A 2025 Candidate Forum presented by The Muskingum County Library System, Muskingum County Social Justice Coalition, and the Zanesville Business and Professional Women was held at the Zane State College Campus Center on Saturday, September 27. This public event allowed citizens to hear from representatives from two agencies who spoke about county-wide issues that will be on the November 4th ballot, in addition to Zanesville City Council candidates.
Mayor Don Mason provided a “Shaping Zanesville’s Future” presentation to kick off the non-partisan event. He outlined the progress that has been made in the City of Zanesville over the past few years, as well as some plans that are currently in progress and some that are on the horizon.
“Some of our greatest successes in our town have come from the city working with the county, working with the land bank, working with the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, our philanthropic partners, the Strakers, the Rogges, and many others. So, it’s everybody working together to make sure that our community moves forward,” Mayor Mason stated.
Mayor Mason shared about increasing housing opportunities and development projects, investing in city parks, and grants that will help to advance local initiatives. One of the projects mentioned was the Gateway to Appalachia.
“The Muskingum County Convention Facilities Authority, or CFA, we’re working with them on restaurant space, walking trail, and other improvements in the area. My vision is, or goal is, is that when we get all these improvements done, in about $30 million worth of investment. My vision is to have a commonality of lighting so that when somebody’s driving from Columbus … they’re going to see the spectacular showcase that we’re going to call, again, the Gateway to Appalachia.”
County-wide levies were explained during the second part of the event. Russell Edgington of the Muskingum County Park District was the first to address the room.
“We will have our 0.2 mill levy renewal on the ballot this November,” Edgington said. “That’s going to cost the average homeowner about $15 for the entire year. And the levy itself brings in right around $450,000, which isn’t a tremendous amount of money. That money is used basically to cover our operational costs. But what people don’t realize when they’re, you know, in the ballot box voting for levy, that levies are very important because we are able to leverage the dollars that we get through the levy in the form of getting grants.”
“We’re hoping to be successful for the renewal, and I wanted to also share with you some of the things that we’re going to be working on during the next levy cycle,” Edgington explained. “Don mentioned that Canal Park Trail, and we did receive $1.2 million of Appalachian Community Grant funds for the trail. That construction will begin in the spring of next year, and then it will be wrapped up by probably October of next year. We will obviously start working on Straker Landing. It’s a phase development with four different phases. And one of the unique things about the Canal Park Trail is our proposed pedestrian bridge that will connect Straker Landing to Riverside Park. That in itself is a solid community need because people think it’s too hard to get to Riverside Park.”
Edgington continued with, “We were just awarded $130,000 from ODOT to do a feasibility study for a recreational trail that will go from Straker Landing to the Y Bridge. And what that does for the community is it will create a loop trail once the bridge is finished at Straker Landing. You’ll be able to go from Riverside Park to Straker Landing to the Y Bridge and then be able to basically get back to the starting point of Zanes Landing and the Zanes Landing Trail.
“Some of the other projects that we’ll be working on is the Kearns Conservation Area, which was donated by the Kearns family at the corner of Kearns and North Point. Meadowsprings Farm, which we’ve owned for about 20 years off of 60 north of town. We’re partnering with Nature Conservancy to do some wetland enhancements and stream corridor cleanups. We also will be beginning work on Salt Creek Reserve. Most people don’t realize we own Bergen Field, so we have a couple hundred acres around Bergen Field. We will be doing developments including canoeing and boating access to Salt Creek, which will enable you to safely get into the Muskingum River. And then one of the other things is the preservation of the Glass Rock Rail Corridor that goes from the East Fultonham at 93 all the way to Buckeye Lake,” concluded Edgington.
Donna Cole the volunteer chairperson of the Muskingum County Children’s Services Avondale Youth Center levy.
“Children’s Services is mandated to protect children in Muskingum County. We are a 24-7 agency with somebody on call all the time. So the levy that is on the ballot this year supports the work to meet the mandates. This is not a new tax, but it’s a renewal of the existing levy that is set to expire in 2026. It’s a 10-year, 2-mil levy, which breaks down to be about $36 per year for $100,000 of valuation.”
“The entire community benefits when children are protected and families are strengthened. For the last several years, Children’s Services has seen a dramatic increase in cases involving child abuse, sexual abuse, and exposed newborn babies. Recently, they’ve even had several children who’ve ended up in the hospital because they have eaten marijuana edibles that their children have not, or their parents have not secured in the home. I guess it’s no surprise that Muskingum County has a drug problem, and the people that it impacts the most are the children that are in the home of those families.” explained Cole.
“Children’s Services has been serving about 3,800 children in the county. That equates to one in five children,” continued Cole. “When they need out-of-home placements, we really turn to family and kin first, because we think that’s a much more stable environment and better environment for children to go to who have been abducted and abused. We currently are serving about 700 children and over 400 families in the kinship program. 90% of our children are kept in Muskingum County, which helps us to work to reunify them with their family and to improve parental skills.”
“If we’re unable to find a suitable family or kin home to take the children, then we must resort to foster care or residential care. Those types of placement costs have more than doubled since 2019. We’re very fortunate in this county to have Avondale Youth Center. It’s a nationally accredited facility that’s recognized for their success in working with teenagers and youth who are at risk. No child is ever removed from their home without the court or law enforcement directing their removal. This system ensures that all children are safe and protected,” Cole said.
“This levy provides almost 40% of the total budget of Children’s Services. It’s local people taking care of local children. It’s local people supporting staff who are the front lines of protecting children. And it’s local people ensuring that we protect tomorrow for all of our children. So I urge you to vote yes on the Children’s Services Avondale Youth Center levy,” stated Cole.
Lastly, four candidates running in the Zanesville City Council races spoke before answering a few questions.
“Looking ahead, I envision a city with revitalized neighborhoods, local businesses, more parks and green spaces,” said candidate for City Council – Sixth Ward, Andrew Ashby. “Supporting small businesses, attracting larger economic opportunities. I believe city council works best as a team. So, collaborating with one another, the city administration does a lot of that work. I hope to make those ideas a reality.”
Current member of City Council, Karla Frye (City Council – At-Large) said, “A couple of areas that I think are important, which you’ve heard a lot of this from Don, are expanding housing opportunities and upgrading or replacing aging infrastructure.”
“I have a lot of experience with technology from my career in project management. I think those are kind of items that give me a certain insight into how to make Zanesville a place that really can be – like Mayor Mason was talking about earlier, where we can be a place for growth. Technology is not going anywhere … I think that’s one of my strongest points,” explained Brandon Heddleson, candidate for City Council – Fifth Ward.
I’m really embedded in the community. I grew up in Zanesville. I know the people. I know the locals. I know what we need, what needs are out there, what we need to improve on. I talk to everybody in my community. I walk the community. I practically know just about every resident in my ward. They see me, they call me. I come right out and I check them and help them solve their problems. That’s what I’m here for, to solve problems,” stated Todd Ware, a six-year City Council member running for his fourth term in office as City Council – Third Ward.
The complete list of candidates on the November ballot include: Dan Vincent (incumbent) running unopposed for President of City Council, Mark Baker (incumbent) running unopposed for City Council – First Ward, Jan Bradshaw (incumbent) running unopposed for City Council – Second Ward, Todd Ware (incumbent) running unopposed for City Council – Third Ward, John Taylor-Lehman (incumbent) running unopposed for City Council – Fourth Ward, Ralph Hennessey (incumbent) and Brandon Heddleson running for City Council – Fifth Ward, Mike King (incumbent) and Andrew Ashby running for City Council – Sixth Ward, Mark Ballmer (incumbent), Karla Frye (incumbent), Joey Pennybaker Osborn (incumbent), and Cody Pettit running for City Council – At-Large.