Ashville – Two candidates who ran off strong platforms for accountability and a reality check in Ashville received the highest votes of support.
Mayor-Elect Steve Welsh won in a landslide victory over current Mayor Nelson Embrey. Welsh said that it was accountability and people wanting results that set him apart.
“I believe the people are tired of the status quo,” said Welsh, “people are just frustrated the infrastructure is horrible, the roads need rebuilt or just fixed so they are drivable, and our wastewater plant has not been working adequately. Council spent a lot of money to fix these issues at the plant 5 years ago costing the consumers around 12 million dollars.”
Welsh who is a councilperson since 2022, and has worked as a water superintendent in Ashville in the past, said that he had experience in pointing out the problems and released a list of issues he saw when he toured the plant last year.
“The mayor is the chief administrator for the village and needs to ensure all departments in the village are running smoothly. It’s the council’s job to maintain the budget, pass ordinances and resolutions, and oversee all the property of the village. It’s the administration’s responsibility to get the job done.”
Councilman Henson who was appointed to Council said that he also ran for election on the same platform and had similar results. Henson was the top vote-getter for two seats with 903 votes second place Roger Clark 636.
“I was thrilled with the resounding victory and leading the council ticket. My campaign was all about the reality check Ashville needs to have with itself when it comes to critical infrastructure (water, wastewater treatment, and our roads) and the impending growth we will see. Ashville is a great community with incredible people. Our proximity to Columbus provides for coming change, but if we work hard we can make sure we keep it unique and quaint.”
Henson expanded saying that, “3,500 people are new to Ashville and are looking for a voice, we reached out to those people also.”
Both Welsh and Henson said that they would work for the community that elected them and would work to get the village into better shape but it would take time.
