Oxford (Ohio) Township Race Attracts Five Contenders

Note: This story was updated after its initial posting to add information from candidate Matthew Franke.

BY KELLY WAGNER
Miami University journalism student

The Township of Oxford will keep its current fiscal officer after Nov. 7, but may get new members for its Board of Trustees.

Shaunna Tafelski, the current fiscal officer, is the only candidate for that position. The Board of Trustees race attracted four candidates for two open seats: The incumbents are current board president Gary R. Salmon and Norma Pennock. The challengers are Matthew D. Franke and Peter McCarthy.

The fiscal officer oversees township revenue, payroll and bills, and records trustee meetings. Trustees oversee the general administration of Oxford, including maintaining cemeteries, roads and recreational facilities. All of the positions run four years and pay $11,884 a year.

Township Fiscal Officer

• Candidate: Shaunna Tafelski, assistant treasurer at the Talawanda School District, earned her bachelor of science degree at Purdue University and completed graduate courses at Miami University as well as University of Cincinnati. Tafelski resides in Oxford with her husband and two children.
• Issues: Tafelski said she wants to continue as township fiscal officer because she has "enjoyed working with the township trustees, police and road department this past year and would like to continue providing the best services possible for our community members." Tafelski said the most important issues facing the voters are the economy, healthcare, and safety and security of the nation.

Township Trustees

• Candidate: Gary R. Salmon, operations associate at Harvest Land Cooperative, is running to complete another term as trustee. He earned his bachelor of science in agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky. Salmon and his wife have two daughters -- one a middle school teacher at Talawanda Middle school, and the other an academic counselor at The Ohio State University.
• Issues: Salmon said he wants to continue as a trustee because he has "served the citizens of Oxford Township since July of 2004 and have appropriated funds for expenses in a fiscally responsive way." He added: "Oxford Township needs trustees like me to continue to remain financially strong into the future." He said he would find an alternate way of funding for repairing, resurfacing, and restripping roads and for other road projects to remain stable. He would also focus on more high speed internet service that is lacking in parts of Oxford Township.
• Candidate: Norma Pennock, retired operations manager at Southwest Regional Water District, received her bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering at the University of Washington. She resides in Oxford Township with her husband and has a daughter who is an attorney in New York.
• Issues: Pennock wants to keep her seat as Oxford Township Trustee because she believes her farm childhood, her 35-year-civil engineering career, the many personal relationships that she has built with local people and township, city and state offices and staff make her a good partner to my fellow trustees. "I managed both people and projects for many years, and that experience gives me very useful qualifications to partner with my fellow trustees as we determine how to best provide the services for which we are responsible, she said. Pennock said the biggest issues trustees are facing are maintenance of roads and safety services with a declining budget, annexation of township land to provide space, access to public water and improvement of internet services.

• Candidate: Matthew D. Franke is a retired Oxford police officer who studied at Miami University and University of Louisville. He and and wife, Dolores, have four grown children.
• Issues: If elected, Franke wants to be the voice for all township residents on issues that impact them. "I will advocate for a safe transportation environment for our children to walk, bicycle and learn to drive. I will champion the cause of joint planning to provide for a better community for us all. We can improve our quality of life by providing what are now considered basic services to all township residents; expanding options with electric aggregation, curbside recycling and internet service providers," said Franke. He listed issues as installing fire hydrants in the most practical areas for public safety; assessing new development for its impact on roads, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians; and working with the City of Oxford to develop more consistent zoning and subdivision standards.

• Candidate: Peter McCarthy, a retired carpenter, is a Miami grad who resides in Oxford with his wife and children.
• Issues: McCarthy said he is seeking a trustee position because he has been an active member of the Oxford community and believes he can "use his experiences to serve the broader township with critical zoning issues such as conservation development options that could become part of the Butler County Zoning Resolutions." McCarthy said the biggest issues are the coordination of fire and EMS services between Oxford Township and the City of Oxford, maintaining the 26.8 miles of roads and associated culverts, sight lines, and road signage. He is also focused on preservation of the rural nature of the township, particularly important in annexation discussions as the City of Oxford continues to grow.

Top photo: A covered bridge located in Oxford, Ohio, welcomes readers to the Oxford Township website. -- Photos contributed by Oxfordtwpohio.org