One of two council incumbents running as official write-in candidates

By Andy Chappell-Dick

This November, Bluffton voters will face three vacancies in Village government.  As it happens, Mayor Richard Johnson and Councillors Ben Stahl and Joe Sehlhort are all running unopposed for reelction. 

Johnson will appear on the ballot as the Republican nominee.  Stahl and Sehlhorst will NOT appear on the ballot, but are approved as official write-in candidates.  No other write-ins are approved. 

This makes the election itself kind of inconsequential, but please join me in getting to know these town leaders. First up, let's hear from Ben Stahl, who first joined Council in 2018 as a vacant seat appointment, but won reelection to a full term in 2019.

Q. What is your 20-second elevator speech for promoting Bluffton?
A. Bluffton has all the charm of a small village while providing many of the services and amenities of a community many times its size. An incredibly active downtown with shops and restaurants and all sorts of indoor and outdoor recreation for our residents and those in the surrounding areas.

Q. What is your earliest Bluffton memory?
A. As a child, riding the horse-drawn carriages downtown in December. As an adult, the high school football team coming to haul away a large tree that fell across the driveway in a storm six days after we moved in.

Q. What is your proudest accomplishment in government so far?
A. Leading the Parks & Recreation committee in selecting the most recent playground equipment at Buckeye Park with survey feedback of the 2018-2019 Bluffton elementary classes.

Q. What has been your biggest struggle in government so far?
A. Between my appointments on Parks & Rec, Safety Services, Tree Commission, and Bike and Pedestrian Pathway, there are so many things I'd like to work on to help the administration and improve the village. But it's difficult trying to schedule committee meetings in the evenings or around my day job and really devote as much time as I'd like to dive into issues.

Q. Do you hear from constituents on a regular basis?  How do they contact you?
A. Not very often. Usually, face-to-face conversations around town or an occasional email. (I'm at [email protected]!)

Q. You are running for reelection unopposed. What's your take on democracy in Bluffton?
A. I like to think this is a symptom of a well-functioning democracy: when things are going well, no one is very invested in who their elected representatives are. Thankfully, Bluffton politics is much less of a sporting event than our national counterparts.

Q. Can Village government do anything about the housing shortage in town?
A. We've already taken steps: approving zoning exceptions as needed for infill development along Riley St.-Spring St., the planned development currently under construction off Sunset Dr, and the apartments being remodeled behind Town Hall. I think we're welcoming to developers looking to build more housing, while still balancing the requirements of our infrastructure.

Q. Are local services adequately funded at current tax rates?
A. No. Just from safety services, it's getting harder to find people able to work and volunteer for Fire/EMS and the idea of a full-time EMS department gets floated every couple of years. Similarly, we've been able to supplement our full-time police department with part-time officers, but there are fewer people able to keep up with all the requirements for PD as a part-time gig. Maintaining the level of service residents are accustomed to will cost more than the general fund can currently support.

Q. What are your top 3 priorities for another four-year term?
A. 1) Organizing another survey of our schools seeking feedback on park usage, recreation and pedestrian facilities. 2) Developing the land donated by SRK into a soccer park/playground/tree-lined walking path. 3) Continuing the work of Complete Streets and the Bike and Pedestrian Pathway Commission to improve multimodal transportation throughout the village.

Q. If Bluffton was a flavor of ice cream, what would it be?
A. Jeni's Darkest Chocolate, cause it's my favorite.

PHOTO CAPTION: Stahl counts his work with the Parks and Recreation Committee among his proudest accomplishments and relishes opportunities to take initiative. "There are so many things that can be done."