Voters are likely familiar already with the circumstances that led to this unusual contest for Jolivette’s seat. Jolivette has been accused of nepotism — and is under investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission — in connection with his votes in 2004 and 2005 to hire his daughter and son for temporary county jobs. The votes went unnoticed and unquestioned until an anonymous letter surfaced in 2009, shortly after a contentious budget vote. Although we cannot condone Jolivette’s votes, the episode amounted to a political hit job — and resulted in challengers from his own party seeking the GOP endorsement last fall. The county Republican Party would typically endorse an incumbent candidate without hesitation, but it was unable to reach a consensus late last year. What should have been a cakewalk re-election year for Jolivette has turned into a fight for his political life.
That’s what has led us to this point — a six-candidate GOP race that includes the incumbent. The winner of the GOP primary contest will go on to face Democrat Lester “Butch” Hubble in the November election. Hubble is unopposed in the Democratic primary and we believe he will be a worthy and capable opponent. We look forward to hearing Hubble and his opponent discuss the county’s challenges and opportunities in the fall campaign.
Besides Jolivette, Republican voters will see on their ballots: Jose Alvarez, a former West Chester Twp. trustee; Cindy Carpenter of Oxford, the current county clerk of courts; Paul Nenni, a former Middletown City Council member; Richard Weston Retherford, a Hamilton funeral home employee; and Jesse Von Stein, a Hamilton business owner.
Retherford and Von Stein, both running for public office for the first time, are not ready to be elected to the county commission. Both offer interesting and insightful observations about problems in county government, but lack a thorough understanding of government that comes with the experience in office that the other candidates possess. Both would have steep and lengthy learning curves before they would be effective commissioners, in our view.
Carpenter, a dedicated county clerk of courts since 1997, has deep knowledge about Butler County government and has taken the initiative in her office and as a member of the county budget workgroup to effect changes in the system. In conversations with our editorial board and in our public forum, Carpenter has focused on details about past budgets and grievances against other officeholders — with some apparent justification. But she seems to lack a vision, or is unable to articulate a vision, for how she would move Butler County into the future. While her ideas lead us to think that, as a commissioner, she could improve the administration of county business, she is not the game-changer that we believe county government — criticized widely for its size, questionable hiring practices and scandals — needs at this moment.
Nenni’s candidacy is simple and direct. He promises to initiate a change in the structure of county government in order to take out much of the partisan politics and inefficiencies that “lead to corruption” and to establish clearer authority for a larger “county council” that would replace the current three-member county commission. County government is antiquated, he says, and is ineffective because clear leadership is lacking in the current structure. Besides setting annual budgets, current county commissioners have little direct authority to tell other elected officeholders how to manage their departments, he says. Nenni also is calling for the merging of some offices, minimizing the number of elected officeholders and strengthening the county commission, which now only controls about 20 to 30 percent of the county’s spending.
Nenni’s one-issue platform has some appeal, especially for those of us who agree that the current form of county government does not encourage efficiency and effective use of taxpayers’ dollars, and lends itself to the political abuses we’ve seen — one-party domination with too little accountability, unchecked patronage and nepotism. (How his platform will play with fellow Republicans who now control county government remains to be seen.) We, however, would prefer a candidate with a broader agenda, one that addresses immediate budget issues as well as economic development concerns. Nenni’s quest for a county charter can be pursued by like-minded citizens and does not require his election to the county commission.
In terms of his performance as a commissioner, Jolivette would get a “C” grade from us. He has had good ideas — most notably, reducing the number of 911 dispatch centers and bringing local officials together to explore consolidating or sharing services — but often does not follow up aggressively enough in order to effect change. (Jolivette revived the dispatch center issue last week, at least partly, we suspect, to deflect election-season criticism that he’s been unable to push through an initiative.) We do, however, give Jolivette his due credit for calling attention in 2006 to the county’s rampant “drunken sailor” spending. But in our fall 2006 endorsement of Jolivette over his Democratic opponent, we noted: “He needs to be that assertive all the time, not just when he’s running for re-election.” The same could be said now.
The circumstances surrounding the revelations about Jolivette’s apparent nepotism do not change the fact that his votes were inappropriate — even with temporary jobs. We expect better judgment from elected officials. However, the disclosure was an obvious attempt to kneecap his re-election, and we would recommend that voters take that bit of political intrigue into consideration. Jolivette has been a fixture in Butler County politics for decades, and we respect and admire his years of public service. That does not mean, though, that we believe he is the best candidate in this GOP primary.
Our pick for the GOP nomination is Jose Alvarez.
Alvarez, who served 10 years as a trustee in West Chester Twp. before stepping aside in 2005, is direct about the problems facing Butler County and says he is “not chained to an ideology,” as other politicians are. We believe that he is interested in finding practical solutions, not assigning blame, and would bring a business-like point of view and acumen to the commission.
More importantly, we believe he has correctly identified county government’s corrupted culture as the issue about which voters will be thinking when they cast their ballots. Noting that he is not a career politician, Alvarez has pledged to bring a “culture of integrity” to Butler County government and to set an example for how public servants should conduct the taxpayers’ business. His approach is mature, articulate, sober and without regard for the political chicanery that has characterized Butler County government, which he terms “the laughing stock” of the state.
Interestingly, he rejects Nenni’s contention that structure is to blame; Alvarez insists that the culture must change, with an emphasis on public service and good character. He believes, as do we, that voters have had enough of the political abuses and poor judgments, and are ready to make a serious change in this year’s elections.
We like his emphasis on fiscal discipline and economic development, as well as his commitment to clean, accountable, transparent and above-reproach government. We also think that it’s time that the Hamilton-area’s monopoly on county commission be ended, and a representative from thriving West Chester Twp. would be a welcome addition.
Jose Alvarez is the best candidate in the crowded May 4 Republican primary election for county commissioner. We recommend that Republican voters select Alvarez to be their party’s nominee in the fall election.