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MJ local mobileMiddletown voters send two young, new faces to City Council chambers
Middletown voters send two young, new faces to City Council chambers.
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MIDDLETOWN — The face of the Middletown City Council just got a lot younger.
Or, at least, two of the faces.
Andrew “A.J.” Smith, a 20-year-old Middletown High School graduate, easily captured the 2nd Ward seat, according to final, unofficial results from the Butler County Board of Elections.
Smith finished with 930 votes, or 71.81 percent, while John Soppanish, 67, a frequent critic of City Council and vice president of the 2nd Ward Community Council, collected 365 votes or 28.19 percent.
Joshua Laubach, 27, shocked incumbent Tony Marconi for the 3rd Ward seat.
“The people have spoken and they have spoken clearly,” Smith said during a celebration Tuesday, Nov. 3 in his campaign headquarters on Central Avenue. “All of the hard work paid off.”
Smith, who worked for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, said he spent six months convincing Middletown voters that his age was “an asset, not a detriment” and he was committed to his hometown.
He opened a campaign office — unheard of for a council candidate — filled it with 75 volunteer canvassers, solicited for his campaign on the Internet, and knocked on more doors than a Girl Scout hawking cookies.
“It’s all about grass-roots,” said Smith, who boasted he ran “the strongest campaign in the city.”
Smith, the youngest person ever elected to Middletown Council, said diversity — race, gender and age — is “a good thing.”
He added: “Seven same minds think alike, and that’s not a good thing.”
Consider that Smith is not old enough to drink alcohol — he refused a glass of celebratory champagne — but he’ll be voting on city liquor licenses.
Now, Smith is looking ahead. He wants to care for his 87-year-old grandmother, begin classes at Miami University Middletown and start his four-year Council term.
“I’m here for the long haul,” he said when asked about his aspirations. “I want to better the community, better myself.”
Then Smith walked through his crowded headquarters, threw away another can of Pepsi and changed the compact disc. He put on a CD of President Obama, a compilation of his campaign speeches.
“That’s the man,” he said.
After Tuesday night, some might be saying the same about Smith.
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But, we now have another person leading our city that doesn't have a clue about how to lead a city and it is at the expense of the people of Middletown.
So it comes down to who won, you or the people?
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