Huffman
By Matt Clevenger
TIPP CITY — Voters in Tipp City will elect three members of the Tipp City Council during the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 7, choosing from a list of six candidates who are running for three available seats.
All three seats are full four-year terms, commencing on Jan. 1, 2024. Candidates include Leslie Budding, Kathryn Huffman, John Kessler, Michael McFarland, Will Roberts and Logan Rogers.
Candidate Kathryn Huffman currently serves as Tipp City Council President, and has served on city council since 2020. She also works as an attorney with Dysinger & Patry LLC.
“My years on council have allowed me to learn a lot about how the city operates,” Huffman said. “My goal has always been to keep Tipp City as a community where people want to live and work.”
Huffman and her husband have lived in Tipp City for 31 years.
“Since moving to Tipp City, I have always been involved in the community in different ways from serving on the Planning Board, coaching sports, and volunteering in schools and with St. John and St. Christopher parishes,” she said. “Tipp City is a wonderful place to live, and I am running for re-election to continue to serve our community and represent the interests of the citizens of Tipp City.”
Candidate Will Roberts is a lifelong resident of Tipp City, and a 1985 graduate of Tippecanoe High School. He served on the Tipp City Mum Festival Committee for 25 years, served two terms on the Tipp-Monroe Community Services Board of Directors, and as treasurer/board member with the Tippecanoe Athletic Boosters. He is also a member of Optimist International.
“I am anchored to Tipp City,” Roberts said. “I love the community and like to work with goal-oriented individuals who want to maintain the charm of our downtown, while striving to move us forward.”
“I have prepared and understand the importance of setting budgets, monitoring finances and being transparent with operations,” he said. “Most importantly I am accessible, I listen, and I communicate well with others.”
Roberts said his goals, if elected, would include increasing Fire and EMS staff, finding a replacement after the retirement of city manager Tim Eggleston and ending the food desert in Tipp City.
“For Tipp City residents to be forced to leave the community to find a quality source of food is unacceptable,” he said. “Our families and friends’ health and well-being should be of the utmost importance. I know we can work together to resolve this.”
“I am running for city council because I’ve lived here all my life,” Roberts said. “As a homeowner and parent, I want to keep Tipp City a great place to live and raise a family. I have experience in finance, business, and community service, which provides me with unique skills to be an effective leader and council member for Tipp City; I will work hard, and make sure your voice is heard.”
Leslie Budding is a retired high school teacher, and has lived in Tipp City for 20 years.
“I have never held public office before,” Budding said, “but I believe that if people are able they should take a turn and help to run their city, and I have the time now to do just that.”
“I just love the small town feel and community of Tipp City, and hope to help attract businesses to our city that would gel nicely with our values,” she said. “I’m pretty happy with the way the city is being run, but my greatest goal would be to make sure that our government is using our hard-earned money in a smart way.”
“I also would like the government to keep the concerns of its citizens as the number one priority,” she said.
Candidates John Kessler and Michael McFarland did not respond to requests to comment for this story.
Candidate Logan Rogers served on Tipp City Council from January 2018 to December of 2021, and served as President of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership in 2010. A lifelong resident of Tipp City, he is also a graduate of Tippecanoe High School and Ohio University.
Rogers currently works as a CI Associate at Westlake Royal Building Products in Franklin.
“I make the thirty-three mile commute because I like where I work, but I love where I live,” he said.
“Consensus and comity are vital to conducting council business,” Rogers said. “It is healthy for council members to bring different points of view to any decision, but it is even more important that a consensus is reached after all points of view have been considered.”
“As our community grows, our public safety needs are changing and council must guide city staff in managing these changes so that everyone in our community is kept safe by having the best possible first responders, without burdensome tax increases,” he said. “Managing the growth of the city is always a significant challenge. Council needs to carefully consider all possible advantages as well as drawbacks to any type of business that we invite to come to our community; increasing our tax base is important, but not more important than property values and quality of life for our citizens.”
Of the candidates included in this story, Miami Valley Today only received a head shot from Huffman.
