Consider running for Township Trustee. This is an opportunity to run for office on a smaller scale. Your campaign will be confined to the boundaries of the township where you reside and the cost minimal. To get started download The Nominating Petition and Statement of Candidacy For Township Office which must be filed with the Board of Elections no later than 4 p.m. on August 9, 2023. Download the Nominating Petition here. Download the 2023 Candidate Requirement Guide PDF here.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the day-to-day operation of township government activities, the township budget and other duties required by county, state and federal law. Many trustee duties are similar to those of city council members in other local governments. Ohio charges its townships with maintaining roads, the largest function of most townships. Ohio trustees can also set up parks in their jurisdiction, establish police services and run the township cemetery. Trustees can introduce levies for, and vote to regulate the township services and zoning boards. The trustees make these decisions as a board, rather than as individuals.

As public officials, trustees must follow state law in carrying out their duties. Ohio, for example, sets standards for responsible trustees:

  • They vote in the interests of their community
  • They attend township board meetings
  • They follow state laws on open meetings and public records
  • They know the township’s tax structure, its hiring and firing policies, and zoning and other rule
  • They know the state laws and standards that the township has to follow

Twenty U.S. states, including Ohio, Indiana and New Jersey, use a township form of local government. Clermont County has fourteen townships: Batavia, Franklin, Goshen, Jackson, Miami, Monroe, Ohio, Pierce, Stonelick, Tate, Union, Washington, Wayne and Williamsburg.

Township trustees are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Each township has three trustees. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. These are non-partisan elected offices. In other words, there will not be a party designation next to the candidate’s name on the November ballot.

There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election.

Clermont County Ohio Townships Map

Clermont County Ohio Townships Map

Clermont County Ohio Townships Map