Buckeye Lake residents vote overwhelmingly to recall mayor
BUCKEYE LAKE – Voters in Buckeye Lake sent a clear message in Tuesday’s election: They want a new person leading the village.
Jeryne Peterson, elected mayor in a five-person race in 2021, was voted out of office Tuesday in a special recall election and immediately relieved of her duties.
Village Council President Linda Goodman, who now becomes mayor according to the village charter, said officials removed Peterson from office soon after the results came in because of fears of what she might do if they waited until Monday’s certification.
“It’s happening as we speak,” Goodman said just before 9 p.m. Tuesday. “Because of previous situations with the deleting of emails and retaliation, it was deemed this should happen tonight.”
The police chief met with Peterson after the vote to ensure she turned in her keys, phone and laptop, Goodman said.
Peterson garnered just 24% of the vote, less than the 30% she had in winning the 2021 election. The final, unofficial vote totals were 229 votes, or 76%, against Peterson remaining in office and 73 votes in favor, according to the Licking County Board of Elections. She received 133 votes in 2021.
Peterson did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Recall petition organizers collected 265 signatures from Buckeye Lake residents to place the issue before voters. Peterson challenged the timely filing of the petition and the verification of signatures, but the Ohio Supreme Court denied her request to cancel the election.
The vote will be certified in a 10 a.m. Monday meeting at the Licking County Board of Elections.
Goodman said she will serve as interim mayor until she takes the oath of office as the new mayor. The new council president will be John Lemmon, who had been council president pro tem.
The turnout of 18% was slightly lower than the 25% in 2021, but special elections traditionally have a lower turnout than general elections.
Effort to recall Buckeye Lake mayor came after months of conflicts
Peterson endured a chaotic year in 2023, with complaints and resignations from village employees, unanimous censure and no-confidence votes from village council, a fight with the village solicitor and a lawsuit alleging discrimination, filed by a local
hotel against the village, mayor and police officials.
Employees and council members have described a mayor who avoids communication, exhibits unprofessional and unpredictable behavior, makes rash decisions and is prone to take retaliatory actions against those who question her choices.
She even instructed employees to slide documents under her office door to avoid interacting with them.
Village resident Casey Clark, one of the recall organizers, said a different election outcome would have been disastrous for the village.
“The staff and council would have walked out,” Clark said. “I don't think anyone could have tolerated her anymore. “It's a good night in the village. What I love is we got more votes to recall her than she got to be elected mayor.”
The resounding margin of victory was what Clark expected, more or less. Many of the votes for Peterson were not because they agreed with her politically, but just because they didn't like using the recall option, Clark said.
“I always assumed we'd win,” Clark said. “I thought it would be a landslide unless other people thought that too and wouldn't vote because their vote didn't matter. We tried to keep pushing that you need to vote.”
Buckeye Lake village officials looking forward after months of drama
Goodman said she believes the village will begin to heal from the wounds created in the last two years.
“I feel good that we have this drama behind us and can move forward,” Goodman said. “I feel bad this happened to the village and the employees. We can move past the drama and get some work done.
“It's going to take some time. We've got to just do things right and move forward in a positive way.”
The mayoral recall is the second in Licking County in less than two years.
In August 2022, Johnstown voters recalled Mayor Chip Dutcher and City Council President Marvin Block, also in resounding fashion. The vote was 77% in favor of ousting Block and 72% to recall Dutcher. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958