By Matt Clevenger

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TROY — Nine current members of the Troy City Council, and one new candidate, will appear on the ballot during the Tuesday, May 2, primary election.

All 10 council candidates are republicans, running unopposed in an election year with no local democratic candidates.

City Council President

Current councilman-at-large William G. Rozell is running for president of Troy City Council, for a full two-year term commencing Jan. 1, 2024.

At-Large City Council

Current at-large council members Todd D. Severt and Lynne B. Snee, and new candidate Susan M. Westfall, are also running unopposed for three available at-large council member seats, for full two-year terms commencing Jan. 1, 2024.

Councilman-at large Todd Severt has served a total of three terms as a council member, serving from 1995 to 1999 and again since 2017.

“I’ve been a practicing lawyer since 1992, in the firm Lopez, Severt and Pratt,” Severt said. “I’m a lifelong Trojan; I’ve been involved in a number of civic activities and service clubs.”

“I have two kids who graduated from Troy,” he said. “My wife serves as a magistrate in the juvenile court. I’m glad to serve, and glad to be part of the community.”

At-large council member Lynne Snee was first elected to Troy City Council in 2011, and has served four consecutive terms. She served on the Troy Planning Commission in 2020 and 2021, and was re-elected as an at-large council member for her current term in 2021.

A graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, she earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of West Florida. After graduate school, she worked in the city manager’s office for the city of Pensacola. Snee married her husband Chad in 1992.

“We moved to Troy in 1999, and have raised our three daughters, Katie, Charlotte and Maggie here,” Snee said. “They are all graduates of Troy High School, and have attended Miami University.”

“After working part-time teaching children’s music while my daughters were young, I began working in education full-time with Troy City Schools in 2011,” Snee said. “I currently teach fifth-grade math and science at Forest Elementary in Troy.”

Troy City Council

Current Troy City Council members Jeffrey Whidden, first ward; Kristie Marshall, second ward; Samuel Pierce, third ward; Bobby W. Phillips, fourth ward; William Twiss, fifth ward; and Jeffrey A. Schilling, sixth ward, are also running unopposed for re-election, seeking full two-year terms commencing Jan. 1, 2024.

Marshall currently represents Troy’s second ward, and is in the second year of her first term serving on council.

“My background is in education,” Marshall said. “I went to college in California majoring in early childhood education; I have worked for Troy City Schools as an aide for twenty years.”

Marshall and her husband have been married for 30 years and have two children.

“I have lived in Troy my entire life, except for college and when my husband was in the military,” she said. “When he was in the military we lived in Germany and Colorado. Since my husband grew up in Troy as well, after the military we knew Troy was where we wanted to live and raise our family.”

Schilling represents the city of Troy’s sixth ward, and is currently serving his second term on council.

A graduate of Miami University, Schilling worked as a financial advisor and planner before being elected to council.

“I’ve been a longtime Troy resident,” Schilling said. “I retired as a financial advisor four years ago; I’d been in the insurance and investment industry since 1978.”

“I’ve always been interested in the workings of government,” he said. “I’ve been a life-long republican; I voted in a mock election for Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, in kindergarten.”

Schilling and his wife Jenny have been married for 50 years, and have three children and two great-grandchildren.

“I really enjoy the job, and the ability to serve the people of Troy,” he said of his experience serving on council.

Phillips represents the fourth ward, and has served as a member of Troy City Council for 14 years. Originally from Texas, Phillips also lived in California before moving to Troy.

“My wife, Linda, and I moved to Troy in mid-2007,” Phillips said. “We had lived in California for some 40-plus years, and I retired from law enforcement after 30 years of service.”

Phillips and his wife also have two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

“Living here for the past 16 years, the community has embraced our family as one of their own,” he said.

“Being in public service is a rewarding and positive experience,” Phillips said of his time on city council. “I believe being a city leader is much like being a judge; you need to sit back, take in the information from staff, do your own research, listen to residents and then apply the totality of the information to the best interests of the city as a whole in the final decision to vote one way or the other.”

“Government is not the absolute answer to every issue that confronts us today, but rather is a resource/partner for the ingenuity of private and non-profit businesses in our region,” he said.

Council members Jeffrey Whidden, Samuel Pierce, William Rozell and William Twiss, and at-large council candidate Susan Westfall did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Troy City Council members currently receive an annual salary of $8,849; the City Council president currently receives an annual salary of $9,481, and access to all health care, dental and life insurance benefits available to other city employees.