Well, I knew this day would come and I would see an article in one of the local papers that would detail some of Rawnica's past actions. Today is that day as the Middletown Journal's Josh Sweigart pens the piece that ought to determine the fate of young Rawnica's political future...Over the course of her run, I have heard her deal with these issues and haven't been impressed. Her performance in this article is no better as the litany of sins committed by Rawnica is laid bare for all to see. Among them is this:
In her February 2003 application for the clerk job, she claimed an education she never had: a 2002 graduate of Miami University — graduating summa cum laude — and attending classes at the University of Cincinnati.If she's willing to lie about her education to get a job for her children, what else is she willing to lie about? I doubt her kids had anything to do with it, but she has lied about this too:
Dillingham now confirms she studied business administration at Miami for five years, but never graduated, and she planned to attend UC, but never did. She lied because she was a single mother with three kids and needed the job.
"Like I think any mother would do, I was trying to do anything I could do to put food on the table for my children," she said. "If I had to do it over again, I would do things differently."
Dillingham said she resigned from her clerk position in January 2004 to pursue a position with the Mental Health Board, but a memo produced by county Personnel Director Douglas Duckett indicates otherwise.The third strike against Rawnica, in my book, is her close association with former commissioner Mike Fox -- who resigned in order to take a higher paying job with Butler County Children's Services.
"(Dillingham), an unclassified employee, resigned rather than face discharge following reports that she had improperly solicited political contributions from Gina Rosemarin, a classified employee of the commissioners' office," the memo reads.
The memo says Dillingham "strongly denied the charges." It also includes a written statement from Rosemarin, in which she says Dillingham told her to pay the Republican party $1,500. Rosemarin added, "Rawnica told me that the Republican party would be asking every employee of the commissioners' staff to contribute financially to their fundraising."
Dillingham said she asked Rosemarin, over lunch, if she wanted to join a Republican club for which Dillingham was treasurer, and that she never pressured Rosemarin.
County Administrator Derek Conklin said Dillingham was asked to resign because of these accusations, and that her alleged actions were potentially illegal.
Who does Rawnica blame for her lying? It seems apparent to me that Rawnica thinks her opponent, Chuck Furmon, made her do these things...
Furmon criticized Dillingham for listing her county job in her campaign material, "when in fact she was given an ultimatum to resign or be fired for violating criminal code."I've seen Rawnicans come by here and throw bombs at Chuck Furmon, and I have always asked those folks to show proof of their allegations. They never do... My proof is now in black and white thanks to the Middletown Journal; I'll ask again for Furmon detractors to put up or shut up.
County officials said the county had agreed not to disclose the details of her resignation to future employers, but the agreement was nullified when she began making "disparaging statements" about the county.
