The editors of WMD have looked at the candidates for County Wide office in Brown County and announce the following endorsements.Sheriff: No Endorsement
In the Republican Race for sheriff, we have two very good candidates: incumbent Dwayne Wenninger and challenger Don Newman. Wenninger has served terms as county sheriff and has worked hard to advocate for sheriff interests with the Commissioners and has worked with a limited budget to improve law enforcement. He has remained over the years a very popular sheriff. We wish to rate him as HIGHLY QUALIFIED.
We do want to rate Don Newman has HIGHLY QUALIFIED. Mr. Newman has met all state qualification requirements, has served as an Ohio Highway Patrol Dispather, served as a Deputy under two different County Sheriffs, served with the Georgetown Police Department and the Ripley PD, and has been a law enforcement officer for over 30 years.
Either of these two men would make fine sheriffs, and we thank both for their service and all they have done to serve and protect.
Sheriff Wenninger received the endorsement of the Brown County Central Committee.
Commissioner: Seat 1: Rick Eagan; Seat 2: Gary Zane Steele
In the race for the two commissioner seats, we have Rick Eagan taking on Randy Fulton, and Gary Zane Steele Running unoppossed in the primary.
We support Mr. Eagan over Mr. Fulton because Mr. Eagan has a wealth of varied experience in law enforcement as well as local government that would make him ideal for the position of working with so many government agencies. He has worked with Ripley Village Council, as well as working in the sheriff's department. He also has the experience of running a campaign as he ran for commissioner in 2006. Mr. Eagan recognizes the infrastructure challenges Brown County faces as it continues to grow. Mr. Fulton is a likeable man, and has some good ideas, but he is lacking experience and polish.
In the other race, Gary Zane Steele will be taking on the winner of the Democrat primary. Mr. Steele also has varied experience and we support his endeavor to win a seat on commission.
County Prosecutor: Jessica Little
We are pleased to Endorse Jessica Little for Prosecutor. She brings common sense and experience and openness to a position that has been questionable in the county for some time. Current prosecutor Tom Grennan has been accused of favoratism in prosecuting as well as circumventing and sabotaging the sheriff's department at times. Jessica Little has experience in law from both sides of the table, having done some work for the Adams County prosecutor's office, as well as currently working in Danny Bubp's law firm as well. She is a mom with children who worked her way through school with kids, and is dedicated to serving her home county.
Ms. Little received the endorsement of Brown County Central Committee.
County Recorder
In the race for county recorder, we have a hard decision. We have two young and very able candidates in Mariah Votel and Amy Jo Declaire. In Ms. Votel we have someone who has private sector experience in working for a national distributor of promotional products. She realizes that there are no "one size fits all" solutions to her clients' needs, and wants to bring that same customer service approach to the recorder's office. She wants to work to improve efficiency and also to educate youth on local government and the recorder's office. Ms. Votel is the Brown County Central Committee's endorsed candidate.
In Amy Declaire, we have a canidate with experience in local government, working in the Clermont County government. She has expertise on dealing with budgets, as well as degrees in accounting from Wilmington College. She has worked with securing documents as well as financial statements and wants to bring enthusiasm and a personal approach to the office. She wants to continue to improve efficiency as well as getting more documents online available to the public. She has been endorsed by outgoing county Treasurer Gail Declaire.
In this case, again, we cannot endorse either candidate. Both women are well qualified. Both women are enthusiastic and bring strong moral and collective ethics to their jobs. Both will be formidable candidates in November. Therefore, we would like to rank both as highly qualified. Either choice, you will get great service and leadership in the recorder's office.
County Treasurer
In this race, we are again faced with tough decisions. We have Warren Wagner taking on Connie Patrick for the nomination. The Central Committee was split and did not endorse either candidate.
With Mr. Wagner, we have a lifetime resident of the county who has done a lot in public service. He has strong personal and moral values. He has served as fiscal officer in Jackson Township for 20 years, has an associate's degree in Business Admin from Southern State Community College. He has continuing ed. credits from the Ohio State Treasurer's Center for Public investment, and has served as treasurer for his local Americna Legion post 180 in Georgetown.
With Ms. Patrick, we have direct experience. She was in private enterprise owning the Party Place, a local market, for 18 years. In 1999, upon leaving ownership, she began working as a deputy treasurer for Gail Declaire in the County office. Since then, she has continued to learn and grow in the County Treasurer's office. She als has a website showing she has accessed this new medium for her campaign. She has been endorsed by outgoing County Treasurer Gail Declaire.
Again, we cannot pick one candidate over the other. We would like to rank both as HIGHLY QUALIFIED for the position. Both Mr. Wagner and Ms. Patrick have experience in a variety of sectors to make them great fits for the Treasuer's position, and both have deep passion to serve with integrity and honor in that capacity.
Common Pleas Court: Scott Gusweiler
Scott Gusweiler will be running for common pleas court. He previously ran for the position. He is a solid conservative who wants to work hard not only for the party, but the people of Brown County. He is a smooth operator who has dedicated himself to getting to know more of Brown County by attending events and working hard to secure the trust of voters. He is a solid member of the community and would make a great judge, bringing common sense as well as a keen legal mind to the position. We are proud to endorse Scott Gusweiler for common pleas judge. Scott was unanimously endorsed by the Brown County Central Committee.
Clerk of Courts
In this race, incumbent Tina Meranda is running unopposed in the primary. Since being elected, Ms. Meranda has worked to make the clerk's office self supporting. She also has worked on the website for the Clerk's office, as well as getting more money through title transfers in the county. However, her regime has been tainted by scandal as the State Auditor has presented an investigation where there has been misappropriations of funds, and among other parties, Ms. Meranda was cited.
We know Ms. Meranda is a likeable person, and we also reported on her recent health difficulties, in which she has our prayers and best wishes. However, we cannot in good conscience endorse her for Clerk of Courts. Between personal attacks on a potential primary opponent, as well as 'cherrypicking' parts of the audit to spin it to voters, along with the investigation itself, we cannot endorse her in keeping current with our policy on ethics and integrity in government. Therefore, we would encourage you to write in a candidate in the county. In the case of editor Mark who votes in the county, he will be writing in Gail Declaire, who was going to run but was not endorsed. It should be noted that Ms. Meranda won the endorsement of the Brown County Central Committee.
In this race, with the candidates on the slate, we encourage you not to vote for Ms. Meranda and instead leave it blank or write in a Republican candidate of your choice.
