Athens County voters will head to the polls next Tuesday to elect local leaders across the county. Candidates include Lucas Mace and Nathan Simons for Glouster Mayor; Fred Holmes, Johnathan Flowers and Nancy Sonick for Nelsonville Mayor; Andrea Nicole Thompson-Hashman and Nicholas Smith for Nelsonville Auditor; Carl Fouts III, Gary Arnold, Ralph Kevin Coey and John Standley for three open positions on the Trimble Local School Board, according to the Ohio Board of Elections.
Mace, Thompson-Hashman, Holmes and Fouts III had conversations with The Post about their candidacies and visions for their communities.
Lucas Mace
Lucas Mace is a candidate for mayor of Glouster, where he has lived since 2013. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Army National Guard, Mace said his years as a Glouster police officer inspired him to seek office.
“As a police officer in Glouster for many years, and with all the politics going on in the world as they are, I decided I needed to run for something,” Mace said.
In 2014, Mace pleaded guilty to six second-degree misdemeanor charges of dereliction of duty for hiding a woman wanted on drug charges and was removed as Glouster’s police chief, according to The Columbus Dispatch. His records have since been expunged, and he currently serves on the Glouster Village Council.
Mace said the investigation stemmed from his interactions with a woman who was found to have an active arrest warrant, which he said he was unaware of at the time. He also denied having any sexual relations with the woman, saying they exchanged text messages and met for dinner once.
Mace said his decision to plead guilty was based largely on financial constraints, as he could not afford the legal costs of fighting the charges.
He also contended the Athens County prosecutor at the time had a personal conflict with him and should not have handled the case.
“I think most of the residents of Glouster knew that I was a good police officer for them, a good chief, the most honest one you’d ever find, and I think they pretty much knew that I was just a target of the prosecutor,” Mace said.
Mace said his priorities include enforcing existing laws rather than creating new ones.
“Council seems to want to make new laws whenever we can't even get the laws that we have enforced,” Mace said.
He also opposes implementing zoning regulations in Glouster, citing concerns about added costs for residents.
“Glouster is not a rich community, and I don't see why we need to be applying fees to people or different things, as far as you know, upgrading their homes or things like that,” Mace said. “I don't think zoning would benefit anybody in Glouster.”
Additionally, Mace seeks to reform the way municipal monies are spent, such as preventing officials from buying brand-new trucks on the village’s dime.
“Trucks are expensive,” Mace said. “Get the one that you have fixed and go with it for a while.”
Andrea Nicole Thompson-Hashman
Andrea Nicole Thompson-Hashman is one of two candidates for Nelsonville auditor. She previously served as Nelsonville Clerk of Council, where she worked to prepare ordinances and appropriations.
“I prepared appropriations, ordinances and worked closely with the city auditor and the city attorney,” Thompson-Hashman said.
She said her campaign focuses on restoring respect for voters’ decisions, referencing her support for Issue 23.
“I have fought for issue 23 and to uphold the will of the people,” Thompson-Hashman said.
Issue 23 was a ballot initiative to eliminate Nelsonville’s city charter. It was passed by popular vote but was later repealed by the city council.
As auditor, Thompson-Hashman said she would prioritize transparency and timely responses to public records requests.
“I want to make sure that public records requests are fulfilled in a timely manner and that we provide good customer service to our citizens and make sure the citizens are taken care of and that they know that we care about them,” Thompson-Hashman said.
Additionally, she plans on finding a way to lower residents’ water bills.
“I would really like to dig into the books and find out if there is some way that we can get the water bills lowered for the customers,” Thompson-Hashman said. “Pretty much everybody I have talked to has concerns about how high their water bill is.”
Fred Holmes
Write-in candidate Holmes is one of three candidates for mayor of Nelsonville. He has been involved in municipal government since 1987.
“I've written budgets, I've managed large organizations, and I'm pretty comfortable in this situation,” Holmes said.
Holmes said he aims to be a mayor for all, especially with the influx of young people into the city.
“When I run for mayor, I want to be available to everybody, and I want to represent all the people of Nelsonville, all ages and all age groups,” Holmes said.
Holmes said improving the city’s image and attracting new businesses will be among his top priorities.
“We've already started the work of trying to improve the image of the city,” Holmes said. “We've already updated a lot of the services here, and hope to be very positive in attracting new businesses.”
He also hopes to improve the city’s relationship with Athens County and other community institutions.
“We need to be an active participant in Athens County and the organization, the Athens County Economic Development, and we need to be a good neighbor to all of our neighboring communities, including Hocking College and also Hocking County,” Holmes said.
Carl Fouts III
Fouts III is one of the four candidates for the three open seats on the Trimble Local School Board of Education in Glouster.
“I’ve been in the community my whole life; the family has been here since the 1800s,” Fouts III said.
Fouts III said his experience running several local businesses gives him the skills to help the district manage its budget.
“I run several successful businesses in the county, and I think I can help with the financial and running the school board,” Fouts III said.
He plans to assess the district’s financial status with the state and develop a plan with the superintendent to address budget concerns.
“We’ve got to work together and see what we can do to correct these financial problems that we have and how we can get things going better for our school district,” Fouts III said.
Fouts III sees the continuing operation of the school district as critical to the community’s survival.
“Our school is all our community has left,” Fouts III said. “If we lose our school, Glouster would become a ghost town, and we can't let that happen.”
To find your polling place, visit https://www.boe.ohio.gov/athens/precinct-and-polling-location-info/.
To view a sample ballot, visit https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/toolkit/sample-ballot/.
