Kettering mayor wins final term

Patterson to focus on finishing some major city projects.

Kettering Mayor Don Patterson won a final term decisively in Tuesday’s election and plans to spend the next four years finishing some major city projects, such as redevelopment of the Wilmington Pike corridor and bringing new businesses to Miami Valley Research Park.

Patterson received 76.6 percent of the vote, according to final, unofficial results from the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Also Tuesday, Kettering council and school board incumbents were re-elected and each will have one new face in January. Kettering Schools property tax levy renewal easily passed.

In the mayor’s race, threetime candidate Michael Barnett came in second with 14.3 percent and political newcomer Nuponu Gorneleh had 9 percent.

“I’m honored and humbled that the residents have supported what we’ve been trying to accomplish in Kettering, and I look forward in the next four years to doing even bigger and better things for this great community,” Patterson said.

“Congratulations to my two opponents for stepping up and taking an interest in their community. And I look forward to encouraging more residents to take a leadership interest in their community.”

Three people ran for two at-large seats on the Kettering City Council. Jacqueline L. Fisher and Councilman Bill Lauter won. Fisher received the most votes, with 45.7 percent of the total and Lauter came in second with 39 percent in his bid for re-election. Griffin Derr had 15.2 percent and lost the race.

Lauter is a retired Kettering Schools educator. Fisher, a longtime community volunteer, works in program management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

“I am very thrilled to serve my community in a new way,” Fisher said.

Voters in the Kettering school district easily renewed a property tax levy.

The 4.89-mill renewal levy won 73 percent to 27 percent.

The levy doesn’t raise taxes but it does switch the property tax from being a 5-year levy to a continuing one.

Two incumbent school board members, Jim Ambrose and Julie Gilmore, were re-elected, and Edward Breen also won. Gilmore got 31.8 percent, Ambrose received 31.2 percent and Breen received 19.7 percent of the vote. Darren Cooper lost with 17.4 percent.