Less than a month left for local mayor candidates to file petitions
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (January 6, 2023) – There is less than a month left for party candidates to file their paperwork to run for mayor or council in Dover, New Philadelphia, and Uhrichsville.
The deadline is Feb. 1 to file candidate petitions for partisan races on the May 2 primary ballot.
Tuscarawas County Board of Elections Director Gail Garbrandt says they have candidate packages at the Board of Elections office for those interested in running for office.
Earlier in the week, Garbrandt said no mayoral candidates had filed yet, but some have pulled petitions as they consider running.
Potential mayoral candidates
For Dover mayor, Interim Mayor and Republican Shane Gunnoe has pulled petitions and says he’s going to run.
“I’m currently out talking with voters about the future of our community. I think I have qualifications and unique experiences that would lend me to be a strong mayor for the city of Dover. We’re going through the petition signature gathering process right now, but it is my goal to be a candidate for the Republican nomination for mayor.”
Democrat Colby Byrom has also pulled petitions for Dover mayor. He did not immediately return a phone message.
It appears Dover is on a path to elect someone other than Richard Homrighausen for mayor for the first time in more than 30 years. Homrighausen faces a permanent ban from public office when he’s sentenced for theft in office Jan. 17. His lawyers are still fighting a jury conviction.
In Uhrichsville, Democrats Mayor Mark Haney and Councilman James Zucal have pulled petitions to run for mayor, as has Republican Suzanne Bower.
Garbrandt said the elections office did not have records of anyone pulling petitions for New Philadelphia mayor.
It is possible other candidates pulled petitions online from the Secretary of State. The Board of Elections wouldn’t know about that until the deadline.