OHIO — Residents in a handful of cities voted in new mayors and council members Tuesday night. Here's your Election Day wrap up:
Aftab Pureval is Cincinnati's new mayor and will take office in January. Pureval, who will be the city's 70th mayor and the first of Asian descent, won 65.8% of the vote against his opponent David Mann, who conceded Tuesday night, according to the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
Mann, 81, has served the city of Cincinnati as a council member for decades, a U.S. Congressman and twice previously as mayor.
Pureval has served as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts since being elected in 2016. He is the first Democrat elected to that office in more than 100 years. Mann said he hopes Pureval and the new city council are able to work as a team to make Cincinnati a better place to live, offering some advice as the newcomers enter city service.
There's also nine new council members, bring in almost a completely fresh slate to the city.
Incumbent Greg Landsman as well as city council members Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Liz Keating, who took over in the middle of the term, earned another two-years. But six of the nine members are first-time candidates: Reggie Harris, Meeka Owens, Victoria Parks, Scotty Johnson, Mark Jeffreys, Jeff Cramerding and Liz Keating. They will work to move City Hall back in the right direction after corruption took over the last year and a half.
The 15th Congressional District in central Ohio, which is heavily drawn to favor Republicans, went to the Republican running in the race.
With almost 60% of the vote, coal lobbyist Mike Carey took down Democratic State Rep. Allison Russo, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Carey, who got the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, is heading to Washington D.C. with one thing in mind.
"Listen. I will promise you this: You may not always like what you hear from me. But do you know what it's gonna be? It's gonna be the truth. And there's gonna be times when you disagree with what I'm saying, and that's fine. But we'll work this out. We cannot lose this country. We've got too many issues that are too important. And we need to have adults at the table," he said.
Carey, who fills the empty seat left behind after former Congressman Steve Stivers resigned in May, will have to start campaigning in six months or so if he wants to stay in Congress.
Issue 7 failed by a 6-1 margin, which would have put nearly 10% of Columbus’ annual budget toward clean energy initiatives.
With 100% of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, Justin Bibb will be Cleveland's next mayor. Bibb received 62.9% of the votes over his opponent, Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley.
Bibb, a 34-year-old nonprofit executive, will be the city's second-youngest mayor when he takes office after the new year. He will replace Mayor Frank Jackson, who has led the city for 16 years.
Both Bibb and Kelley earned key endorsements heading into the race. Bibb got the endorsement of former Mayor Michael White, while Kelley received Jackson’s endorsement.
Since he was running for mayor, Kelley will not be on Cleveland City Council for the first time in 16 years. Kris Harsh is set to replace Kelley in Ward 13.
Issue 24 passed with 59.4% of the votes, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which will create a Community Police Commission in conjunction with the Civilian Police Review Board to oversee police conduct investigations and discipline.
Voters also decided on 16 council members: Joe Jones, Kevin Bishop, Kerry McCormack, Deborah Gray, Richard Starr, Blaine Griffin, Stephanie Howse, Michael Polensek, Brian Mooney, Rebecca Maurer, Kris Harsh, Jasmin Santana, Jenny Spencer and Charles Slife.
In the 11th Congressional District, Democrat Shontel Brown defeated Republican Laverne Gore with 78.8% of the votes, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
For the first time in the city's history, Cleveland Heights has a mayor: Kahlil Seren.
Seren defeated Barbara Danforth with 60.4% of the votes, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Seren served on the Cleveland Heights City Council since 2015 and was selected as the vice mayor/council vice president, as well as the chair of the Administrative Services Committee back in 2020.
Prior to the city electing its first mayor, Cleveland Heights was run by a city manager.
After current Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley announced she would not seek another term, the city chose her successor: Two-term Dayton City Commissioner and Democrat Jeffrey Mims Jr.
He defeated his opponent, retired firefighter Rennes Bowers, with 66.9% of the votes, according to the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Mims is a former educator and said he's planning to put a focus on helping the people of Dayton with an emphasis on safety, education and recreation. Mims will be the city’s first new mayor since 2013.
The city commission will also have one new member: Shenise Turner-Sloss. Commissioner Darryl Fairchild was reelected for the other seat.
The current mayor of Toledo has been reelection to serve another term. Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz brought in 68.9% of the vote, according to the Lucas County Board of Elections, defeating his opponent, former mayor Carty Finkbeiner.
Voters also decided on who will fill the city council's six open seats: Katie Moline, Nick Komives, Michele Grim, Cerssandra McPherson, George Sarantou and Tiffany Preston Whitman.