The record
Michael J. Hovis
Some candidates tell you who they are. Michael shows you. More than 35 years of service: in uniform, behind a badge, in business, and in township government.
Gulf War Veteran
Michael served his country in the Gulf War as a military policeman with the Ohio National Guard. When he came home, he met his daughter Sadie for the first time on the tarmac at Vienna Airbase. She was four months old.
In 2026, the 250th anniversary of the country he served, Michael is running on that same foundation: service over politics.
Retired Bazetta Police Chief
Michael retired as the Chief of Police in Bazetta Township. He ran a department, managed personnel, managed a budget, and was accountable for public safety every hour of every day.
That background makes the 911 Center issue personal, not political. Michael knows what's at stake when a call doesn't get through, and he knows what it takes to fix a system that isn't working.
Business Owner
Michael built and runs Hovis Construction, which has won more than $10 million in competitively awarded government contracts. He's signed the front of a paycheck, not just the back, negotiated vendor contracts, watched overhead, and made the call when the numbers didn't work.
That's the discipline he intends to bring to county government. Every public dollar should be spent the way you'd spend your own, with scrutiny, with a reason, and with accountability to the people who earned it.
Two-Term Bazetta Township Trustee
Elected twice by the neighbors who know him best, Michael is now in his second term as a Bazetta Township Trustee. He has pushed the township toward fiscal responsibility, secured key investments, and updated long-neglected infrastructure.
That's not a resume line. It's the job he already did, on a smaller scale, for the same county he's asking to lead.
Roots
From here. Still here.
Michael is a Lakeview High School graduate and a Youngstown State alumnus who lives in the same Bazetta Township house he grew up in. He and his wife Stephanie raised two children, Sadie and Ryan, and now there are three grandsons on the team: Ren, Rowan, and Hudson.
Your tax dollars get the same scrutiny I gave every dollar in my own business.
The standard I’m running on
What I can promise. What I won't.
What I commit to
- Transparent budgets you can read
- Accountable spending, every dollar justified
- A full accounting of the $38M in ARP funds
- A 911 center that works
- Showing up for every voter in every corner of the county
What I won't promise
I won't promise that every problem gets fixed in the first year, or that every decision will go the way you'd like. Nobody honest can promise that. What you'll get from me is a reason for every decision, on the record, and a straight answer when you ask why.