Mills wins Coshocton City mayor race by 639 votes
Mark Mills was elected mayor of Coshocton on Nov. 5. Mark Fortune | Beacon
COSHOCTON – The Coshocton County Board of Elections was standing room only Tuesday night, Nov. 5 as county election results were broadcast as updates filtered in. What was arguably one of the most anticipated races to watch this election season was between current mayor, Steve Mercer (R), and his opponent, Mark Mills (D).
The first results were announced at about 8 p.m. that night with the absentee ballots coming in. Right away, Mills started out strong and never lost momentum throughout the night with 457 absentee votes compared to Mercer’s 294 absentee votes. The second round of results featuring six city precincts had Mills with 1,268 votes and Mercer with 818 votes. The final results had Mills securing his victory by 639 votes with 1,711 votes to Mercer’s 1,072 votes.
“I’m very appreciative of the support I have had over the last 12 years,” said Mercer. “The voters here are ready for a change and I am very satisfied with what I have done for the city during my time as mayor.”
Mills said he hopes to bring his education and knowledge to the city of Coshocton.
“I have the ability and knowledge to get the job done as far as education and experience,” said Mills. “I felt I needed to put it to work for the city of Coshocton.”
Mills said that he wishes to thank the voters of Coshocton for their support.
“At the end of the day, that’s all that matters,” said Mills. “The people’s vote matters, and I want to bring back the faith that people have in politics and do what is right.”
City council will be seeing a new face as well. Michelle Turner-Ganz (D) was elected to council with 1,647 votes. Retaining their seats in council are Roger Moore and Glenn Mishler.
“I am very pleased with the results,” said Mishler. “I’m looking forward to continue to serve the community.”
Bob Fetters made an attempt to regain a first ward council seat he lost to Mike Gross. The voters, however, chose to stay with Gross who won with 236 votes compared to Fetters’ 213 votes.
Also set to still join council is Kayley Andrews who will represent the fourth ward. She defeated Brad Fuller in the fourth ward – Republican primary election held in May and ran unopposed in the Nov. 5 election.
All results are unofficial until declared by the Coshocton County Board of Elections.
Josie Sellers contributed information to this article.
Category: Government
