Recker, who was the former administrator of Whitehouse, replaced former Northwood Administrator Pat Bacon, who retired last October.
 
Recker pulled petitions for one of three seats on Whitehouse council and has filed them with the board of elections.

The petitions have been certified by the board, according to the board of elections.

The seats of Whitehouse Councilmen Frank Billings, Debby Curry and Michelle Tippie are up for grabs this November 8, according to the board of elections.

Recker told The Press he would keep his full-time job as city administrator, which has an annual salary of $77,288, if he wins the election in Whitehouse.

“They’re not incompatible. Our law director has looked into it,” said Recker.

Mayor Mark Stoner said he was assured by Law Director Brian Ballenger that there were no ethical or legal restrictions that would keep Recker from holding the administrator’s position in Northwood and a seat on Whitehouse council.

Stoner also said he was not concerned that Recker, who is the point man for economic development in Northwood, would have conflicted loyalties.

“I would think Dennis would be smart enough not to get himself into a predicament like that,” said Stoner. “It wouldn’t look good for him, it wouldn’t look good for Whitehouse, it wouldn’t look good for Northwood. He told me we would be his priority.”

Though he has already submitted his petitions to the board, Recker said he still hasn’t made up his mind on whether or not he’ll run.

“I don’t know if I will actually do it or not,” he said. “A lot of this is dependent upon what I think my chances of being able to serve on the Whitehouse Village council would be.”

Recker has held elective office in the past. He was on council in Arcanum, a village in Darke County, Ohio, with a population of over 2,000. He also had been a candidate for Darke county commissioner and for the Ohio State Senate.

Northwood City Council unanimously approved Recker, upon Stoner’s recommendation, at a special council meeting last Oct. 7.

Prior to being Whitehouse administrator, which has a population of 4,300 compared to Northwood’s 7,000, Recker also was the safety service director for the city of Delphos, Ohio, which has a population of 7,000.

Recker beat out three other finalists for Northwood administrator last year. The finalists were Craig Kohring, chief financial officer from MDA Engineering, Inc., Maumee, chairman of the Northwood Planning Commission and an ex-city councilman; Robert Fowler, village administrator of Carrollton, Ohio; and Daniel G. Evers, a township administrator from Mason, Ohio.

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