In the village of Buckeye Lake, three of the seven seats on village council are up for election this year, with three official candidates and a fourth write-in candidate on the ballot. 

Deborah Julian

After finishing out a four-year term, incumbent Deborah Julian is running for a second term on the Buckeye Lake village council. Working as the financial chair for the past two years, Julian plans to continue to fight for what the villagers want from a financial perspective.

“With funding being so tight and what we have available to spend being so little, we need to make sure that we spend it on what the needs of the village are,” Julian said.

During her time as finance chair, Julian has pushed for the funding of the Buckeye Lake Parks and Recreation Department to provide enhancements to parks for outdoor entertainment. Recently, four pickleball courts were added to Ryan-Braden Park for the community to enjoy.  

“I want to keep [the funding] focused on the basics for our residents first instead of saying, ‘oh we need all these new buildings that don’t do a lot for us,’” Julian said. 

Recently, money has been a concern for the residents of Buckeye Lake. Julian has had discussions with several people from around Ohio showing desire for less or a definite cut to real estate taxes. 

Potential growth is foreseeable in the future due to the income of Intel, and the future of Buckeye Lake could experience some of those effects.  

“I think part of the concern is the potential for growth and how you fund growth,” Julian said. “You don’t want to put it on the backs of your current residents to fund future growth in a small village like ours.”

A main goal of Julian’s campaign is her desire to build more housing developments to attract more permanent residents. Being a tourist town, the local businesses often see less revenue in the winter months. More long-term residents would help keep the businesses afloat during the off-season.  

“I think we have to make sure that we have housing for all income levels,” Julian said. “That’s the vision I have for 10 years.”

Along with her promise of new housing developments, Julian says that as a council member she will always be honest and true to her values to help the people of Buckeye Lake in any way she can.  

“If somebody is looking for some sort of connection, I am a person that can get their voice out there to the community.” 

Kellie Lee Green 

Incumbent Kellie Lee Green, 63, has been on the council for 2.5 years following an 8-year stint working for Buckeye Lake’s parks and recreation department. 

She was first asked to be on the council by her running mate, Deborah Julian, and is now rerunning to remain on the council after her term has expired. 

Living in Buckeye Lake for 21 years, Green recognizes that although the village is a tourist location, there are still a lot of residents like her who live in the area fulltime. Most of these residents will be affected by development changes. 

“There has to be a balance between the people that live here and the tourists that stay in short-term rentals and support our businesses that way,” Green said. “I see a lot of major changes at the lake in the next 10 to 12 years and I just want to be a part of them.”

Currently, Buckeye Lake has been trying to find a solution for short-term rentals and complaints from community members. An ordinance was passed several months ago to cap the number of rentals at 60 in response to complaints over rental occupants disrupting other people’s properties and personal lives. 

“It’s kind of a growing pain because the short-term rentals are relatively new to this area… but if you’re going to open a place to tourism, you can’t do it without these short-term rentals,” Green said. 

On a positive note, Green shared that a new project began in the village with the construction of a new lakefront pier. The Northshore Pier Project was set to start this September and carry on into spring of 2026. The plan is to build a pier that the public can use for fishing and other waterfront activities. 

“This is going to be a bit of a challenge because of the new traffic movements,” Green said. “But all new things bring challenges and it’s good because it’s growth for the village.” 

Green hopes to continue representing the village for another term. 

“This is my home; I want people to live in a community that we’re proud of and a community that is welcoming to visitors,” Green said.

Michelle McCormick

Michelle McCormick has served on Buckeye Lake Village Council for about a year after being appointed to a vacant position in 2024. McCormick hopes to be elected again this year so she can continue serving her community. 

“My goal for the council is to see everyone working together and to let other people know what our ideas are,” McCormick said. 

The council invites any members of the village to attend their meetings, but when people choose not to show up, word usually spreads by way of mouth. McCormick expressed concern that members of the village are not getting information directly from the council, but from their neighbors. 

“By the time information from the council goes from one person to another, it’s not always accurate or what it started out to be,” McCormick said. A solution McCormick suggested would be for the council to send out news briefs to inform individuals. 

Other changes that McCormick would like to see in the community are more ways to assist the elderly, especially medically. Despite the village offering many facilities, it does not have an emergency clinic. 

“We have to go to Newark or Columbus instead, and Licking Memorial Hospital is a great hospital but if I have an emergency, I have to call the emergency squad,” McCormick said. “It would just be so much easier to have a doctor right here when I need one.” 

When it comes to new changes in Buckeye Lake, McCormick says any change, whether it be new transportation or new housing developments, can be positive as long as people support it. Although, with Intel setting their roots down in Licking County, Buckeye Lake Village Council should keep an eye out. 

“There are so many new developments happening that we don’t really know how they’re going to affect us. We have to wait and see before we make any kind of big decisions,” McCormick said.

Having been a member of the Buckeye Lake community for so long, McCormick will not tell anyone how they should vote, but she would appreciate their support one way or another.

“I will work very hard for them and do the best I can,” McCormick said. 

Now 86-years-old, McCormick says a lot of people tell her that she should not run for another term. Instead she should “stay at home and bake cookies.” 

“I’m not dead yet,” McCormick said in response. “I want to let people know how they make an impact and get their voice heard.”

Chonlatit Andy Sirisukha is a write-in candidate for the Buckeye Lake Village Council. 

“My commitment is to prioritize Putting People First (PPF) and Keeping People Safe (KPS) as core values in the development of our community, aiming to make it a better place to live,” Sirisukha posted on Facebook. “My commitment to you is clear: Putting People First — always.”

Election Day is Nov. 4.

Shaye Phillips writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.