Hall officially sworn in as Holmes Co. commissioner

An experienced political figure was officially welcomed into office recently, and with loads of experience at the local, state and national level, that experience and knowledge belonging to Dave Hall puts him in a position where he hopes to make a positive impact on Holmes County.

On Thursday, May 19, Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Warner swore in incoming Holmes County commissioner Dave Hall to finish the term of recently retired commissioner Rob Ault, who moved out of the area.

In seven months they’ll get to do it all again.

Hall recently won a bid to take Ault’s seat, and because he has no opponent in the upcoming November election for the seat, the Holmes County Republican Party has officially tabbed him to take over that seat in a permanent capacity come November.

For now Hall will enjoy easing back into a role in which he is very comfortable, having been elected in 1998, where he served 10 years before moving on to state and national positions.

Hall said he was first sworn into commissioner office in December 1998 and praised the county for stressing the importance of the courthouse and in particular the common pleas courtroom, where he was sworn in.

“It’s been 5,614 days since I left office,” Hall said. “I look forward to serving everyone and working together as a team. I’m looking forward to another time around and using my abilities to learn from my experience as a state representative and an appointee of President Trump and my experience of being a county commissioner. I’m one of three, and I think I bring something to the table.”

He said it seemed fitting that when he came into the courthouse, he witnessed a group of elementary students from Chestnut Ridge being given a tour of the courthouse, something he used to enjoy doing when serving as commissioner years ago.

He said the current commissioners have done a tremendous job of taking care of the courthouse, something he said was a valuable resource to the county and an important piece of the county’s history that needed to be preserved.

Warner congratulated Hall and said he appreciates commissioners who value the history of the area, especially having invested in the courthouse.

“This courthouse is kind of a centerpiece of our county and our town, and I appreciate the renovation that took place on the interior and most recently the outside and the clocktower. I have heard of other counties where they tore their courthouse down because they don’t value that history like we do here,” Warner said.

Hall said it is going to be exciting taking on the challenges that will take place in the county, and he said nothing feels better than serving the people in the community who elected him as a commissioner.

He noted the importance of infrastructure and said that would continue to be at the crux of the commissioner’s to-do list. He also said he is looking forward to working with the many other elected officials around the county, noting teamwork will help every process move along smoother.

He also will be involved with the ongoing health department building project, which will be one of the largest projects the commissioners will work on in future months as it moves toward creating new space for the health department team.

Hall said his state and federal connections might prove valuable as far as finding grant funding to move that process along, as well as funding other county endeavors.

“There’s other opportunities out there,” Hall said. “I think we can do some special things with outside funds.”