Board President Eugene Rose believes Oda was singled out because she is running for a second time against six-term county Auditor Nick Nelson in the May 4 Republican primary.
“We need her on our team,” Rose said. “The work that we do is way too important. There’s no place for politics.”
He said the board is supposed to operate independently of the commissioners, though they do set the board’s budget and appoint members.
Oda’s four-year term expired in 2009. Her seat was one of two open until last week, when the commissioners appointed Bob Goodwin and Cynthia Comperchio, who replaces Oda.
Rose surmised that Oda’s decision to run against Nelson “was the icing on the cake” in her running dispute with the commissioners.
Commissioner Pat South said the timing of the appointments, which occurred the same week as the filing deadline for the primary, was coincidental.
South said Comperchio and Goodwin were chosen in the hopes of reducing the need for their oversight of the board business.
She cited, for example, that the commissioners were responsible for returning to taxpayers 2 mills of a levy because of a $40 million budget surplus.
Oda disputed South’s assertion, saying her fellow board members discovered the problems and brought it to the attention of the commissioners. “They wanted us to give them all the credit for it,” Oda said. “We just didn’t do it.”
South said she also questioned the board’s contemplating giving developmental disabilities employees pay raises in the current economy and for taking a lead role in funding and staffing a baseball field for disabled players.
Oda accused the commissioners of “trying to weaken the board” to gain control of the funding.
She also serves as the elected Clearcreek Twp. fiscal officer, and is communications director for the Ohio Association of County Boards of Development Disabilities.
South said Comperchio, who has an autistic son, brings a background in fundraising and grant writing that will help the agency.
“We aren’t trying to create controversy. We want it to run well,” South said.
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