Antone White, former executive assistant at the Franklin County Board of Elections, has been appointed as the agency's new director.

With his approval Monday by the board of directors of the county Board of Elections, White fills the vacancy left by former director Ed Leonard, a licensed attorney who left to take a job with incoming county Prosecutor Gary Tyack. He was chosen over eight other candidates.

"It's a tremendous opportunity," White said of his appointment. "I've worked in public service for over 10 years, so I'm proud to be in this position and to serve the people of Franklin County."

As elections director, White will receive an annual salary of $138,091.

White previously worked as a communications specialist and executive assistant to the director of public safety under former Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman's administration from February 2007 to May 2010.

He also worked in the county Clerk of Courts office under Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, serving as director of legal operations from May 2010 until March 2019. In September 2019, he began working as the executive assistant at the county Board of Elections, where he helped manage day-to-day operations, special projects and administrative functions.

A Columbus native, White is a graduate of Columbus City Schools. He received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Ohio State University in 1998 and his master's degree in business administration from Franklin University in 2014.

"I look forward to working with Antone and I know chairman (Michael) Sexton had a lot of good applicants, none better than Antone White," David Payne, board of elections deputy director, said during Monday's board meeting.

The past year was a tumultuous one, White said, but he and other Board of Elections leaders will develop a plan to refine the agency's operations in the forthcoming year.

"The first order of business for me will be to take a deep dive into everything that went right and some of the negatives of 2020 and determine a plan of action for continuous improvement," White said.

White said he'll also focus on providing consistent public information to further educate and engage county residents.