January 27, 2011
Mayoral race to feature Stinchcomb, McGregor By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna residents will see at least two familiar candidates in the nonpartisan mayoral race this year. Jim McGregor, who previously held the post for 18 years, will challenge incumbent Becky Stinchcomb. The deadline to file with the Franklin County Board of Elections is Feb. 2 for the May 3 primary. If only two candidates file, no primary is needed. If more than two file, a May primary will be held, and a runoff be-
tween the top two vote-getters will occur in November. Stinchcomb was appointed to serve the last two years of McGregor’s unexpired term when he re- Becky signed as mayor in Stinchcomb October 2001 so he could be appointed to the Ohio House of Representatives. McGregor served as state representative for the 20th House District, covering Gahanna, Bexley, New Albany, White-
hall and parts of Columbus, from 2001 to 2008. He’s the current executive director of the Ohio League of Conservation Voters, a nonprofit, bi-partisan organization working on energy and conservation issues. Stinchcomb was elected as the Ward 3 city council representative five times, serving almost 10 years before being appointed mayor. She will run for her third full term as the city’s mayor. McGregor’s wife, Nancy McGregor, currently serves as an at-large council member, but she will not run for re-election for her seat that expires Dec. 31.
If McGregor wins the mayoral race, he would begin service in January 2012. McGregor, who served as Gahanna mayor from 1983 through 2001, said his Jim administration had fo- McGregor cused on fiscal integrity, capital improvements and the “greening” of Gahanna. “We built our park system during that time,” he said. McGregor came to the city from a ca-
reer at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He said Ohio cities face a financially foreboding time, and cities should expect to lose state funding as the legislature grapples with an $8-billion deficit. “We must expect to lose the inheritance tax, which the state plans to eliminate in January of 2012,” he said. “We must expect the federal government to dramatically reduce their grants to cities as Congress works to avoid the financial miseries overtaking Europe.” See MAYORAL RACE, page A2
Mifflin Township
Police, fire levies to return to May ballot By DAN BENDER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Gahanna senior Sarah Lee gives her senior-project presentation to judges, describing her research of both graphic and web design for her online web-design portfolio Jan. 20.
Students showcase senior projects By MARLA K. KUHLMAN
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ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna Lincoln High School students presented senior projects to teachers, community and business leaders Jan. 20. Topics ranged from architecture to creating a web-design portfolio. Senior Sarah Lee researched graphic and web design and what it takes to be proficient in both. “I had to gain knowledge of coding languages that are used to create websites and also had to learn how to utilize design programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to aesthetically enhance my product, which is an online web design portfolio,” she told ThisWeek. “I hope to use my design portfolio in the future to become a freelance web designer.” Lee named her portfolio Dustral Design, which can be found at http://dustral.com. During her presentation, she said she first
It’s like being thrown into the deep end of the pool. As I read through design blogs, there’s so much more to the design process. It made me focus on what I needed to learn.
SARAH LEE Gahanna Lincoln senior
became interested in web design through neopets.com. “There were user-communities called guilds for people who had similar interests,” Lee said. “It was beautifully designed.” She researched the web to find samples of good design like the Apple web site to others that showed bad design.
Principal Dwight Carter, one of Lee’s judges, asked what skills she learned through the process. He also asked her to rate herself. “I feel like I learned patience,” she said. “And I learned to be a better problem-solver. The coding was difficult.” Lee said she would give herself a high B for her project. “I had trouble using some of the coding language,” she said. “CSS (the design and look) was the hardest for me. I did get everything turned in on time.” District technology director Joe Schiska, another of Lee’s judges, questioned the educational value of the senior project versus a traditional educational experience. “It’s like being thrown into the deep end of the pool,” Lee said. “As I read through design blogs, there’s so much more to the design process. It made me focus on what See SENIOR PROJECTS, page A7
Economic forecast breakfast
U.S. Treasury consultant to share insights By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The local community can learn Wednesday, Feb. 2, if there will be a shadow over business this year, during Gahanna’s 14th annual Groundhog Day economic forecast breakfast. The free event will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Creekside Conference and Event Center, 700 Creekside Plaza. Leah Evans, Gahanna economic development manager, said the breakfast celebrates Gahanna’s business community and provides an opportunity for net-
working with Gahanna businesses and elected officials. “Anyone interested in doing business is welcome to attend,” Evans said. “It’s our time to shine and celebrate our business community.” The Groundhog Day special event was first held at one of AEP’s newly constructed buildings in Gahanna with approximately 80 to 90 attending, Evans said. This year the city is expecting more than 300 people. Those attending should register by sending their name, business name, phone number and email address
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to groundhog@gahanna.gov. The keynote speaker, sponsored by Heartland Bank, will be Andrew B. Busch, global currency and public policy strategist for BMO Capital Markets’ Investment Banking Division in Chicago. Busch consults with the staffs from the U.S. Treasury, Congress, and the White House on economic and financial market issues. He also appears on CNBC’s The Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo and on CNBC’s the Kudlow Report. See BREAKFAST, page A6 Andrew Busch
Voters in Gahanna and unincorporated areas of Mifflin Township again will see levies to support the township fire and police departments. Mifflin Township trustees on Jan. 25 voted to place the levies on the May 3 ballot. The trustees voted for a 3.8mill levy to support the fire department and an 8.8-mill levy to support the police department — the same levies voters defeated in November. The deadline to place levies on the May ballot is Feb. 2. Voters in the city of Gahanna and the township will vote on the fire levy because the Mifflin Township Fire Department provides service to Gahanna and the township. Only township residents will vote on the police levy because the Mifflin Township Police Department serves the unincorporated areas of the township. The levies, if approved, would
generate $3.8-million for the fire department and about $389,000 for the police department, respectively, according to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office. The fire levy would cost about $116 more annually for every $100,000 of assessed property valuation, and the police levy would cost residents in the unincorporated areas of the township about $269 a year per $100,000. The trustees had been prepared Jan. 18 to approve resolutions to place the levies on the May ballot but postponed approval after Fire Chief Jim DeConnick raised concerns about the ballot language for the fire levy. Police Chief Michael Pocock also requested additional time to study the ballot language and his options after fiscal officer Nancy White pointed out that a separate five-year, 2-mill levy that funds the police department is up for renewal this year and will need to be placed on the November ballot. See MIFFLIN, page A7
Council meeting with candidates for vacant seat By MARLA K. KUHLMAN ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Gahanna City Council tentatively plans to make its appointment of a new member on Monday, Jan. 31. Council clerk Isobel Sherwood said interviews with some candidates were scheduled this week. Fourteen Gahanna residents applied for the open seat including Bryan Cerqua, 198 Rugby Lane; Ray Kautz, 199 Regents Road; Brendin King, 413 Clemson Street; Ryan Jolley, 187 Regents Road; Rich Oliver, 964 Bryn Mawr Drive; Duane Phillips, 657 Sycamore Mill Drive; Andre Porter, 657 Dark Star Ave.; Justin Sanford, 1748 Harrison Pond Drive; Ken Shepherd, 856 Humboldt Drive West; Thomas Wester, 888 Ludwig Drive; Robert Westwood, 678 Arbors Circle; Pamela Whitelock, 1136 Sleeping Meadow Drive; Barb Wilhelm, 409 Worman Drive and Brandon Wright, 105 Rocky Creek Drive. The candidates being interviewed include Cerqua, Phillips,
Candidates Bryan Cerqua, Ray Kautz, Brendin King, Ryan Jolley, Rich Oliver, Duane Phillips, Andre Porter, Justin Sanford, Ken Shepherd, Thomas Wester, Robert Westwood, Pamela Whitelock, Barb Wilhelm and Brandon Wright.
Porter, Shepherd and Wester. Cerqua is a senior finance professional, having worked the past 12 years for PNC Financial Services (formerly National City Bank) in various capacities. He has been assistant vice president/business systems analyst the past five years. Cerqua served as a member of the city’s citizens financial advisory committee in 2010. Porter has been an attorney with Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co, LPA the past five years. The firm specializes in energy, broadband See COUNCIL SEAT, page A6
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