21-year-old politician attracts votes for Clayton City Council

Beats veteran Democrat party leader for seat.

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer 3:00 AM Thursday, November 10, 2011

ENGLEWOOD — Newly elected Clayton Ward 2 Councilman Kenneth Carl Henning won his first public office Tuesday by defeating a Democratic stalwart while creating a bit of a political history.

As a 21-year-old junior history major at the University of Dayton, Henning is reportedly the youngest elected official in the Miami Valley, among the youngest in Ohio and among the 4.8 percent of similar aged politicians elected across the United States, according to the Young Elected Officials Network.

Henning won 78 percent of the vote to defeat write-in candidate and current Councilman Joe Litvin, who formerly served 15 years as the Montgomery County Engineer and is a veteran Democratic party leader.

Litvin was forced to run as a write-in candidate after he was appointed on Sept. 15 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Councilman Ron Pretekin, whose term expires Dec. 31. The late appointed meant Litvin missed the deadline to file for Tuesday’s election. Henning down played his age and said he has been grooming himself for public office since his days as a Northmont High School student and a 2008 campaign worker for GOP presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona).

Last year, Henning was one of five candidates interviewed to fill then-state Sen. Jon Husted’s seat he vacated after he was elected secretary of state. State Rep. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, received the appointment.

“I did that just to get started,” Henning said. “For this, I campaigned like crazy. I talked to as many people as I could.”

He said one of his main agendas is to keep Clayton intact as a city because he intends to spend his life there. Henning, who plans to attend law school, said he skipped three classes Tuesday to pass out literature and greet voters.

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