Beavercreek City Councilman and former mayor Brian Jarvis, Bellbrook Mayor Bob Baird and former Sugarcreek Township trustee Richard King will also seek a seat on the county board of commissioners.
King will face Koogler in the primary. Glaser will be challenged by Geyer, Poston, Jarvis and Baird. The winners will be unopposed in November.
Baird said he is running because he wants bring his experiences as a city councilman and mayor to the county.
“I want to use that experience to help promote the county,” he said. “… I want to make sure we’re moving forward in a solid manner.”
Geyer, a Xenia resident, said he’s running because he’s fed up with politics in general.
“I thought it was a good time in my life where I could contribute something back to the community,” he said. “I’m at a point in my business life where I can do that. It’s a good opportunity to get in and hopefully give my business experience to citizens of Greene County.”
Glaser, a former Beavercreek mayor and former township trustee, is running for re-election because he has several projects he wants to finish.
“With the other commissioners, we’ve been able to make a good impact on the county with regards to finances,” he said. ” … We’ve been able to make some drastic savings.”
Glaser and Koogler both noted the county will save more than $19 million over the course of several years after the commissioners approved refinancing some bonds.
Jarvis, a Beavercreek resident who has been on the city council for six years, said his active involvement in the community makes him qualified to fill the role of county commissioner, and he said he can do the the job.
“People know me throughout the county as someone who does get involved,” he said. “I do know how things work and I’ve served on a number of boards including the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Greene County Family First Council … I know what’s needed in the county. I know how things are funded in the county.”
King, who lives in the Sugarcreek Township area, said he is running because he is concerned about integrity and honesty for commissioners.
“What we need in the commissioners’ office is a commissioner who has the integrity, honesty and is not influenced by (campaign) contributors,” he said. “All during the time that I was in public office … I have never taken a campaign contribution. Everything has been self funded.”
Koogler, a Bellbrook resident, said his 40 years of business experience allowed him to make positive changes within the county’s operations during his first term.
“For the first time last year, the budget was approved in December instead of March the following year,” he said. Koogler said because county officials were “ focused on each line item and controlling their costs, we’ve gone from a $15 million carryover in 2012 to a projected $25 million carryover at the end of this year.”
Poston, who lives in the Beavercreek Township area, is running for public office to maintain the county’s reputation that he helped to build, he said.
“I worked really hard with my staff and county commissioners to put the county in a good financial state, to get a good financial reputation for the county across the state,” he said. … I couldn’t in good conscious sit back and let the county be threatened by a lack of experience.”
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