Jacob Bruns (Ward 1) Courtesy | Hillsdale College
A Hillsdale College Ph.D. student and a retired radio host won city council seats Tuesday.
Almost 3,700 ballots were cast in the city out of roughly 25,000 total votes in the county.
Grad student Jacob Bruns won a Ward 1 City Council seat with 53% of the vote and defeated incumbent Tony Vear on Tuesday.
“Winning is nice, but there is a lot to do,” Bruns said. “Eliminating waste in the budget and addressing the drug and crime issues in town will be the immediate priorities.”
Bruns grew up in Michigan but completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Dallas, according to his bio on the Hillsdale College website. He moved to Hillsdale after teaching for five years at a classical charter school in Arizona.
Bob Flynn, a former host of WCSR in Hillsdale, won Ward 3 with 66% of the vote, defeating Matthew Kniffin.
“I’ve never run for political office before, so I really didn’t know what to expect,” Flynn said. “Politics is a funny thing, and I’ve learned never to bet on anything — you just don’t know.”
Flynn began working at the radio station in high school — his father had worked at WCSR in the 1950s. His program had no set structure, and he covered topics from news to birthdays. He retired from radio in March 2024.
Flynn said he hopes to see the city improve streets and bring more retail businesses to Hillsdale.
“I want people to become proud that they are residents of the City of Hillsdale — bring back the pride to our town,” he said. “I look forward to representing those who elected me to help move Hillsdale forward in a way that will benefit all of us.”
Matt Bentley won his uncontested race in Ward 2, and Robert Socha won reelection in Ward 4 with 62% of the vote.
City of Hillsdale Mayor Adam Stockford congratulated the city council victors in a Facebook post Nov. 6.
“I am so confident the City of Hillsdale is in good hands moving into the future,” he said. “It’s exciting to me to see a new generation taking the helm, and I fully expect to see much more of it in the coming years. It’s what will define this city for the next generation.”
Republican Brent Leininger, 5th district county commissioner, won his reelection with 73% of the vote, defeating Democratic challenger Mary Lou Rolak.
“I’m really happy to see the voter turnout numbers,” Leininger said. “To see over 80%, especially in my district, and close to 80% countywide voter turnout was just phenomenal.”
Leininger said one of his priorities is facilitating the district court’s move from the Courthouse Annex to the old LifeWays building at 25 Care Drive.
“My focus is mitigating all of those changes and continuing to keep a balanced budget and the operation of essential county services,” he said.
Leininger also won election to the school board for Waldron Area Schools.
“I want to continue to enhance the educational opportunities for the students of the district,” he said.
Matthew Gordon and Christopher C. Sumnar won election to the Hillsdale Community Schools Board of Education, defeating Jordan Adams and Jeremy Adams.
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