Sanford re-elected to sixth term
Voters in the Bellefontaine City School District selected three board of education candidates — one incumbent member and two new members — in Tuesday’s election who will begin terms on the board beginning Jan. 1.
Incumbent Brenda Sanford, along with Mark A. Fissel and Colin C. Yoder each were elected to the board in the contested race featuring four total candidates.
Twenty-year member Sanford received the most total votes, 1,214, and Fissel and Yoder followed with 1,189 votes and 1,146 votes, respectively, according to unofficial totals. Final candidate Mike Vetorino received 911 votes.
The new members will replace outgoing members, President Joan Haushalter and Tim O’Rielley, who have served 12 years and 16 years, respectively, on the board of education.
Tuesday evening, longtime friends Fissel and Yoder watched the election results together during a gathering of their families and friends at the Fissel residence and exchanged hugs and congratulations once the results were in. Both new members expressed excitement about their upcoming opportunity to serve the community.
“With so much experience leaving the board, there will be big shoes to fill, but I’m looking forward to this new position and to having the chance to be more involved in the school district where my children attend,” said Fissel, a former Bellefontaine City Council at-large member who also has worked in a part-time city of Bellefontaine treasurer role and also works in the private sector, starting an investment advisory firm in 2008.
“With this new team that we have coming on board, I feel like we’ll be able to make an impact,” said Yoder, who serves as a senior manager of media relations for OhioHealth in Columbus and also has children in the school district.
“Education is very much valued by my family and I’m honored to be able to continue that tradition. Both my dad and mom began their careers as teachers, with my mom spending many years as a teacher and administrator, and two of my brothers also working as teachers.
“While co-chairing the (Bellefontaine City Schools) levy campaign this past spring, I was so impressed with the teachers and staff and how passionate they are about their jobs. I’m excited to work with this district.”
Sanford, who works as a mental health therapist and the director of Light the Way Christian Counseling in Bellefontaine, along with serving as an associate pastor at First Christian Church in Bellefontaine, said this morning she is “thrilled and honored to have been re-elected” to the board.
“I would like to thank the voters for their confidence in me to continue to make BCS a school system that excels educationally while responsibly managing the community’s financial resources.
“I believe my unique asset to the board is my mental health background. I will continue to promote an emotionally safe learning environment for our students by providing training and resources to our teachers and administrators.”
Vetorino worked as a high school business teacher before his retirement in 2012, and he recently has served as a part-time news reporter for WPKO radio.
“I was fortunate to be around people who knew how to get my message out,” he said of the campaign.
“Congratulations to the winners. They will combine with the two remaining members to take the district in the right direction.”