Voters have decided to keep incumbent Ralph Spidalieri and elect Republican Tim Lennon to the Geauga County Board of Commissioners by large margins, according to the final unofficial results of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
Spidalieri, first elected in 2012, beat out Democrat challenger and Middlefield Village councilman Ron Weich by a vote of 29,407 to 16,560, according to results.
Lennon, in his first run at elected office, won over Democrat Bonnie Cavanaugh by 29,931 to 16,131, according to unofficial results.
Tuesday evening at the victory party at Wicked Woods Golf Course in Newbury Township, Lennon, 44, said he knows he has a lot to learn about county government so he doesn’t have an agenda.
“I’m not going to reinvent the wheel,” he said, adding he has spent the last months since becoming the Republican candidate getting to know the department heads and other elected officials.
“I want to be of assistance in helping them reach their goals,” he said.
He credited his wife, Abbey, and the campaign team with the victory.
“We hit a home run. We put in some work. Geauga County is conservative, but we didn’t take it for granted,” he said. “I had a lot of support getting the word out.”
Spidalieri said he was grateful to the voters for giving him a second opportunity in office.
“I’ve been the senior commissioner on the board for more than two and a half years. I haven’t had a whole lot of role model to learn from,” he said Tuesday by phone.
Supporting the business community in Geauga County has been one of his goals, he said, adding he wants to continue to work to stimulate the economy.
“I’m looking forward to having Tim Lennon on the board as another part of the team,” Spidalieri said. “That’s a big thing. People like to see the team concept. Tim and I will work together.”
Spidalieri ran on his experience as commissioner and his success as owner of Great Lakes Outdoor Supply, which he said gives him a solid understanding of budget matters and a good idea of what the community wants.
During his first term as commissioner, Spidalieri said he supported the county’s efforts to stem the tide of heroin addiction and worked with the Geauga County Department of Community and Economic Development to create jobs in the county.
Neither Weich nor Cavanaugh returned requests for comments on the races.
