciarretti, who resigned and is now a member of Dover City Council. Kerry Metzger was appointed by the county Republican Central Committee to fill the office until this year's general election. When he was appointed, Metzger told the central committee that he would not run for reelection.

The four-year term pays $71,096 annually. The two-year term pays $70,706.43.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Kristin Zemis, Greg Ress win open seats on board of commissioners.