Grau Mayor of Chardon
Blackley, Meleski Retain Council Seats; Lelko a Write-in
Chris Grau will be the new mayor of Chardon — the first in the city to be elected directly by residents.
Chris Grau will be the new mayor of Chardon — the first in the city to be elected directly by residents since a 2018 ballot measure changed the city charter.
By a margin of 729 votes to 575 votes, Grau defeated Chardon City Council member Nancy McArthur Nov. 2, according to the final unofficial results of the Geauga County Board of Elections.
McArthur served as the city’s mayor from 2016 to 2017, prior to the role being shifted to an elected role.
“I want to thank the residents of Chardon for their votes,” Grau said Tuesday night. “I’ve been proud to serve on city council for six years now and I look forward to serving as the mayor of Chardon, starting in 2022, for four years.”
Grau also thanked his wife, Jane, and those who helped him on his campaign.
In 2018, Chardon voters approved the direct election of a mayor. Before that, city council appointed one of its members president of council, making that person also mayor.
The adoption of the elected mayor provision, initially intended to go into effect for the 2019 general election, was delayed until 2021 to allow council members to be elected in the correct proportions, timed to the expiration of current council terms.
McArthur’s seat on council is set to expire Dec. 31, 2021.
Since Grau’s term on council does not expire until Dec. 31, 2023, his current council seat will be vacated when he assumes office as mayor on Jan. 1, 2022. The new council will determine the process for appointing its seventh member in January, Grau said.
McArthur said she left a message congratulating Grau, wishing him success as the new mayor.
“The people voted and I’m glad they had the opportunity to select their mayor because I think that was really important for them,” McArthur said.
However, she lamented the low voter turnout not only in Chardon, but throughout the county.
“We’ve got, just in the city, 3,825 registered voters and 1,304 voted for mayor,” she said.
“It’s hard to say if that would have changed (the results), but you would just love to see a better turnout.”
Dan Meleski, with 770 votes, and Andrew Blackley, with 702, both retained their seats on council.
Dave Lelko, with 89 write-in votes, will join the pair on council in January. Jeff Smock did not run to retain his seat.
