19-year-old Columbia Township Trustee-elect talks political path from high school commencement to candidate

COLUMBIA TWP. – Joseph Borczuch Jr. graduated in May from Columbia High School and two weeks later had petitions in hand to run for township trustee. It was a whirlwind summer of campaigning in Columbia Township — school board meetings, township sessions, zoning commissions and Lorain County Township Association meetings alongside old-fashioned door knocking to make it across the finish line as the highest vote-getter in a three-way, nonpartisan race for two Columbia Township Trustee seats. Borczuch, 19, captured 929 votes, or about 39 percent; incumbent Dave Montante carried 901 votes or 38 percent; and Julie Powers took 524 votes or about 22 percent. As the vote totals rolled in, Borczuch was filled with a lot of excitement and pride. "It was also that mentality of like, 'Time to get to work,'" he said, seated in the empty Columbia Township Hall on a winter afternoon. "... My lack of experience is covered by my ambition." It's unclear if Borczuch is the youngest township trustee in the area's history, but there are few 19-year-olds who would start their public service career before they finished their first year of college. Borczuch's passion for politics came from a high school AP government class, he said, and the energy surrounding the 2024 presidential election, the first election he could vote in. His campaign found support from his former teachers and school administrators, he said, and his parents and family friends, including some with local political ties. He said incumbent trustees Mark Cunningham and Dave Montante have taken him under their wing. Asked if he, or his family, ever questioned what they had gotten themselves into, Borczuch said they first asked if he was ready for the responsibility. "You've got to be prepared to jump into this," he recalled them telling him. "It's a feisty game out there." "I'm like, I'm ready — my dad's safety/service director for Olmsted Falls, so he had a lot of insight to share with that," Borczuch said. Now going into his second semester at Cleveland State University in January as a political science and business double major, he hopes to bring a background in understanding policy implementation and communication to the role. "I'll be able to add that political side to a Board of Trustees that aren't really political — we're nonpartisan, we all have a kind of unique background," he said. "Having that business and marketing side will help with promoting township events and communicating about meetings and making sure people are up to date on what's happening and the decisions that are being made." The second-generation Columbia Township resident had the nickname "Mr. President" while in school for his successful campaigns for student body president. "It kind of became a joke like, 'Oh, one day Joey's gonna be the president or the governor or something like that,'" he said, adding he figured out the first year he can run for commander in chief is 2044. There is definitely a bid for higher office in Borczuch's future, the trustee-elect said, but for now he will divide his time between his studies at Cleveland State and serving the residents of Columbia Township for the next four years. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.