After two decades of running unopposed, Spaeth, a Deerfield Twp. resident, was challenged by the Mason councilman, a former state lawmaker and former appointed judge in the common pleas court.
The race, the only contested countywide race on Tuesday’s ballots, was a test of the power of the Right to Life Wing of the party in a race between two candidates from the Mason-Deerfield area, the most populous in Warren County.
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Gilb was backed by the Right to Life Wing after a Facebook post by Spaeth’s brother John blasting local Right to Life leader Lori Viars, Commissioner Tom Grossmann, his wife, Mason Mayor Kathy Grossmann “and their ilk.”
Spaeth, a former four-term Deerfield Twp. trustee, has held the Clerk of Court’s office since 1996.
Unlike Gilb, Spaeth pledged to continue to work full-time at the job.
Gilb was elected by 53 votes to the fourth and final seat open on the Mason City Council in the November 2017 election.
Gilb said he was a supporter of term limits and he also pledged to modernize the office, if elected.
The results are to be certified on May 18.
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