ASHLAND – Former mayor and past city council member Duane Fishpaw hopes to return to his old seat representing Ashland’s first ward on the council.
Fishpaw recently took out petitions to join the race against current first ward representative and council president Steve Workman.
Both candidates, along with any others who file petitions by the Feb. 6 deadline, will appear on the May 7 primary ballot.
Fishpaw’s decision to run for his old council seat comes after a year of absence from city government.
“This last year, I just felt like I wasn’t in the place I should be,” Fishpaw said. “I still have a lot of give to the city. I like being involved with the city, and I just want to be there to help.”
Fishpaw gave up his council seat to serve as interim mayor from Glen Stewart’s retirement in January 2017 through the end of that year, after which Matt Miller’s term as mayor began.
Fishpaw said he expected he would be appointed to replace Miller as the council member at-large in January 2018. When the council appointed Dan Lawson instead, Fishpaw decided to run for his old seat.
As a past mayor, council member and assistant fire chief, Fishpaw said he has built relationships with the city’s division directors and the mayor as well as with city residents, particularly those in the first ward.
He also cited his experience as a strong qualification for the job.
“With one year as mayor and five years on council, I think I can bring experience, which is really important,” Fishpaw said. “If you add up the years of experience of the people on council right now, there’s not a lot of experience there.”
Workman has served about two years on council, and council members Al Farnam, Dennis Miller and Dan Lawson each have served approximately one year. Robert Valentine has been on council about 13 years.
During his 31 years with the Ashland Fire Department, Fishpaw was an officer for 20 years, including 17 years as assistant chief and a stint as acting chief between Mark Burgess and Rick Anderson.
Fishpaw also is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a member of the VFW and American Legion. He is board president of Ashland County Council on Aging and is a member of the Ashland Community Improvement Corporation board. He is also active at Grace Church, where he serves on two boards.
“I feel like I have a really good basis for what goes on in the town, I really want to get back into it, and I just hope that the people of Ward 1 will look at me and my background and experience and will vote for me to represent them,” Fishpaw said.
The race is non-partisan, so the top two candidates from the primary will move on to the general election November Nov. 5. New terms will begin in January 2020.
