ELECTION 2023: Six candidates vying for two seats on Middletown City Council

MIDDLETOWN — The five-person Middletown City Council is about to have at least two new faces.

Six candidates are running for two open seats, and the crowded field does not include Vice Mayor Monica Thomas and longtime council member Tal Moon, who decided not to run for re-election. Mayor Nicole Condrey also isn’t running and two candidates are seeking her seat.

Not all six candidates in the field will have their names on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Candidates Jennifer Burg-Carter, Clayton Castle, John Ferrando, Jeffrey Wellbaum, Steven West II and write-in candidate Kristi Asbury are seeking election. Being a write-in candidate, Asbury’s name will not be on the ballot. Instead, voters must write her name on their ballot.

None of the six candidates has any political experience. There is a chance when council takes office in January, the five members will have four years of total experience, with Zack Ferrell and Rodney Muterspaw each serving two years.

Kristi Asbury

Kristi Asbury doesn’t believe being a write-in candidate will hurt her chances of winning a council seat.

She has spent years volunteering with several organizations and people will “recognize” her face, she said.

“I love our city, I truly do,” said Asbury, an adjudicator for Bank of America.

Four years ago, she said, council inherited “a heck of a mess.” She has seen improvements throughout the city.

“I want to be a part of that,” she said. “I don’t want us to go backward.”

If elected, Asbury said she will work closely with her fellow council members and city staff to keep Middletown moving forward.

Credit: IMANI LEONARD

Jennifer Burg-Carter

Jennifer Burg-Carter said if elected she will represent those who live in the South End.

“I want to sit at that table and speak for those people,” she said when asked while she’s running for council. “I want to create change. We are better together.”

Residents in those neighborhoods have told Burg-Carter they want a public pool back at Douglass Park.

Burg-Carter said she decided to seek a council seat while serving as an ambassador with Middletown Connect, a group of concerned citizens. After riding a bus with others throughout certain tracts in the city, she learned “there are a lot of things that we need to work on together.”

While other candidates are pushing for additional police officers and firefighters, Burg-Carter said the city can be safer by improving the overall health of its residents.

She ran for council two years ago when she was beat by Ferrell and Muterspaw.

Clayton Castle

Clayton Castle said he has pondered entering the political arena for years.

Now, he said, is the “right time, right place.”

Castle said his father served as a police officer on the University of Cincinnati police force. He’s pushing for Middletown to add at least five officers.

“It’s vital to have top-notch safety,” he said. “We can do better.”

He also wants to see the city increase its economic development in the East End and downtown. When he drives along I-75 from Dayton to Cincinnati, he sees major developments at several exits. He said Middletown needs a similar project off the interstate to draw motorists.

“We can’t get them downtown if we can’t get them off the highway,” he said. “We are getting beat really bad.”

Middletown’s former city manager, Jim Palenick, proposed a $1.3 billion project called Hollywoodland. The project died before reaching council.

While Castle called Hollywoodland “a disaster of a plan,” it showed that Middletown needs to “dream big. Why can’t we have nice things?”

Credit: John Ferrando

John Ferrando

John Ferrando, a downtown business owner, has worked with numerous Middletown groups, including Middletown Holiday Whopla, Downtown Middletown Inc., and the Middletown Arts Center.

After living in the city 15 years, Ferrando said it was time for him to enter the political arena and “be the voice of the people.”

He has seen improvements in the city and it’s time to “take this momentum and keep it going,” he said. “There is pride here. The people really do care about the community, the future of this community.”

Ferrando said the crowded field of six candidates for two seats and two candidates running for mayor shows that Middletown residents “really want to be involved” in local politics where they can make a difference.

Jeffrey Wellbaum

Jeff Wellbaum believes he can do the “greatest good for the greatest number of people” as a member of Middletown City Council.

That’s why he decided to run for one of the two open seats.

If elected, he promised to push for an additional five to 10 police officers.

“We need neighborhoods that are safe,” he said during a recent candidate forum.

He also believes that Middletown needs to do a better job of promoting the positive things happening in the city.

“It has a lot of potential,” he said of Middletown. “We just need to change the perception.”

Steven West II

Steven West II said the “hot topics” facing the city drove him to run for Middletown City Council now instead of later in his life.

He wants to serve on council as the city develops “a big project,” a $200 million project in the East End that calls a 3,000-seat, multi-purpose Event Center, Class A retail and office, hotels, restaurants and a variety of residential product and continues revitalizing downtown.

“We have seen quite a bit of progress,” he said. “Now is the time to make some key investments that can chance the next generation in our city. We need to show that kids don’t have to leave to pursue their dreams.”

West, like other candidates, said the city needs to increase its public safety department by hiring additional police officers and firefighters. Too many times, he said, those in public safety are leaving the city for higher paying positions in neighboring communities.

MIDDLETOWN CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

NAME: Kristi Asbury

EDUCATION: Graduated from Ohio State University and Sinclair Community College,

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None

CAREER: Adjudicator for Bank of America

FAMILY: Wife: Joyce Romine

NAME: Jennifer Burg-Carter

EDUCATION: Attended Santa Rosa Junior College and Laney College

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None

CAREER: Community health worker at the Health Care Connections

FAMILY: Husband: William Carter

NAME: Clayton Castle