Condrey beats 12-year incumbent Mulligan to become Middletown’s first woman mayor

Middletown has elected its first woman to serve as mayor.

Newcomer Nicole Condrey beat 12-year incumbent Larry Mulligan, Jr. by vote of 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent, according to final, unofficial results from the Butler and Warren county boards of elections.

“I’m looking forward to working with the new team,” she said. “I’m grateful to those who served Middletown in the past. I want to thank Larry for his years of service to the city.”

Condrey, 37, has lived in the city for about 2 1/2 years and said her experiences working on political, economic and humanitarian projects has taught her to push outside her comfort zones. After working in the federal government for 15 years, she came to Middletown to take care her husband, a 25-year Navy veteran who later died.

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She’s planning to have a lot of discussions planned with city staff and is looking to improve the city’s economy. Condrey declined to say how or what she will be doing to improve the city’s economy.

Prior to the election, Condrey said she believes the Economic Development Department is under-performing and council needs to keep the city manager accountable. Condrey also felt many executive sessions are unneeded.

“The mayor’s job is to get everyone on the same page, unite the community and inspire citizens to accomplish great things in our community,” Condrey said prior to the election. “A mayor listens and puts egos aside. I think the city is breaking down due to a lack of communication.”

The Wrenn Street resident said her strength is being able to communicate to a wide range of people on a variety of topics and help people to realize that society faces many issues.

Condrey is the general manager of Start Skydiving and is a professional skydiver with more than 1,600 jumps. Start Skydiving is co-owned by John P. Hart II, who was running for a council seat but withdrew from the race last week.

Mulligan, 51, who was the city’s first directly elected mayor, said before the election the city has made progress in his 12 years in the office. Mulligan could not be reached for comment after the race was called for Condrey.

The mayor of Middletown serves a four-year term and receives an annual salary of $9,000 per year.


Nicole Condrey

Age: 37

Employment: General manager of Start Skydiving; professional skydiver

Family: Single

Residency: 2 1/2 years

Other: Former U.S. Foreign Service officer information management; U.S. Army civilian electrical engineer; other federal service; also worked for Motorola. Has logged more than 1,600 jumps as a skydiver. Involved with the Victory Project in Dayton and Blue Skies for Good Guys and Gals

Education: University of Notre Dame, bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

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