Four Candidates Vie For Two Spots
SWANTON TOWNSHIP – Four candidates are on the ballot for two Swanton Township trustee positions: Bill Anderson, Matt Beil, Kyle McPherson and Jeff Michael. The candidates were asked to weigh in on challenges and goals for governing the 2,800-resident township. Their profiles and answers are included below, in alphabetical order.
Bill Anderson
Swanton Township needs to get back to basics, believes Bill Anderson. The focus should be on solving problems, treating people with respect and keeping residents informed, he said. Whether it’s fire and EMS, zoning or communication, residents deserve straight answers and steady leadership.
“Too often, when leaders don’t want to face tough questions, they lean on rumors instead of answers. That’s not leadership – it’s distraction,” he said.
With nine years in the U.S. Air Force and two decades as a refinery mechanic, Anderson has spent his life solving problems and keeping people safe.
“I didn’t step up to run for trustee for power or position – that’s never been who I am,” Anderson said.
In addition to his service in the military and his career, Anderson has served in the schools, supported local Scouting organizations and volunteered with Team RWB – a community of veterans, service members, military families and supporters.
“Leadership isn’t about speeches – it’s about showing up, rolling up your sleeves, and doing the work. Just last month, a neighbor asked for help getting his horses in because they got loose. I didn’t make it complicated – I just got out there with a lead rope and help get his horses back in the pasture. That’s what service looks like to me,” Anderson said.
Accountability starts with showing up, and that’s how he’s lived his life, Anderson added.
If elected, he will make sure residents have easy access to township information, including a modern website, clear meeting notices and live-streamed sessions.
“I’ll respond to questions, not avoid them. Four years from now, I don’t want folks remembering drama – I want them to say: Bill was there, Bill listened, and Bill served this community with integrity.”
Matt Beil
Swanton Township has faced and is facing a breakdown in trust between residents and their elected officials, believes Matt Beil.
“Many residents feel dismissed or targeted simply for asking questions. Instead of focusing on real priorities like fire and EMS coverage, communication, and basic services, the current administration has leaned into gossip and false accusations,” said Beil. “I’ve experienced this firsthand, having been publicly and wrongly accused of pushing annexation and water lines. I moved here for the rural way of life, and I will never support annexing our land into the village of Swanton or imposing city-style mandates. Our township has an opportunity now to restore accountability, protect its independence and strengthen communication with residents.”
Beil promises to bring a practical, no-nonsense approach to township leadership. That means restoring trust and making decisions transparently, ensuring that the direction of the community is determined by the residents, not outside interests.
“I’m not a politician – I’m a neighbor. I understand the challenges and priorities here because I live them every day,” he said.
If elected, Beil said he would rebuild trust by making township information accessible and meetings open to all. That includes a modern, user-friendly website with live-streamed meetings and clear updates so residents don’t have to guess when and where decisions will be made, he said. Records requests will be straightforward, and residents will always receive respectful responses. His goal: to ensure that every resident has a voice and knows their concerns are heard and valued.
“My life and career are built on hard work, honesty, and fairness,” said Beil, who is a senior project manager with more than 23 years of experience in environmental and engineering consulting.
Through his work, Beil has successfully led projects ranging from small community initiatives to multi-million dollar undertakings. He regularly collaborates with state and local officials to address complex challenges and deliver effective solutions, Beil said. He has also collaborated to secure funding for initiatives through grant writing.
While he’s lived in the township for a decade, Beil first got involved in township matters in September 2024, after learning of a 10-mill levy for fire and EMS.
“During that, it became clear to me that our township needed greater transparency, engagement and accountability,” he said. “Since then, I have attended nearly every township meeting. Those experiences have only strengthened my conviction that we can do better for our community.”
Beil is teaming up with trustee candidate Bill Anderson and fiscal officer candidate Mindy Curry to run on the goal to create a more open, responsive and community-focused Swanton Township.
Beil is married to Angie, and together they are raising three daughters and a son on their Oak Openings area property.
“I love township life and have a deep respect for the outdoors,” he said, noting that the Beil property is home to horses, donkeys, pigs and chickens as well as cats and dogs. He has also restored wetland and upland habitat on their property and continues to enhance the areas to ensure they thrive for the wildlife and future generations.
In his spare time, Beil is an active supporter of Anthony Wayne Local Schools and has volunteered with numerous organizations.
Kyle McPherson
Taking care of the cemetery, staying within budget and preventing further annexation of township properties by Swanton or acquisition by the Metroparks are among the top priorities for Swanton Township trustee candidate Kyle McPherson.
“One of my goals is keeping it country for people who have ranches with horses, goats, cows, sheep and even alpacas,” said McPherson, noting that in the township someone can have more than two dogs – unlike in the village. “I would like to keep it country – we’re getting squeezed.”
She and the other trustees have fought to prevent additional properties from being annexed – most recently working with the Lucas County Commissioners to reduce the number of Scott Road properties proposed for annexation.
Like the other trustees, McPherson has areas that she handles – as the township doesn’t have an administrator for day-to-day business – and her duties include cemeteries. Currently the Swanton Township Cemetery on Scott Road is getting new foundations, and she’s also working on getting the records digitized from the original card files.
“Even in the afterlife, people should be entitled to dignity,” she said.
A Toledo native and Rogers High School graduate, McPherson enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps in 1968 and served four years. Her 25-year nursing career included 15 years in management. During that time she raised children, got involved with school athletics and boosters, and joined the American Legion Post 587 in Toledo.
After retirement, she earned her commercial driver’s license and did long-haul driving with her husband.
“That was an experience. We learned a lot,” she said, sharing how driving 13- and 18-speed semis across the country gave her a different perspective.
She moved to Swanton Township over 30 years ago but started attending trustee meetings around 2016, when Norfolk Southern began looking at adding a railroad siding near Fulton-Lucas Road. McPherson was later appointed to the township’s zoning commission and, after a few years on that board, to fill a vacancy from trustee Gary Schroeder’s resignation. When April Grajczyk resigned as trustee, McPherson was appointed to fill her position.
As she’s gotten involved in township government, McPherson said she hopes that others become more active and come to meetings so they can learn more how it works – including bills, expenses, income and joint economic development zones.
The meetings, she notes, are more relaxed than those of nearby Swanton village, where requests to speak need to be submitted ahead of time.
“Once the business meeting is done, we open the floor,” she said, adding that residents will always be listened to, as long as they’re being respectful and not arguing with one another.
She and the other trustees are always available by phone and, if she doesn’t know the answer, McPherson said she’ll find out. Sometimes she finds that it’s just someone who is lonely and needs to talk. And she doesn’t mind.
“I’ve always been the shoulder to cry on – and I think that comes from being in nursing,” she said.
While this will be McPherson’s first time on the ballot as trustee, she points out that she was elected to serve as the Republican Party’s district chairperson.
Jeff Michael
Jeff Michael is seeking re-election to the board of trustees, a position he’s held since 2010.
Growing up on his family’s Defiance County farm, Michael was involved in raising livestock, riding horses, farming and baling hay. He met Peggy in May 1996 and they were married a few months later, moving to their Swanton Township farm in 2000 to raise horses, cats, dogs and birds and to ride in nearby Oak Openings. Peggy Michael passed away on June 24, 2025.
“Peggy’s roots run deep in the Swanton area. Her grandmother, Jerrie Rinkel, lived in the area for over 50 years and served on the Swanton Fire Department’s rescue squad for over 25 years,” he said.
With a bachelor’s degree from Defiance College and an MBA with an emphasis on law and finance from Bowling Green State University, Michael serves as the executive in charge of information technology and cybersecurity for a large company.
Some of the key issues for the township include the consolidation of 911 services, which costs the township almost $37,000 more a year, but Michael said his audits of 911 calls have resulted in the township saving over $72,000 in the last five years.
He is also concerned about the Metroparks, which own almost 40 percent of township land, not paying any taxes to the township.
“I will be working with the Ohio General Assembly to have Metroparks pay the townships for lost tax revenue, services they use and wear and tear to shared roads maintained by the townships. He also wants to limit the amount of acreage that Metroparks can own in one township.
To enhance revenue, Michael said the township is utilizing alternative funding sources such as Joint Economic Development Districts (JEDDs) and other economic development tools that have no increase in property taxes but bring in revenue to help pay for services such as garbage pickup, yard waste drop-off, fleet replacement and more.
“I am committed to maintaining every other week trash pickup to township residents and township-provided yard waste service,” he said, adding that he would like to bring curbside recycling and pickup to the township.
Michael said he negotiated a joint cooperation agreement with the county to exempt and eliminate assessments from residents for the entire six-year Swan Creek Watershed project, saving the residents over $115,000 a year.
“Swanton Township residents will not have to pay this assessment tax on residential properties, which would have increased their property taxes substantially,” he said. “Additionally, I negotiated for the county to reimburse Swanton Township for cleaning its ditches yearly.”
Michael said he is committed to ensuring that all residents are informed of township business, by sending newsletters, emails and notices to make sure that all are aware, not just those who are online. He is encouraging residents to use the Lucas County Alerts system and plans to enhance the township’s online presence, branding and communication, but in a way that does not expose the township or its residents to “ransomware, malware, AI-powered attacks, social engineering and the data theft of residents’ information.”
As trustee, Michael is the director of the Toledo Express Airport JEDD board of directors and a member of the 911 Consolidation Regional Council of Government Administrators Technical Advisory Committee.
