Monroe selects new council member

Jay Marlow will serve unexpired term that ends on Dec. 31, 2025.
Jay Marlow has been selected to fill an unexpired term on Monroe city council. The term ends on Dec. 31, 2025. FILE PHOTO

Jay Marlow has been selected to fill an unexpired term on Monroe city council. The term ends on Dec. 31, 2025. FILE PHOTO

Monroe city council has a new member.

After executive session Tuesday night, Mayor Keith Funk announced council chose Jay Marlow to complete the unexpired term after council member John Centers resigned last month.

Marlow will serve on council until Dec. 31, 2025.

Marlow told the Journal-News on Wednesday morning that he was “excited for the opportunity to contribute to the community.”

Jay Marlow has been appointed to the Monroe city council to complete an unexpired term.

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The other two candidates were William “Todd” Hickman and Matthew Wackler.

Marlow has lived in the city for 20 years and is a parent of three Monroe High School graduates.

“I have a deep-rooted commitment to the community and a strong desire to contribute to its continued growth and success,” he wrote in his letter of interest. “I believe my experience in governance, employment law, and relationship management, combined with my passion for civic involvement, would make me a valuable asset to the city council.”

He serves as a senior human resources business partner at Worthington Industries in Monroe, where he has worked for 15 years.

He also serves as vice president of the Board of Trustees for the MidPointe Library System in Butler County.

Funk said Marlow, who isn’t running for a four-year term in November, had some “good insights and energy” during the interview process.

In 2023, Centers was appointed a new member to fill the vacated seat formerly held by Marc Bellapianta, who submitted his resignation effective Sept. 1, according to city documents.

Centers, 58, has had two heart attacks, the first when he responded to a serious car crash at Ohio 63 and Main Street in 2008, the second that required quadruple bypass surgery during a 2021 family vacation in Florida.

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