2025_YSNElectionGuide

3 Y E L L OW S P R I NG S N EWS H H H 2025 E L E C T I ON GU I DE H H H OC T OB E R 3 , 2 0 2 5 MAYOR There are two candidates seeking the seat of mayor of Yellow Springs. The high- est vote-getter will serve a four-year term. The two candidates are listed in order they will appear on the ballot. The News asked them the following questions: 1. How do your connections to local organizations and background in Yellow Springs make you an ideal candidate for mayor? 2. What did previous mayors do well in their role? What will you continue doing and what will you do dif ferently? 3. Practically and philosophically, what kind of judicial approach will you bring to the bench as you preside over Mayor’s Court? 4. Looking to the future, how do you believe the village should grow or change, and what is the mayor’s role in shaping that future? MARK HEISE BACKGROUND: Since he and his family moved to Yellow Springs 18 years ago, Mark Heise has worn a number of hats — and not just the bright red Santa hat (and the rest of the get-up) he sports during the holiday season. Mark Heise served as chair of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce board for three years, and in that role, helped revive the semi-annual Street Fairs following their hiatus during the height of COVID. Other hats of the past include being the chair of the Yellow Springs TV station, a trustee for both Glen Helen and the Buck- eye Trail Association, a master’s student at Antioch McGregor (now holding a dual degree in community change and civic leadership), a sailor and a videographer. Nowadays, Heise can often be spotted in his wide-brimmed leather hats running his local marketing and merchandising business, YS Branding, with his daugh- ter, Morgan, out of a printing shop at 888 Dayton St. His designs can be spotted on shirts, signs and ceremonial ribbon- cuttings throughout the village. “My platform is very simply to be a touch point for the community,” Heise said. Question responses: 1. In my roles, I’ve represented Yellow Springs at events all over the state, and that’s what a mayor should be: a ceremonial representative for the village that reflects the community, and someone who can cooperate and collaborate with other com- munities — especially in the Dayon region. My degree from McGregor is really a degree in collaboration, which I think is especially important for today. We don’t col- laborate nearly enough, and when we do, it tends to be only among ourselves instead of with folks who run counter to our beliefs. 2 . Being an ambassador for Yellow Springs is something Mayor Pam took really, really seriously, and I want to con- tinue that. She attended events and pro- grams in and around Yellow Springs. The mayor is a reflection of the community, and they should lead by example. 3. I’m an extremely pragmatic person. I’m not ideological, so in Mayor’s Court, I will go by the letter of the law. That said, especially in Yellow Springs, we have to be compassionate in the way we look at things. So, in looking at the letter of the law, we also have to consider how it is applied to fit specific situations. I also want to make Mayor’s Court easier for people, and generally more accessible. Having a rigid schedule doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, so I’d want to open up hearing at night, or at least more convenient for the citizens who want to have their day in court. 4. The time I spent with the Chamber of Commerce and interacting with other com- munities’ chambers gives me a different perspective on the future of Yellow Springs. I think we’re at a tipping point. We really need to look at ourselves as a community and determine where we want to grow and how we want to grow. When you stop grow- ing, you begin dying. ... The only way for us to continue to grow economically and in population is to put ourselves out there and best represent ourselves — as a vil- lage that wants to grow — to organizations, companies and communities beyond Yellow Springs. So, as mayor, I feel I’d be a good ambassador for Yellow Springs — one who works to attract people who want to live here, to attract tourists, to attract more busi- ness and to help us fill our empty spaces. STEVE McQUEEN BACKGROUND: Hailing from New Jersey, Steve McQueen came to town in 2002 to attend Antioch, and as he put it, “never really left.” Since his college days, McQueen has been involved in a host of civic organizati- ons and elected bodies — many of which promote social justice and educational advancement. He’s heavily involved with The 365 Project, and in the summers can be seen walking around town and collaborating with student guides leading local Black history tours. Over the years, McQueen has also been involved with 91.3 WYSO’s “Community Voices” pro- gramming, coached little league and served on the Village’s Human Relations Commis- sion and Justice System Task Force. For nine years, he was a board member for local affordable housing nonprofit Home, Inc., and is presently pursuing a nonvoting emeritus member position with the organization. Following the examples set by his father, a preacher who would bring a young McQueen to visit hospitals and jails seeking spiritual guidance, McQueen also works with local nonprofit StoryChain, and goes into area correctional institutions to record the voices of the incarcerated for the benefit of their families on the outside. For several years, McQueen served as a board member for the Yellow Springs School District, and is currently a board member at the Greene County Career Center, as well as the Black caucus secretary for the Ohio School Boards Association. While serving on the local school board, he also represented that body with YS Development Corporation. As his record suggests, McQueen’s plat- form for his mayoral bid centers around community engagement and promoting civic involvement among his fellow villagers. Question responses: 1. �������������������������������������� Service to the community and voluntee- ring is important to me. That means doing even the littlest thing to help better the community. I love to talk with people, I love engaging with others. It’s like I’m almost addicted to people. 2 . I loved seeing Mayor Pam attending all the events she did. She gave out a ton of proclamations, read to kindergartners, married so many couples and did all things with the community and her love for it at the front. She really showed a dif ferent light of what the role of mayor can be, and she always had fun doing it. She reminds me of my upbringing — my father was always doing service work, and I want to take that a step further and do more. 3 . As I understand the history of our Mayor’s Court, it seems it was purposefully created as a sort of protection for villagers from surrounding communities that may have had some hostility for how people lived here, for Antioch students and what they believed. Even something as simple as inter- racial marriage put a target on our backs from surrounding communities. So, maintaining that history of protecting our own is impor- tant tome. When I say I believe in social justice, that means considering the individual over sta- tistics. Every story is different. In Mayor’s Court, I will take into account your work situation, your living situation, your finances and your mental state at the time of your incident. Basically, I want to provide every- one with the opportunity to tell their story, and the chance to prove that what happened was just a mistake. 4. I think change is inevitable. What are we going to do with that change? If the answer is do nothing and hope for the best, then people may come in and take advantage of that situation. The future of Yellow Springs is what we make it. I believe the mayoral role is to always inspire the community by being interac- tive, by being of service and by being a literal and figurative representative of the community. The mayor should inspire the village to come together, and represent the best of what we have to of fer. LOCAL ISSUES I SSUE 1 RENEWAL L EVY FOR GREENE COUNTY COMB INED HEALTH D I STR I CT: The pro- posed levy would renew a 0.8-mill, five-year proper ty tax for opera- tions of the county’s public health department, to collect $3.5 million annually. The estimated annual cost per $100,000 assessed proper ty valu- ation is $18. Should the renewal pass, collection will begin January 2027. Greene County Public Health provides a variety of health-related ser vices throughout the county, including maternal and child health services, control of communicable diseases, food and water protection, health education and HIV/AIDS diagnosis and education. I SSUE 2 N EW L E V Y F OR GR E E N E COUN T Y PUBL I C L I BRARY: The proposed tax levy would create an additional 1-mill, 10-year property tax for cur- rent Greene County Public Library expenses, to collect $6,326,969 annu- ally. The estimated annual cost per $100,000 of assessed property valua- tion is $35. Should the renewal pass, collection will begin January 2026. I SSUE 10 RENEWAL LEVY FOR THE VILLAGE OF YELLOW SPRINGS: The proposed tax levy for the Village of Yellow Springs would renew an 8.4-mill, five-year levy to col- lect $855,477 annually. The estimated annual cost per $100,000 of assessed property valu- ation is $168. Should the renewal pass, collection will begin in January 2027. According to the Village of Yellow Springs, the renewal levy would gen- erate funds to support the Village’s General Fund, which funds munici- pal services and provides transfers to areas such as streets, parks and capital improvements. I SSUE 16 RENEWAL L EVY FOR MI AMI TOWN- S H I P : The proposed levy would renew a 3.8-mill, five-year proper ty tax for the operation of Miami Township Fire-Rescue, to collect $595,282 annually. The estimated annual cost per $100,000 assessed proper ty valu- ation is $82. Should the renewal pass, collection will begin Januar y 2026. Levy funds will be used to pay MTFR firefighter salaries, for train- ing and professional development and for protective clothing and equipment.