By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green voters chose to return two long-time City Council members, and give one newcomer a try.
City Council, which was already heavy with Democrats, will now shift further that way, with only one Republican member remaining.
Only two of the council seats were challenged by newcomers this year – the at-large race and the Fourth Ward race. The other ward seat candidates ran unopposed.
Following is the unofficial list of winning candidates, according to preliminary results from the Wood County Board of Elections:
At-large (top two elected):
- Katelyn Elliott (D): 2,724 (34.5%)
- Mark Hollenbaugh (D): 2,994 (38%)
- Greg Robinette (R): 2,172 (27.5%)
Fourth Ward (top one elected):
- Audrey Baker (D): 951 (39%)
- Bill Herald (R): 1,510 (61%)
First Ward:
- Jordan Musgrave (D): 173 (100%)
Second Ward:
- Joel O’Dorisio (D): 551 (100%)
Third Ward:
- Kathleen Dennis (D): 1,103 (100%)
The other at-large member of council, Jeff Dennis, was not up for re-election this year.
Mark Hollenbaugh has served on BG City Council for nine years, the last five as president.
“I’m humbled and grateful that the citizens of Bowling Green returned me to my seat,” he said Tuesday evening. “I take that as a vote of confidence that I provided steady, qualified leadership.”
Hollenbaugh noted positive steps taken by City Council the last couple years – such as multiple multi-use paths being constructed and large infrastructure improvements.
“Ten years ago that would not have been happening,” he said. “Hopefully this means people are happy with those changes we’ve made.”
In her race for the second at-large seat Elliott said she hit the pavement.
“I just did my best to get out there and talk to as many people as I could,” she said.
As a mother of two young children, Elliott said she offers a perspective needed with Rachel Phipps stepping away from City Council.
“That’s the type of voice people want to hear from,” Elliott said.
Though Elliott has not held an elected position, she is no stranger to Bowling Green City Council – for years she has been a regular at council meetings, keeping an eye on city business. Now she will just move from the audience area to council seating.
“I’m really grateful to the voters of Bowling Green,” she said.
Herald credited his victory to hard work. He met his goal of knocking on 2,000 doors during this election season.
“People like to see their representative concerned about them,” he said after the final results were in for his race.
Herald holds quarterly meetings for constituents, and sends out periodic newsletters.
“They know I work hard,” he said.
When interviewed prior to the election, Hollenbaugh said the top issue for the city right now is housing.
“We definitely want quality, affordable housing for everyone who wants to live in Bowling Green,” he said. “Of course that’s easy to say.”
Efforts are being made to bring “affordable” housing to the community, but city government has limited tools to provide incentives, Hollenbaugh said. Ideally, developers would create multi-use spaces, pairing residences with commerce.
“I would love for someone to come in with a proposal to build one of those,” he said.
Hollenbaugh supports the next step City Council is taking to ensure safe rental housing.
Through the rental registration program, city officials finally know how many rental housing units (7,285) there are in Bowling Green – with rentals making up 60% of the city’s housing. Before, there were apartments in basements and attics, and “no one even knew they were there – even the fire department,” Hollenbaugh said.
Now the city is moving a step further, by setting a priority for next year of performing some independent random audits of the self-inspections submitted by local landlords.
“It makes sense to me as the logical next step,” he said. “Let’s take a sample and see if what we’re observing is what’s being reported to us.”
A new priority for Hollenbaugh is being aware of the impact the Meta data center, being constructed north of Bowling Green, is having on city utilities.
“That’s something that’s on my radar now that wasn’t last year,” he said.
Hollenbaugh stressed the need to work as a team on City Council – on a wide range of issues like streets, sidewalks, housing, transportation and more.
“We’re seven people. If we’re all pulling in different directions, nothing gets done,” he said.
Prior to the election, Elliott said her priorities would include enhancing street safety. She is concerned about the lack of crosswalks in the community, and would like to see safety improvements for pedestrians, especially children.
“I’d like to see a safer environment” for those who walk to destinations such as school, she said.
Elliott said she is excited about the secured Safe Routes to School funding, which will help pay for pedestrian hybrid beacons and multi-use paths in the city.
She also supports the city’s new climate action and resiliency plan, and wants to make sure it does not just sit on a shelf.
“I’m really interested in green rain gardens, bioswales, using trees and plants as natural systems to absorb rain,” she said.
Safe and affordable housing is also top on her list of priorities.
“We have unique demographics in Bowling Green,” with the large populations of young adults and senior adults being interested in smaller housing. “We have to make sure we have housing for that whole spectrum.”
Elliott also talked about her commitment to being engaged with the community, making sure information is shared.
“I want to make sure the city knows what’s going on in the community and the community knows what’s going on in the city,” she said. “It’s important to have a way of getting out that information.”
Elliott was one of a group of citizens who pushed for draft legislation to be posted online prior to it being introduced at City Council meetings. It’s important that such information be available to all city residents, she said.
The top priorities for Herald, who has served 15 years on City Council, are quality safety forces, a healthy budget, top-notch utilities, and constituent service.
“The city and council has to be responsible to the citizens,” he said.
Herald is a big believer that the city needs to shift more money to street and sidewalk repairs.
“It’s continually, for me, going to be a priority,” he said. “We need more money.”
While knocking on doors this year, Herald has noticed the disrepair of the walkways.
“We have some areas where the sidewalks are in really bad shape.”
And now the city has a database that shows the condition of all the sidewalks in town.
“It’s for systematically ranking the quality of sidewalks,” and should be used as a mechanism to determine which need repairs first.
While Herald supports the city’s climate action and sustainability plan, he sees a need for cautious progress. “We need to be strategic and smart in how we approach them.”
He would like to see the city be more supportive of renewable energy in residential areas. “It benefits the whole community,” he said.
Herald is also a proponent of neighborhood revitalization, and suggested City Council look for “gaps and loopholes” in the zoning update.
“We need to revisit the new zoning code we put in place.”
He is concerned about the need for reasonably priced new homes, and suggested the city should look for ideas beyond the stereotypical single-family homes.
“How is it we can diversify, redefine homes,” Herald said.
