Jolivette said he will run to keep his seat on the commission.
As of Friday, Aug. 7, petitions had been pulled by County Treasurer Nancy Nix, Hamilton resident Bob Weber and a yet-to-be named candidate whose petition was picked up by the executive assistant to Clerk of Courts Cindy Carpenter.
Carpenter said last week there were no announcements coming from her office, although she is considering running and has been in contact with members of the county’s Republican Party.
On Thursday, July 30, Jolivette admitted to moving and voting on a resolution in 2005 to hire his son, Kevin, for a job with the county’s summer work program. He said former county Administrator Derek Conklin — who has declined to comment on the issue — advised him doing so would not be a problem. And when the resolution was read during the May 13, 2005, meeting — by title only — Jolivette says he never noticed it included his son’s name.
The next day, it was determined that Jolivette also voted on several resolutions over a three-year period involving the hiring and pay of his daughter, Elizabeth, who was employed with the county’s Department of Job and Family Services in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Jolivette said he never approached JFS Director Bruce Jewett about his daughter’s hire. Jewett declined to comment last week, saying he did not want to affect an ongoing investigation by the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, who turned over its findings to the Ohio Ethics Commission on Thursday, Aug. 6, according to Prosecutor Robin Piper.
The Ethics Commission meets on Aug. 17, and although it would neither confirm nor deny an investigation into Jolivette’s voting record, officials there said cases like these could take months rather than weeks. A ruling from the Ethics Commission would also not preclude a county prosecutor from leveling charges on their own, according to Paul Nick, of the Ethics Commission.
That means an answer from the state could still be up in the air when the Republican Party begins vetting candidates. Typically, candidate screening takes place in mid- to late-September and endorsement meetings in mid- to late-October, according to party Chairman Tom Ellis.
Ellis said the process of selecting a candidate has proven to be successful, and that executive committee members work to inform themselves about a prospective pick’s political background. He stopped short of saying the recent news about Jolivette would have a negative impact on the meetings this fall.
“These are informed voters,” Ellis said. “To some, that (accusations of nepotism) may rise to the level where they would not support an individual (for office). To others, it may not rise to that level. They make their own personal decisions.”
Jolivette said Friday he didn’t want to speculate about whether the issue could harm the party’s selection process, and that he would wait and see.
“I fully intend to be cleared (of any wrongdoing) and run a vigorous campaign,” Jolivette said. “I’m going to approach each day as a county commissioner and doing what’s best for the county. Hopefully, the party will continue to support me like they have in the past.”
Some party members aren’t as positive about Jolivette’s plight.
“Some of the office holders and department heads are dissatisfied with the current operation of county government,” Carpenter said. “Some of these people are not happy with the scandals that have occurred. It is very disheartening.
“There are many of us that believe that some things need to be done differently.”
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