Butler County GOP Update: Central Committee Chair Race

3:15PM NOTE: I have bumped this to the top again because of some important updates issued after having originally written this piece earlier this morning. This is a learning process for me as I've not really had much experience with local politics and I am discovering that there are still holes in what I thought I knew about key players. At any rate, what I hope candidates take from this is that if I miss something significant...you can rest assured -- or not -- that more than a few voters have as well. The smart politican will contact me and offer some insight -- as a few have done both in this story and in others. Having re-read the piece, I can see that the tone of the piece didn't really reflect what I was trying to do...and that was to lay out what I knew about the candidates and what I thought about that knowledge. That's "blogger" for I suspect that I have written something that is going to cause tempers to flare and that wasn't the intention of the piece. I do that a lot... Something else I like to remind myself and the readership of from time to time: I'm not a journalist...I'm just a guy with some ideas in my head.

Tomorrow night, the Central Committee of the Butler County Republican Party will meet to decide who will be on the leadership team(s) that will run the party going in to a crucial election cycle.

The single most important decision that the committee will make is in choosing who will be Central Committee Chair. There are two candidates: incumbent Judy Shelton and party activist Chris Wunnenberg.

Let's go to the mailings and we'll start with Judy Shelton:

Dear Central Committee Member:

Your recent election to the Butler County Republican Party is very important, and the decisions you make as a Party member will affect the lives of our citizens. Your dedication to making a difference and the giving of your time, talent, and energy is greatly appreciated. To serve as your Central Committee Chairman has been an honor, and with your support, I would be happy to serve another two year term. We face a very exciting but tough election season this year. It is important that we all work together in order for the Party to be successful. ... I humbly ask for your vote and look forward to meeting you.

That was a postcard that I have to wonder if the Party paid for... [UPDATE: I have received word that Judy did pay for this mailing.]

On to the challenger, who mailed out a two-page letter. Here are some excerpts:

You understand the problems in our Party and the difficulties we've had in the past, I would like to make clear to you what I see as the role of Central Committee Chair and my commitment to each of you if you honor me with your vote.

As elected Republican Central Committee members, we serve on the frontline in each of our precincts and neighborhoods. We owe those who sent us to represent them the best we can deliver. Your wishes on matters involving the Republican party and our Republican candidates should be paramount to any decision our leadership will make. Our future is dependent upon and our leaders must be committed to that principle. I will be.

The Central Committee Chair's main function is to empower the members of the Central Committee to better represent the Republican voters [ who elected each of us ] that we might recruit, endorse, and assist in the election of the best available Republican candidates.

The Chair must refrain from favoring any candidate or attempt to impose upon or influence the committee's decision. Instead, my job will be to ensure you have the information that you need; and a clear, open, and fair process for you and all the candidates seeking office. You, as representatives of the Republican voters throughout the County, must collectively make the choice.
...
As your Chairman I pledge, I will never use the position of Central Chairman to enrich myself, favor my friends, or punish those who have not been my friends. I will fully support and assist the Party Chairman. I will make your thoughts known, and support our Party Chair and our collective decisions.

Our Republican office holders have a responsibility to effectively manage their offices to the benefit of all citizens of Butler County. I will never presume to suggest who to hire, fire or promote. Each of our office holders should chose the best person available for that job. If our office holders conduct themselves honorably and their offices responsibly, I can see no reason the Republican Party would fail to continue to support them. And more important, they'll enhance our efforts by maintaining the "public trust."

There is a LOT in that worth digesting...

Geography:

Shelton is from the Hamilton power base. Wunnenberg is from West Chester. These two centers of gravity are polar opposites. Hamilton doesn't trust West Chester because they are filthy rich riches and West Chester doesn't trust Hamilton because they represent the "good old boys" club.

I'm from Fairfield...I think they both are nuts.

Issues:

Wunnenberg acknowledges the problems and demonstrates the desire to strike at the heart of them: patronage. Shelton really didn't have space on her postcard to get in to a platform of any kind, but I suspect that the absence wasn't an oversight. Having said that, I'd really like to hear what both of these candidates have to say about what position, if any, the Party should take against corruption in office. We know what Kevin DeWine, the Deputy Chairmain of the Ohio Republican Party has said; do either of these candidates support a zero-tolerance policy as well? Let's not beat around the bush and put the cards on the table.

Endorsement:

At this time, I can't endorse either candidate. I will say that I am leaning in the direction of Wunnenberg [see UPDATE 2 below] but that is only because I feel that Judy didn't do enough during the Kay Rogers scandal. When Bob Taft got caught up in his nonsense, I railed against Bob Bennett for sitting on his behind, and I can't justify not feeling the same way about Shelton's performance. Maybe Judy and Bob did stuff behind the scenes... All I know for sure is that when something happens Tom Ellis is left defending the Party and you can't find Judy Shelton with a search warrant. If that's the way standard operating procedure works, I think it sucks and needs to be changed.

Can Judy win me over? Sure... She will need to take a strong stand against corruption and nepotism. She will need to demonstrate that she is part of the solution and not a part of the problem.

As regular readers know, my default position is to support a reformer, and Wunnenberg is clearly representing change. Can he deliver? That is what he has to prove.

UPDATE 1: I should add that this isn't about friendship or how long you've known somebody. I've never met either of these people. [See clarification three in Update 2] It is about leadership and the direction the party has been going and where we'd like it to go next. That is what I am basing my decision on and I hope those members of the Central Committee who are reading this do the same.

UPDATE 2: A couple of important clarifications in this one...

First: (And probably most important...) Wunnenberg stepped down from a leadership position back in the day in order to manage Kay Rogers' campaign. He will have to address that issue in order to secure my support.

Second: Apparently it is standard operating procedure for Tom Ellis to speak for the party. They have an agreement that unless the issue directly involves the Central Committee, Ellis speaks for the party. Personally, I prefer a unified front on big issues like the Kay Rogers incident, but I can understand the concept of what they are trying to do.

Third: I need to correct an item from UPDATE 1... I DID meet Judy Shelton when I was introduced to the party. In fact, she introduced me to Commissioner Furmon. I have no idea how I forgot that...but that was a rather interesting night for me, to say the least. Sorry, Judy...

Fourth: In light of the first clarification in this update, I'm no longer leaning in either direction.