Meet the 11 people who applied to be on Monroe’s city council

Jan. 21--MONROE -- Eleven residents have applied to fill the vacant seat on Monroe City Council.

They are seeking to replace former councilwoman Suzi Rubin, who resigned last month as she and her husband are planning to move out of state after he retires.

Council has until Jan. 31 to select Rubin's replacement, who will complete the final two years of her term.

Council is expected to interview the applicants over the next few weeks.

The applicants, in alphabetical order, include:

* Darrel Basford. A 37-year retiree of the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., now Duke Energy. He has worked in various jobs in the service and retail sectors. Basford is a private pilot who has been active in the community and served as a member of the city's Personnel Board. He is a Middletown High School graduate and graduated from Chicago Technical College. He also completed some course work at Miami University Middletown.

* Steven P. Black. Black is a senior mechanical engineer who is employed with CDI Aerospace/GE Aerospace in Dayton. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati and currently is a member of the city's Park and Recreation Board and the Personnel Board as well as active in various community organizations. He was appointed in 2011 to City Council and was elected to a full term in November 2011. He did not run in 2015 due to a issue with his petitions.

* Brady Doyle. Doyle is the sales manager at Joe Morgan Honda. He is a graduate of Kettering Fairmount High School and holds a business management tech certificate from Sinclair Community College.

* Joe Grace. Grace works for General Electric Healthcare. He is also a Navy veteran.

* Henry Joe Grigsby. Grigsby has been in various administrative roles at several senior and assisted living facilities in the region, including Close to Home 2 Assisted Living in Middletown. He holds a bachelor's degree from Morehead State University. His thesis is pending for a master's degree at Morehead State.

* Debra S. Hagedorn. Hagedorn is an inside sales representative for Worthington Industries. She holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and an associate's degree from the University of Cincinnati.

* Jeff Hanson. Hanson is a maintenance engineer at AK Steel Middletown Works. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona. Hanson has become involved with the Monroe Local School district and the Monroe Athletic Booster Club.

* Patrick Henry. Henry has held various management positions with CSX Transportation over the past 20 years and has attended Florida Atlantic University and Ohio State University. He has been involved in community organizations.

* Roshawn Jenkins. Jenkins is an executive coordinator with Centerpoint Health in Middletown and holds a bachelor's degree from Boise State University.

* Christina McElfresh. McElfresh is a local realtor with Sibcy Cline Realtors. She attended Wright State University and the University of Cincinnati. McElfresh is very active in the Monroe community and is president of the Monroe Historical Society and the Monroe Rotary Club.

* Lance Salyers. Salyers is a former senior director at LexisNexis and is a former assistant prosecutor in Butler and Montgomery counties. He holds a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a law degree from Washington & Lee School of Law where he was on the law review.

Rubin was appointed as a council member since 2004, won full four-year terms in 2007, 2011 and 2015 and served as the city's vice mayor. Over the years, Rubin has served on a number of local and regional boards and commissions and has served as president of the Warren County Municipal League and the Monroe Area Community Investment Corporation.

She was part of the effort to create the Monroe Local School District in 1999 and served as one of its founding board members and board president. Previously, Monroe was part of the Middletown school district.

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