Unofficial results show Clifford finished first with 1,366 votes, or 24.72 percent, followed by Douglass with 1,234 votes or 22.33 percent and Kessler with 1,076 votes or 19.47 percent.

Dan Headapohl finished fourth with 982 votes and Thomas Hayes was in fifth place with 741 votes.

"It's exciting to have won election and been selected from among such a strong field of candidates," Clifford said. "I want to thank my fellow candidates for running a nice, friendly campaign.

"I will give my full time, effort and skill sets to work for the district," she said.

Clifford said she heard a lot of good feedback from community members, with many indicating they would like to see the district develop a long-term strategic plan.

"We have some challenges ahead with the uncertainty regarding state funding for schools," she said.

Douglass described his election as being "very flattering. I'm very thankful for the community's support."

He said he believes his experience of having four children attending Grandview schools was a key factor in his election.

Kessler was seeking election to a full term after being appointed in January to serve out the final year of former board member Suzanne McLeod's term.

"Certainly I'm very appreciative and grateful to the voters," he said. "I want to extend my congratulations and thanks to the entire slate of candidates. I pledge to continue to work on the board to represent the staff, students and parents in our district."

In other local races, Grandview Heights City Council incumbents Susan Jagers, P'Elizabeth Koelker, Anthony Panzera and Steve Reynolds all won re-election. Challenger Aaron Bowman finished in last place.

Unofficial results show Reynolds earned 1,435; Jagers 1,; Panzera 1,248; and Koelker 1,178.

Bowman received 943 votes.

Reynolds, 44, won election to his second full term. He currently serves as council president.

Reynolds is self-employed as a commercial real estate appraiser and consultant.

Jagers, 41, was elected to her second term. She works as a government affairs consultant and is a partner at Initiative Consulting.

Panzera, 40, will begin his third term on council in January. He is a realtor with Celeste and Associates and owns CaterWARE, a catering software company.

Koelker, 41, has served on council since September 2004 and won election to her second full term. She is an architect and a principal at KMA Design Partners and dwellSimply.

Incumbents Matt Cincione, John Kukura and David Roark and first time candidate Linda Siefkas won election to Marble Cliff Village Council.

Unofficial results show Siefkas received 175 votes; Cincione 173; Roark 147; and Kukura 142.

Kenda Troiano finished in fifth place by one vote, garnering 141 votes.

Cincione, 49, won election to his third term. He has been an attorney with the firm Butler, Cincione & DiCuccio since 1985.

Kukura, 43, was appointed in June 2007 to council after Lynda Murray resigned in the middle of her term. He is chief of acquisitions for Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, an independent nonprofit corporation created by the state of Ohio which works with private and public developers to create affordable housing opportunities.

Roark, 57, will start his fourth full term on council. He serves as vice president and general counsel for Grange Insurance Company.

Siefkas, 50, is owner and president of Siefkas Public Relations. She previously worked as a senior vice-president at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce.

afroman@thisweeknews.com