District 2, Steven J. Seitz; District 1, David S. Green; District 5, Ronald P. Frisch
Conducting its first ever mail and online election, North Central Electric Cooperative members voted in record numbers and elected two incumbents and a challenger to its board of trustees.
The winners of the trustee races were announced at the cooperative’s 82nd annual meeting at the Seneca County Fairgrounds Tuesday, June 12. About 1,550 members and guests attended the Family Fun Day and Annual Meeting, including about 700 registered members.
In District 1, David S. Green of Cranberry Township near New Washington defeated incumbent Randall D. Armstrong of Holmes Township in Crawford County. Green, 30, is an account officer of Ag Credit. District 1 includes the cooperative’s service territory in Crawford and Richland County.
In District 5, incumbent Ronald P. Frisch of Eden Township in Seneca County defeated Jeffrey C. Fox of Clinton Township. Frisch, 62, begins his 12th year on the board. He is a crop and beef cattle farmer. District 5 includes Clinton, Eden, and Pleasant townships in Seneca County.
In District 2, Steven J. Seitz of Tymochtee Township in Wyandot County ran unopposed. The Wyandot County Commissioner has been a member of the NCE board member since 2014. District 1 includes the cooperative’s service area in Wyandot County.
North Central members cast 1,116 ballots, the highest vote total in the cooperative’s 82-year history. That represented about 13.8 percent of the cooperative membership. Ballots were mailed to all members May 8 and voting closed Friday, June 8. Board members previously were elected at the annual meeting. When members voted at the annual meeting, only about 3 percent of the cooperative’s membership cast ballots.
In 2012, the Code of Regulations was changed by the membership to allow for online and mail ballots. This was the first time since 2012 that the cooperative had contested elections. Since none of the annual races were contested from 2013-17, the candidates were deemed elected at the annual meeting.