Cloverdale voters give upset

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Several school board candidates and one council candidate were up for re-election in Cloverdale Tuesday, and there was an upset.

School board member Don Albietz was defeated by challenger Tony Hacker by more than 300 votes.

Hacker received 980 votes, 564 of which came from Putnam County voters. Cloverdale Township consists of three precincts in Putnam and Owen counties.

In Putnam County, Hacker received 62 percent of the vote while Albietz tallied just 38 percent.

Albietz replaced former board member Barb Petro, who had stepped down from her position in April after suffering a stroke. She had served on the board since July 7, 1987.

Albietz was nominated to replace her after interviewing with the board in early May. He was nominated over Max Cassida, William Henson, Bill Terrell, Rebecca Mannan, Cathy Tipton, Charles Mowery and Hacker. In a May special meeting, Cloverdale School Board Vice President Pamelia "Cookie" Hepfer motioned to accept Albietz as the new board member with Jim Sharp giving the second. The board voted unanimously to select Albietz as Petro's replacement.

Albietz has lived in Cloverdale since 1976. He previously ran the Lieber State Park Recreation Area and had seven children go through the school system.

Hacker graduated from Cloverdale in 1981. He previously lived in the Cincinnati area before relocating to Cloverdale.

In addition, Hepfer tallied 682 votes as she won re-election. She ran unapposed in Jennings Township.

Sharp was also up for re-election, coming away with 716 votes to win re-election. He ran unapposed out of Taylor Township.

Sharp is currently the longest-tenured board member, having started serving on July 12, 1999.

Other board members include president Linda Mann, Todd Whitlock, David Brinkman and Bobbi Nees. Mann began her sixth year of service earlier this year while Nees has been on the board since July 9, 2001. Hepfer has been on the board since Feb. 9, 2004, while Whitlock and Brinkman both have less than one year of service on the board.

Cloverdale Town Council Vice President Dennis Padgett, Republican, also ran unapposed for re-election Tuesday, coming away with 413 votes out of Ward 3 to win re-election. He was nominated vice president of the council in January 2006.

Democrat Daryl Branneman also was elected Cloverdale Township Trustee Tuesday, receiving 742 votes. Branneman ran unapposed in Tuesday's election.

In addition, Republicans Elaine Pearson and Don Patton, along with Democrat Bruce Parker were elected to the Cloverdale Township Board. Patton received 24 percent of the vote (610 votes) while Pearson received 704 votes (28 percent). Parker received 623 total votes (25 percent).

Democrat Ronald Smith also ran for Cloverdale Township Board Tuesday but received only 24 percent of the vote (597 votes).

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