MIKE FETZER

LOCKPORT — Long-time volunteer firefighter Mike Fetzer is the newest Woodward Township supervisor.

He was elected to the position vacated in December by Wayne Love in a 2-0 vote this week, with one abstention.

The vote came via the township’s vacancy board, tasked with filling a supervisor position when it becomes vacant.

Also competing for the seat was Eric Jacobs.

Fetzer is a Democrat. Jacobs is a Republican. Love was a Republican.

Fetzer and Jacobs both submitted letters of interest in the job.

Voting for Fetzer were Supervisor John Barth and vacancy board Chairman Mark Miller.

Supervisor Kyle Coleman abstained with some objections.

Reached by The Express on Friday, Fetzer said said he has been a Woodward resident for 25 years, but his involvement with Dunnstown Volunteer Fire Co. goes back much further.

Fetzer has served Dunnstown Fire Co. for nearly 40 years.

In fact, he is the newly elected president of Dunnstown Fire Co., having served as a volunteer since about the age of 14, when he recruited others and helped to start a junior firefighter group there.

Upon completion of his latest term as Dunnstown president, he will have served 22 years as company president.

Fetzer has worked for the Keystone Central School District for 14 years and is the district’s Environmental Health and Safety Supervisor.

“I have experience and knowledge of the township,” he said.

“My goal is to serve Woodward Township and maintain a tight budget,” he added.

Fetzer will serve what’s left of Love’s 6-year term, which expires with the first reorganizational meeting in January 2024.

He can choose to file to run for the seat and, if so, could seek the Democratic nomination in this May’s primary election.

For now, Fetzer said he’s grateful to be selected.

Coleman said that, while he is friends with both Fetzer and Jacobs, he believes the decision should’ve left to a Clinton County Court of Common Pleas judge.

Coleman said Barth and Miller both have ties to Dunnstown Fire Co., where Fetzer has voluntarily served as a firefighter, board member and company president over the years.

Coleman said Miller has been involved with fundraising there, while Barth’s son, Dan Barth, is the lieutenant for the company.

Since Fetzer is a firefighter with the company, Coleman said it’s an unfair decision.

Miller and Barth did not have a comment when it was brought up for a decision, according to Coleman.

Coleman insisted it’s not about who is more capable for the supervisor job.

“Both guys are capable and I would like to work with either of them,” he said.

Coleman also said he believes a Republican should be replaced with someone from the same political party.

“It should be a gentleman’s rule that a party member should be replaced with a member of the same party,” he said.

Barth, on the other hand, said he has known both Jacobs and Fetzer for a long time and is a fellow township sewer board member with Jacobs.

But Barth said he received calls from residents asking that Jacobs not be appointed. He did not go into any detail.

“I’ve known both for a long time,” Barth said, “They are about equal — they can do different things — it was a swing point.”

Fetzer and Jacobs were asked the same six questions by Miller, but separately.

Among the questions were, “If (the township) had a $1 million grant, what would you do with it?” and, “How would you respond if both supervisors voted against you?”