The May 2022 Hamilton County election will be the first since the county moved to a mayor/commission form of government in 1978 with a hotly contested Republican mayoral primary, the first in which a Republican woman is making a bid for mayor, the first in at least 30 years with five open seats and the first with 11 districts.
Hamilton County Commission Chairwoman Sabrena Smedley created the dynamic for most of the above when she declared her candidacy for mayor Thursday.
Her candidacy makes the Republican mayoral primary a three-way affair – so far – with Matt Hullander and Weston Wamp, she is the first GOP woman to run for the office, and her decision to run leaves her District 7 seat open. Already, District 5 Commissioner Katherlyn Geter and District 8 Commissioner Tim Boyd have said they would not be seeking additional terms, and the two new seats, Districts 10 and 11, bring the open total to five.
No Democrats have announced their candidacy for mayor. Indeed, an announcement on the Hamilton County Democratic Party Facebook site says, “HCDP is actively recruiting candidates for County Mayor.”
Before Smedley got into the race, a race she said she’d been considering since Mayor Jim Coppinger said last month he wouldn’t be running for another term, the race was between Hullander, the son of Hamilton County Trustee Bill Hullander, and Wamp, the son of former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp.