Mackin to face Olmstead in Perrysburg's general election for mayor

9/12/2017
BY NOLAN ROSENKRANS
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • CTY-PERRYSBURG17-6

    Mayoral candidate Tom Mackin speaks during a mayoral forum sponsored by the Perrysburg Chamber of Commerce at the Carranor Hunt and Polo Club in Perrysburg, Wednesday, August 16, 2017.

    The Blade/Andy Morrison
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  • Correction: This version clarifies that Mr. Mackin served on city council from 1998 through 2015.

    Former Perrysburg councilman Tom Mackin and incumbent Mayor Michael Olmstead will go head to head in November, with Mr. Mackin the top primary election vote-getter by far.

    Of the 2,260 people who voted Tuesday in the primary, 1,429, or about 63 percent, went for Mr. Mackin, the general counsel for the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority. Mr. Olmstead was second with 542 votes, or 24 percent of the total. Jonathan Orser, another challenger, received 285 votes, or 12.63 percent, and was eliminated from the race.

    Mr. Mackin served on city council from 1998 through 2015.

    "I'm very appreciative and thankful to the voters of Perrysburg. It's a humbling outcome,” Mr. Mackin said. “We have a lot of work to do before Nov. 7.”

    He said his team has done listening tours and gone door to door to get his message out, and they’ll continue that strategy going into the general election.

    Mr. Olmstead has touted the past four years of his administration as productive. His campaign signs boast about getting things done, which has formed the core message of his primary campaign.

    He said Tuesday night that he was “thrilled” to make it to the general, and feels confident overall, despite the high turnout for his opponent.

    “Hats off to Tom,” he said. “He got his voters out tonight.”

    Mr. Olmstead said he and his campaign will examine whether they need to change how they get their message out to turn out supporters in November.

    “The last four years have been about getting things done,” he said. “We've been doing a lot, and it's an exciting time for Perrysburg.”

    Mr. Orser, who owns a property management group that owns seven downtown Perrysburg parcels, has been an outspoken opponent of development along the riverfront, particularly the Riverside Park project that opened this summer.

    Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at nrosenkrans@theblade.com419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.