FAIRBORN — Challengers Michelle Clements and Rob Hoffman lead the race for two Bath Township trustee spots against incumbents Steve Ross and Tom Pitstick according to the latest unofficial results Tuesday.
Clements currently has 1,408 votes and Hoffman has 1,371 according to the latest numbers available. Ross has 649 votes and Pitstick — who has faced criticism for his involvement in the controversial biodigester — has 511.
Adam Fritzsche and Mary Reaster Rodney McCubbins lead the Fairborn City Council race with 905 and 817 votes respectively. Rodney McCubbins is leading for the final spot with 811 votes. Jerry Guess (754) and Daniel Palmer (195) follow.
The Yellow Springs income tax levy and bond issue was failing 289-235, with mostly absentee ballots counted.
For Yellow Springs School Board, Judith Hempfling is leading with 300 votes. Dorothee Bouquet is second with 277 votes, followed by Luisa Bieri Rios with 266 votes for the final spot open. Amy Magnus has 260 votes and Pamela Nicodemus has 233 votes.
Clifton Village had four spots available on the council but only one candidate, Anthony Satariano, filed. There were two unexpired terms open and no candidates.
Issue 1, a .25 percent sales tax increase that was to raise money for construction of a new county jail, was failing 8,025-7,049.
The tax increase — which is not a property tax — is temporary and would be in effect for 16 years according to ballot language. Information on the sheriff’s website indicates the entire facility could be paid for in 10-12 years and up to 40 percent of the tax would be paid by non-Greene County residents according to estimates.
A similar issue — which included a 500-bed facility — failed in May 2020.
Currently, Sheriff Gene Fischer operates three facilities — the sheriff’s office, the jail, and the adult detention center. The office was originally built in 1929 as a Ford dealership, the jail was built in 1969, and the ADC on Greene Way Boulevard was built in 2000 with a 15-year lifespan in mind. Issue 1 passage would allow for all three to be under one roof.
They have “outlived their usefulness,” Fischer said last week.
“It’s time,” he said. “It’s just time.”
