FAIRBORN — Clinton Allen, Kevin Knepp and Tana Stanton tallied the most votes in the 2019 General Election Nov. 5 to serve a four-year term on Fairborn City Council commencing Jan. 1, 2020.
According to unofficial election results, Allen received 1,517 or more than 21 percent of votes, while Knepp earned 1,546 or more than 21 percent of votes and Stanton tallied 1,519 or more than 21 percent of votes.
Remaining candidates Terry Burkert (incumbent) and Rodney McCubbins received 1,458 or more than 20 percent of votes and 1,149 or more than 15 percent of votes, respectively.
Fairborn Mayor Paul Keller ran in an uncontested race and retained his seat. He tallied 2,069 or 100 percent of votes. Fairborn Municipal Court Judge Beth Cappelli also ran in an uncontested race and tallied 9,381 or 100 percent of votes.
The Greene County Board of Elections scheduled an emergency meeting Nov. 6 to amend the final unofficial results for the Nov. 5, 2019 General Election, according to a notice from Director Llyn McCoy.
Allen, a 21-year citizen of the City of Fairborn, shared during a Meet the Candidates event hosted Oct. 15 by the Greene County Tea Party that he would bring “collaboration, communication and leadership” to the table.
He said he has a sincere interest in “how the city moves” and is “ecstatic” about the city’s growth in recent years. However, he also feels that it is important that Fairborn “get in front of secondary affects of growth” such as the possibility of Fairborn running out of space for continued growth in the future.
Allen served for 28 years in the United States Air Force and is president of the Fairborn Lions Club. He is also involved with Operation Fairborn Cares, the city’s zoning board and the American Veteran Heritage Center.
Knepp, a 29-year citizen of Fairborn, said during the Meet the Candidates event that it’s important to bring more recreation to the City of Fairborn, highlighting its proximety to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. He shared it’s important to learn how city officials can attract more individuals from the museum to downtown Fairborn. Knepp said recreation and leisurely activities are an important element to add to the community because when business leaders examine potentional locations to bring their business, they observe how the area can benefit employees before settling there and attracting good companies means attracting quality jobs in Fairborn.
Knepp highlighted that he would like to see the Interstate-675 and Interstate-70 interchange become more developed and utilized. He added that it’s important that Fairborn also address local housing, homelessness and drug use. Knepp said he appreciates the city’s military-friendliness and its police department.
Knepp served in the United States Air Force for six years and is involved as a leader for the Boy Scouts of America. He served for five years on the Fairborn Parks and Recreation Board, as well as the chaplain of the American Legion Dignam-Whitmore Post 526.
Stanton said during the Meet the Candidates event that she became invovled with the City of Fairborn after taking an interest in the city’s energy efficiency. She works as an industrial engineer and decided to run for a seat on Fairborn City Council because she wishes to see green energy become more utilized. She said it would be more cost effective and appealing to young individuals while ultimetely resulting in less pollution.
During her campaign, she spoke with citizens about their wishes and concerns for Fairborn and learned that while streets worry, communication between the city and citizens was also a bother. Stanton shared during the event that she feels there is room for improvement concerning communication and vowed that she would seek new ways involving recent technological advances to stay connected with citizens to encourage more individuals to get involved with city discussion.
Stanton served the Faibrorn Parks and Recreation Board and completed the Fairborn Leadership Academy.
