Commissioner hopefuls get chance to share views

Two spots will be up for grabs on the Holmes County Board of Commissioners in the upcoming March 19 primary election, and on Monday, Feb. 19 at Millersburg Church of Christ, seven hopefuls who have a desire to fill those two positions had their chance to convey to the public what their hopes are.

According to Rob Hovis, Holmes County Republican Party chairman, this event was instrumental in providing insight into what each candidate hopes to bring to the table and what they hope to accomplish should they earn the people’s vote and be chosen to represent Holmes County as commissioner.

Each candidate was given six minutes to share their vision and detail their respective platform, and after that, Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau Executive Director Tiffany Gerber, who served as the evening’s moderator, presented an opportunity for the public to ask questions of the candidates.

“These folks are going to be leading us into the future,” Gerber said of the candidates. “It is vitally important for all voters to be educated and to know where they stand and if your principles and what you believe align with your own. We want to put the strongest possible leadership in place, and we have a chance to craft our own future by listening and learning to what the candidates are saying.”

Hovis said having this many candidates competing for a commissioner’s seat hasn’t ever happened as far as he could recollect, and seeing a turnout that nearly filled seating to capacity was exciting.

“I thought Tiffany did a wonderful job of keeping things moving along, which isn’t easy to do, but she really struck the right balance,” Hovis said.

The candidates running for the current seat of commissioner Joe Miller includes Miller and challenger Ervin Yoder while the vacated seat of commissioner Ray Eyler, whose term will end Jan. 2, 2025, includes Eric Strouse, Steve Johnson, Holley Johnson, Dustin Kaufman and Dave Crilow.

In addition to the commissioner’s race, three candidates running for the vacant seat for the 98th District state representative, where Darrell Kick termed out, also were given time to share and answer questions.

That list included Scott Pullins, Mark Hiner and Brandon Lape.

“I thought this was really great,” Hiner said following the forum. “I was pleased with how many people took the time to come out and hear us discuss the important issues.”

All 10 candidates were provided time to share their platforms, and Hovis said sharing their vision and having the community hear what they had to share during the looming pre-election time is critical.

“The importance of this night is to allow voters to meet face to face with people putting themselves out there to be policy makers for our community,” Hovis said. “I think what we experienced here tonight is the living democracy of our nation.”

A number of citizens asked some quality questions including Steve Fox of Millersburg, who had questions for both the commissioner and state representative members.

“My hope is to learn something about each candidate and where their positions happen to be on certain issues,” Fox said. “A lot of the information was rhetorical, and while I wasn’t able to question each one as well and as in-depth as we wanted to, I get it because there is a time constraint.”

Overall, Fox said it was good to hear from each candidate and the evening provided some insight into each person’s platform.

He did add one fact to the coming primary vote on March 19, noting that whomever the county selects in this Republican primary will earn a seat at the commissioner table because there is no one running for either seat from the Democratic or any other party.

The questions posed to the commissioner candidates included what they believe is the county’s biggest problem, the roundabout being discussed at state Routes 39/557 near Berlin, the Holmes Fire District #1 levy that was voted down, how to protect agricultural land and dissuade signage along the county byways, and dog kennels.

Hovis said this event not only gave citizens a chance to put names with faces and hear each individual’s platform, but also it gave each candidate valuable time speaking in front of a large crowd, plus one other key element.

“The candidates get to hear what is on people’s minds,” Hovis said, “first by the questions that were put forth but second by the little group interactions that happened after the forum was over.”

Another benefit of the event was for the Scouts of BSA Troop 355 of Millersburg.

According to Scout leader Jeff Miller, not only did it present an opportunity for his troop members to get involved with the local political landscape, but also it served as a way for them to earn their citizenship merit badge.

The Scouts performed the flag opening and were the go-fers, providing pens and paper to those community members with questions.

“We’re obviously not here to show support for any individual candidate or party. We were here to help, and this gives these young people a chance to learn more about how the local government operates.”

Hovis summed the evening up by saying it was everything he had hoped it would be.