In Madison Twp., where four candidates were vying for two trustee spots, C. David Sprague was ousted after 40 straight years of service to the township of 2,543 people.
“Those things happen,” Sprague said Tuesday night. “I did like I always do in terms of signage. It didn’t work out.”
One trustee incumbent, Tom Florence, was, however, returned to office in Madison Twp.
Russ White was also voted in as Madison Twp. trustee.
Sprague saw one positive in his loss.
“It’ll be kind of nice not to be woken up in the middle of the night to be told a snowplow is stuck in a ditch,” he said.
In Green Twp., home to 2,798 people, incumbent Tom Waddle received the least number of votes among the three candidates, ending his 28-year run as a trustee.
David M. Farrell, former chairman of Clark County’s Democratic Party, and Brian A. Clem won office in Green Twp.
“Anytime there’s three people running and only two seats, there’s always a chance you’re going to get beat,” Waddle said.
“It’s one of those things,” he said, adding that he was disappointed in this results.
Overall, voter turnout across Clark County was even lower than anticipated, with just 32 percent of registered voters casting ballots.
Clark County Board of Elections Director Matthew Tlachac said voter turnout could have been lower if not for increased turnouts for school issues.
“There were heavier areas of the county that made it higher than it would have been had they had a normal turnout like the rest of the county,” Tlachac said.
Township renewal levies looked to be passing across the board.
Nancy Brown was among the many incumbents returned to office Tuesday. She was elected to a fourth four-year term as trustee in Bethel Twp., the county’s most heavily populated township.
“They know me, and they know I go in and work hard,” Brown said. “They know I have their best interests at heart.”
Don Minton will join Brown as a trustee in Bethel Twp., home to 18,523 people. Four candidates were in the running for two seats.
Ethan Reynolds, the 22-year-old New Carlisle city councilman, was among those trying to unseat Brown as a township trustee.
The other three candidates ran as outsiders, effectively splitting the votes, according to Reynolds.
“We ran a good campaign,” he added. “We did a lot of door knocking.”
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