Recordpub.com - Voters reject many longtime trustees at polls: More than 100 years of elected experience defeated

By Dave O’Brien

Record-Courier staff writer

Freedom Township Trustee J.J. Leet first was elected to office in 1977, and won re-election seven more times thereafter for a total of 32 years. That made him the longest-serving current elected official in Portage County.

But on Tuesday, Leet was one of a number of longtime township trustees in Portage County to be defeated for another term.

All told, more than 100 years of elected experience was rejected by county voters Tuesday.

Hiram Township voters replaced two incumbents, Terry Kulka and Jack Groselle.

Kulka served on the Hiram Township board for 24 years. He said he never posted signs, ran advertisements or stuffed anyone’s mailboxes with fliers, but instead ran “on my name and my integrity.”

Groselle, a former Portage County commissioner, was elected to the board of trustees in 2001. He was seeking a third term.

Larry Solak, a two-term Shalersville trustee and two-time Republican candidate for county commissioner, also was defeated in his bid for a third term.

He said Wednesday there is still a slim chance he might win, as his closest opponent, Nancy Vines, is only six votes ahead with provisional ballots still to be counted.

If he loses, Solak said service to the township was his proudest accomplishment. “I wanted to give something back to the township, which is what I did,” he said.

Robert Cherry, a Ravenna Township trustee for the past 16 years, received 983 votes but lost a three-way race for two seats on the board.

“The people have spoken, and that’s fine,” he said. “I respect that. I enjoyed the time I was in, and it’s time for someone new to step in.”

In southern Portage County, voters rejected additional terms for several longtime trustees, including Jim Conley in Atwater, Dave Armentrout in Rootstown and Gary Horning in Randolph.

Ron Mishler was a Suffield trustee for 14 years. Though he said he will be sorry to leave the post at the end of the year, “you just have to accept (the voters’) wisdom and move on,” he said.

“I’ll still be around. All the old trustees, everyone always calls them up for advice,” Mishler said.

Kulka said responding to late-night phone calls and answering the concerns, problems and questions of the people of the township was how he succeeded in holding the office for nearly a quarter of a century. He said his son was surprised to hear him whistling and humming Wednesday as he walked around the house.

“My son says ‘You lost, why are you so happy?’ And I said ‘After 24 years, I’m going to get mad? No. Why am I going to get mad?’ Two other people won, that’s part of our process,” Kulka said. “At times you go ‘Oh God, here we go again,’ but I’ve loved it, and it’s been fun.”

Record-Courier staff writer Diane Smith contributed to this story.