Montgomery County Commissioners are responsible for managing a $937 million budget and has appropriating authority of numerous agencies and county offices. There are more than 500,000 residents in Montgomery County.
There are three Montgomery County commissioners and they will make about $111,500 next year, according to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office.
Carolyn Rice
Rice has been a county commissioner since 2019 and was the Montgomery County Treasurer for more than a decade before becoming a commissioner. She said being a commissioner has been the honor and privilege of her life.
“I absolutely love public service and what the Montgomery County commissioners have the opportunity to do because we get to help thousands of people every day in so many different ways,” she said.
Her priorities if re-elected will continue to be jobs, housing and homelessness and mental health and addiction prevention and recovery, she said. During her time as commissioner, the county has expanded its workforce development by creating the mobile workforce unit and the Employment Opportunity Center in the Westown Shopping Center. Rice said these projects and others help bring services to people where they are and also helps fill important jobs in the area.
She also said she wants to continue to make investments in young children and their families to give them the best opportunity to be prepared for schooling. Having the tools to succeed in school early puts a child on the path to being a successful adult, she said.
The county has faced many challenges over the last few years including suffering multiple tornadoes, water outages and the COVID-19 pandemic and Rice said she is proud of how the county has tackled those issues.
“I believe that we’ve responded well in the last four years. I have many things that I continue to be interested in because as a county commissioner, there are many different things that you can do. I understand county government. I have a proven record over the last 16 years of delivering on the things that I say I will do. And these are tough, tough, complex problems. We don’t necessarily solve them, but we move them in the right direction. And we constantly apply and leverage all of our resources to get the best possible results for our citizens.”
Jordan Wortham
Wortham decided to run for office because he wants to change the status quo, he said in a Dayton Daily News voters guide.
“We have too many career politicians consumed with re-election, special interests, and political parties,” he said. “The three Montgomery County Commission seats have been comprised of all endorsed Democrats for several decades. However, this is not a true reflection of the county. One party controlled institutions lead to the lack of transparency, accountability, and checks and balances.”
He currently works as a Security Equity Investor and Trader and said he is a born fighter who’s been successful in careers in law enforcement and business.
He said if elected, his priorities will be to eliminate bureaucratic red tape, business development and making the county government more effective. Getting rid of “overly cumbersome regulations and minimizing taxation” will help attract entrepreneurs and business investment, Wortham said, adding that he will focus on changing “outdated policies that burden the system and people” and “make technology upgrades to reduce lag time and unnecessary hurdles for government workers and people.”
Wortham said he is the right person for the job.
“The average age on the board is 70, I am 33. I will bring a refreshing approach and high energy to the board. I have a different passion, vision, and willingness to adapt to new things in comparison to the current Democrat board members,” he said.
Wortham was terminated as a Dayton Police Officer in 2019 after he was accused of making a false statement during an investigation into an off-duty interaction he had with two officers. He has appealed that termination.
Wortham previously said he is proud of his law enforcement career but declined to be interviewed for this story.
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