REGIONAL CANDIDATES

Jailed sheriff trounced by challenger in bid for job

11/9/2016

For full local election results, visit http://bladeelectionresults.com/.

FREMONT — Bad news keeps coming for Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer, who spent election night in jail and was trounced in the polls by independent candidate Chris Hilton.

Mr. Hilton received 46 percent of the vote, trailed by fellow independent James Consolo, who had 38 percent. Sheriff Overmyer, who is suspended after he was indicted on multiple charges, including 43 felony counts, received 16 percent of the vote.

Mr. Hilton, 32, is a lieutenant in the Perkins Township Police Department. He credited his win to presenting something new to the voters. Mr. Consolo, 51, is a retired Sandusky County sheriff's detective.

“I truly believe that the people of Sandusky County wanted something different,” he said. “They wanted change.”

Sheriff Overmyer, 42, a Republican, is accused of stealing prescription drugs from drug-takeback boxes, and for taking county funds. He was sent to the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion last week after a judge revoked his bond.

Also in Sandusky County, incumbent Thomas Stierwalt, the Democratic prosecuting attorney, was defeated by challenger Timothy Braun, who received 59 percent of the vote to Mr. Stierwalt’s 41 percent.

In Fulton County, Republican incumbent Jon Rupp defeated Democratic challenger Jeffrey Mazurowski in the county commissioner race by a margin of 66.6 percent to 33.4 percent.

In Ottawa County, incumbent Republican Commissioner Mark Stahl handily defeated Democrat Chris Redfern, a former state representative and leader of Ohio Democratic Party.

Mr. Stahl, 54, received 63 percent of the vote to Mr. Redfern’s 37 percent. Mr. Stahl was first elected to the county commission in 2008 after he defeated Linda Hartlaub to replace retiring Commissioner Carl Koebel. He was defeated in 2012 by Jo Ellen Regal, but was reappointed in 2015.

Mr. Redfern, 52, previously served from 1994 through 1999 as county commissioner, before moving to state office as a representative. He served for about a decade as state party chairman but narrowly lost his House seat in 2014.

Democrats suffered other defeats in the county, with incumbent Commissioner Jo Ellen Regal, 60, being defeated by challenger Mark Coppeler, 62, a Republican, by a margin of 52 percent to 47 percent.

Longtime incumbent Mark Mulligan, 64, a Democrat, lost his county prosecutor seat to Republican James VanEerten, 34, who won 55 percent of the vote. Mr. VanEerten, a Republican, is the current administrator of the Ottawa County Common Pleas Court.

Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, a Republican, defeated challenger Ruth Babel-Smith, 65 percent to 35 percent. Republican Jane Spoerl defeated Democrat Jason Hartigan in the treasurer’s race, 61 percent to 39 percent.

And in the Wood County commissioner races, Republican incumbent Craig LaHote had 58 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Edward Kolanko’s 42 percent, while Democrat Joel Kuhlman, the incumbent, lost to Republican Ted Bowlus 53 percent to 47 percent.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.