2025 ELECTION ROUNDUP: Borreson elected Greenfield mayor; Greenfield council incumbents ousted; Hillsboro elects 4 new council members

Greenfield voters elected Christopher Borreson as their first mayor in over a decade, while councils in Hillsboro and Greenfield will see a mix of new and familiar faces, according to unofficial results from the Nov. 4, 2025 general election.

Borreson defeated a former councilman, Kevin Curren, and a current councilman, Cory Taylor, in the Greenfield mayoral race with 49.5% of the vote, unofficially. Curren was second with 38.7%, while Taylor collected 11.8%. Borreson is a former Greenfield village council member and was among the proponents of the reform movement in Greenfield for a return to the mayoral system.

As previously reported, in the November 2024 general election, voters opted to “abandon the City Manager Plan,” overturning the plan that was chosen by voters 17 years earlier. On May 8, 2007, Greenfield voters approved organizing the village under a new city manager form of government as provided in Ohio Revised Code 705.41-705.86. 

According to Highland County Board of Elections Director Michelle Swallen, “The new system will take effect following the next regular municipal election in November 2025. The office of mayor [will] appear on the ballot, with the highest vote-getter assuming office on the first day of January 2026. The elected Mayor shall appoint a director of public service, a director of public safety, treasurer and solicitor.”

As part of the new plan, the Greenfield council has also been reduced from five members to three. Unofficial results show a shakeup on council with the two incumbents on the ballot — Brenda Losey and Carlos Ooten — losing, unofficially.

According to unofficial results, local educator David Weaks had the highest vote total with 529 (28.5%), followed by former council member Amie Ernst with 381 votes (20.5%) and former village employee Margaret Mobley with 365 (19.6%). Losey received 326 votes, followed by Ooten with 258, unofficially.

Greenfield had a 32.31% voter turnout, far exceeding the county’s overall turnout of 18.26 percent.

The City of Hillsboro will see several changes on its city council, with half of the current council opting against running in this year’s election. 

The lone contested race on the ballot was for the three council at large seats, with four candidates on the ballot. Unofficial results show newcomers Cody Mathews,  Logan Kelly and Heith Brown being elected over challenger Tracy Aranyos, a former city council member.

Independent candidate Mathews received the highest unofficial total with 501 votes (28.42%). He is a teacher at Hillsboro High School, where he has served as an assistant football coach and as president of the Hillsboro Education Association’s executive committee. 

“It’s an incredible honor to be entrusted by the voters of Hillsboro to serve on City Council,” Mathews told The Highland County Press. “I ran on investing in the continued renovation of our uptown area, supporting small businesses, restoring recreation opportunities for families and youth, and upholding honesty and transparency in city government. I’m committed to following through on those pledges and look forward to working with my fellow council members and the city administration. 

“Thank you to everyone who supported my campaign and to the voters of Hillsboro for believing in me. I hope to make you proud and earn your continued trust.”

Kelly, a Republican, was close behind with 498 votes (28.25%). He is an Army National Guardsman, a full-time Pike Natural Gas employee and a part-time Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire employee. 

Brown, a Republican, was next with 403 vote (22.9%). Brown is a Marine veteran and former educator who currently serves as the Highland County Director of Workforce Development.

Aranyos unofficially received 361 votes (20.5%). The three new council at large members will replace Jason Brown, Kathryn Hapner and Greg Maurer.

Another new member to council, although not new to city government, was Republican Gary Lewis, who was elected to represent Ward 2. Lewis is no stranger to Hillsboro’s city government, having previously served as city auditor for just over 13 years. Since leaving that position in 2019, Lewis has been employed as the finance director of the Village of Greenfield. He replaces current council member Don Storer.

Current city council members who were reelected Tuesday, all running unopposed, were Hillsboro council president Tom Eichinger, a Republican; Ward 1 representative Adam Wilkin, a Republican; Ward 3 representative Daniel Baucher, a nonpartisan candidate; and Ward 4 representative Mary Stanforth, a Democrat. 

Hillsboro had 21.27% voter turnout overall.

In other local council races, there were fewer candidates than open seats. In Lynchburg (four open seats), current council members Christine Hamlin and David Minton were reelected. 

In Mowrystown (also four open seats), Rebecca Allen and Linda Zinser, both current council members, were elected. 

The Sinking Spring Village Council had four open seats, with current council members Donnie Bentley and Matthew Keaton elected, while current council member John Martinez was also elected to fill a separate unexpired term. 

For Leesburg (four open seats), former mayor and council member Shawn Priest was the only candidate elected.

No valid candidates filed for the Highland Village Council, which had four seats due for election.

Originally listed on the ballot for the city of Hillsboro was treasurer candidate Linda Conrad, who was appointed to the position by the Republican Central Committee’s city representatives in July. Conrad is the fifth treasurer to fill the current term, which began with her husband, Steve Conrad, originally being elected to the position in the November 2021 general election. According to Swallen, Conrad withdrew from the race after ballots had been printed.

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 26 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.