COLUMBUS – A levy for senior citizens’ services in Franklin County was overwhelmingly approved in a primary election Tuesday.
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The levy renewal and increase was approved by 84 percent of the voters who went to the polls.
Those were a rare breed as the Franklin County Board of Elections reports that less than seven percent of registered voter cast ballots.
The Senior Options levy was the only countywide issue on the ballot, which might have contributed to the light turnout.
Voters in Columbus selected six candidates for City Council to advance to the November election: Incumbents Priscilla Tyson, Shannon Hardin and Mitchell Brown will face off against challengers Jasmine Ayres, Will Petrik and Kieran Cartharn.
An income tax increase in Reynoldsburg for a recreation center, among other expenses, was approved by 66 percent of voters.
There were mixed results for school issues in central Ohio with requests in Southwest Licking, Licking Heights, North Fork Local and Heath winning approval while those in Pickerington, Amanda-Clearcreek, Liberty Union-Thurston and Northridge went down to defeat.
Voters in 74 Ohio counties went to the polls, many choosing candidates for municipal offices.
The incumbent mayor of Cincinnati will face off against a city councilwoman in the November mayoral election.
Councilwoman Yvette Simpson was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s primary with 45 percent of the vote, followed by fellow Democrat and incumbent John Cranley with 34 percent. Former University of Cincinnati board chairman Rob Richardson was eliminated after securing only 20 percent of the vote. There were no Republicans in the nonpartisan race.
Also Tuesday, Jamael Tito Brown won the Democratic primary for mayor of Youngstown, beating incumbent John McNally. McNally had narrowly defeated Brown in the 2013 primary.