Our county, divided

[from your Newark Advocate, Thurs., March 6]

West vs. rest voting trend continues
By KENT MALLETT
Advocate Reporter

NEWARK -- The political divide between the west and the rest of Licking County continued in Tuesday's primary election.

The voting patterns on countywide tax issues differ dramatically in central Licking County versus the western edge. The change seems to occur at the line dividing Granville and St. Albans townships, just west of Raccoon International Golf Course on Ohio 37.

The difference was dramatic again Tuesday in the vote on the county's bond issue to pay for new senior citizen centers. The bond issue failed 52.2 percent to 47.8 percent, thanks to strong opposition in the west.

BY THE NUMBERS

42-8
Record in favor of the bond issue at the 50 central Licking County voting precincts located in Newark, Heath, Granville, Hanover, Granville Township and Hanover Township.

1-37
Record in favor of the bond issue at the 38 western Licking County precincts located in Pataskala, Reynoldsburg, Johnstown, Alexandria, and the townships of Etna, Harrison, Monroe, St. Albans, Jersey and Liberty.

50.7
Percentage of the 103,622 registered voters who turned out to vote in the election.

55
Percentage of Licking County voters who took a Democratic Party ballot out of the 51,392 who asked for a partisan ballot.

8-0
Barack Obama's win-loss record in the eight precincts in Granville village and Granville Township.

110-7
Hillary Clinton's record in the county's remaining 117 precincts.

36, 2
Vote totals in St. Louisville for Sheriff Randy Thorp and former sheriff Gerry Billy, respectively.

61
Thorp's lowest percentage of the vote in any of the county's 125 precincts.