By Cheryl Splain and Marty Trese, KnoxPages.com Reporters
MOUNT VERNON — Five term Democratic mayor Richard Mavis was given another four years in office by the voters Tuesday. Republican challenger Matt Starr fell 160 votes shy of unseating Mavis. Of the 4,192 votes cast in the mayoral race, Starr garnered 48 percent (2,016) to Mavis’ 52 percent (2,176).
Upon learning of the win Mavis thanked his supporters who displayed signs and attended fundraisers. He also said, “A big thank you to everyone who got out and voted. I am looking forward to another four years. We have a lot of plans we want to get finished.”
Those plans include the Route 13 corridor, the Mount Vernon Avenue bridge, the bike trail connector and Yellow Jacket Drive extension.
A short distance away at Republican headquarters, the mood was a bit less festive, but positive.
“This was a strong contest by Matt,” Republican Party Chairman Chip McConville said to those who gathered at The Alcove to hear the results.
“Thank you so much for welcoming this businessman to the world of politics,” Starr told the group, adding that he will still be involved in the solutions in the community. Acknowledging Mavis’ unprecedented sixth term as mayor, Starr said, “Our community will be fine. It’s time to congratulate the mayor … We will all get behind him.”
Starr said that in addition to campaigning on the issues, it was important that his team ran a positive campaign. Noting that no one likes a negative campaign, Starr said his team was “always taking the high road and was first-class through everything. I am very proud of my team.”
In terms of the future, Starr said, “four years is not that far away.” Starr congratulated Mavis at Democratic headquarters.
The stress of the campaign was finally over as Matt Starr, center, and his wife Joanne, congratulated Mayor Mavis on his re-election at the Parkside Restaurant Tuesday night – KnoxPages.com photo by Marty Trese
In an election that saw an overall voter turnout of 41.61 percent, a number of other Republicans won their races unopposed:
•John Thatcher, municipal court judge
•Bruce Hawkins, city council president
Terry Scott, city auditor
•Rob Broeren, city law director
•Janis Seavolt, council-at-large
•John Francis, 2nd ward council
•Nancy Vail, 3rd ward council
“It’s because we have such strong candidates and strong party support that we have so little opposition,” said McConville.
Ohioans anxious to hear the voting results had to wait until 9:00 p.m. rather than soon after the polls closed at 7:30. Secretary of State Jon Husted embargoed election results until 9 p.m. because the group backing the marijuana legalization (Issue 3), Responsible Ohio, filed a lawsuit requesting longer voting hours after voters in Hamilton Couty encountered technical problems at the polls.
