Bob Boley overwhelmingly elected Wellsville mayor

WELLSVILLE -- Upon arriving at their normal polling place, many Wellsville residents found that had changed Tuesday.

At the end of the night, when the votes were counted, it turned out to be prophetic when Bob Boley was named winner of the village's highly contested mayoral race, according to unofficial election results announced on the Columbiana County Board of Elections' website.

Boley, a former councilman and the race's Democratic candidate, overwhelmingly won 45.77 percent of the vote in the four-man race. Independent Bradley Elliott (31.85 percent) would come in second. He was followed by currently appointed mayor Randy Allmon (16.73 percent) and write-in candidate Jack Cataldo (5.65 percent).

By 9 p.m., Allmon already had reportedly called Boley to congratulate him on a great win. "I wished him all the best and do hope that he succeeds. I just want the best for this town, and I will support Bob in anyway that I can," adding that he expects the transition to occur in about three weeks when the county election board certifies the vote.

Many voters learned Tuesday when they arrived at village hall, where their normal voting precinct is, that it had moved to Wellsville High School. Both of the village's precincts had set up in the band area in the back of the school.

Allmon had assumed the mayor's office, after officeholder Nancy Murray died unexpectedly this summer. When he did that he had to resign his council seat and his candidacy seeking re-election to that seat. Therefore, when the results are certified, he won't serve either office.

Apparently Allmon's vision resonated, as he spoke of increasing the village's tax base through annexation and making tremendous movements in helping with Wellsville's curb appeal. He also had spoke of the village's well documented drug problem, speaking of creating a mayor's task force to effort change beyond interdiction by offering education and counseling options to addicts.

In other village-related races, council members Bill Taft and Maia Amato as well as Wellsville school board members John Morrow and Chris Amato were unopposed to keep their seats. Maia Amato had been appointed to fill Allmon's vacant seat, while Morrow and Chris Amato also were appointed to fill their seats midterm after their predecessors Thomas Brophey and Ed Bauer.

Taft also had initially been appointed to his council seat, taking over for John Cianni in January 2017. Cianni had filled Murray's council seat when she was elected mayor.

According to the Ohio Secretary of State's website, the village has 1850 voters.

Based on a summary results report, 496 of those voters, or 26.8 percent, actually turned out to vote for their next mayor.