What's on the Ballot? Part 6: Rockford council

ROCKFORD - Five candidates are vying to fill four open Rockford Village Council seats in the Nov. 4 general election.

The seats are currently held by Marcas Heitkamp, Mark Heitkamp, Chris Heitkamp and Shane Young.

Austin Gause

Austin Gause is a 29-year-old heavy equipment operator. He has a high school education.

Although he has never held public office before, he said he is running because he believes council is enacting ordinances illegally.

"Rockford has a bunch of ordinances that they're putting into law illegally. I'm trying to get a lot of that changed around. They're declaring state of emergency and then using (ordinances) for like six or seven years. You can't do that. They have an expiration date on them."

The Daily Standard is not aware of any credible reports or evidence that the current Rockford council has broken any laws in its proceedings or votes. Ohio Revised Code states ordinances, if not repealed, can stand for years.

Gause said he is running because he wants to "make Rockford great again." If elected, he said, he would pursue policies "that make sense."

The village's vehicle ordinance bans vehicle parking on residents' lawns and public sidewalks. Village police have had the authority to issue $100 citations for each offense since April 2022. The ordinance allows multiple citations for multiple vehicles on the same property and dictates that if the vehicles are not moved in 12 hours they may be ticketed again.

Gause disagrees with the ordinance.

"Parking in your yard is not a safety issue," he said.

He claims councilors are voting to approve ordinances on behalf of public safety, but he doesn't see the issues as rising to the level of public safety. If elected, he would vote against such measures.

When asked what issue he sees as most important to the governing body going forward, he said the "finances are horrible."

He said he doesn't have an action plan yet because he would "need to know more of what's going on in there before coming up with a plan because it's pretty bad."

Chris Heitkamp

Chris Heitkamp has been on the Rockford Village Council since December 2009.

He said he's running again because he enjoys "serving the community to make things better."

If reelected, he said he would continue his dedication to maintaining safety in the village.

"I'm on the safety committee, so we're always looking at ways to make sure things in town are safe, from sidewalks to streets to trimming trees in neighborhoods," Heitkamp said.

The 53-year-old Rockford resident has a high school education and studied business for two years at Ohio State University's Lima campus. He is a material handler at Crown Equipment Corporation, where he works in the district center warehouse.

Marcas Heitkamp

Marcas Heitkamp was appointed to council in October 2022 to fill a vacant seat.

He is on the economic development committee and is council president.

"I want to keep continuing to help rejuvenate Rockford," he said of why he's running again. "Bringing change and getting some young blood in is essential to help Rockford grow and thrive. I think I'm one of those people that can do that."

If reelected, he said he would focus on pursing federal and state funding.

"One of the biggest policies I think we have right now is getting federal funding (and) state funding for local businesses," he said. "(We should) help them out as far as businesses that are there and businesses that could be there, whether that is helping them get their building updates or tax credits for employees, hiring new employees. I know there are different programs that if you hire 'x' amount of new employees, you can get 'x' amount of dollars off when it comes to taxes."

He said he wants to prioritize promoting growth.

"Being able to grow with businesses is essential to everything else," he said. "Everything is not going to grow unless you have new businesses and continued business support your population."

The 36-year-old Rockford resident has a master's degree in business administration from Heidelberg University in Tiffin. He is a sales manager at Visions Awards in Celina. He has a wife and two daughters.

Mark Heitkamp

Mark Heitkamp has been on the council for two years. He was appointed after Ron Searight was elected mayor in 2024.

He is on the rules committee and said he's running again because he's "enjoyed my time on the council and think I can help to continue to make a difference."

He has previously served on Parkway's board of education for three years starting in 2011

If reelected, he said, he would continue his dedication to making Rockford a safe community.

Although he's not looking at any specific issues, he said amid political changes recently, he "wants to pursue changes that make sense for us as a community."

He also sees the village's finances as a key issue to focus on, specifically with Ohio House bills potentially cutting local funds.

The 56-year-old Rockford resident has a bachelor's degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he majored in business administration and communications. He is an outside marketing rep for Everett J. Prescott Inc.

He is Marcas Heitkamp's father.

Shane Young

Shane Young was appointed to council in October 2023 to fill a vacant seat.

He is on the finance committee and is running again to make sure village residents have a safe community.

Young was on the board from 2018 until 2021.

If reelected he said he would continue his commitment to put the community first, while also remaining open to public feedback.

"Holding everyone accountable and enforcing what we do have (is what council does)," he said. "If something comes up that can change anything, (we're) always open-minded."

The 41-year-old Rockford resident has an associate degree from the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. He is self-employed and has a wife and four children.