Butler County Democrats target West Chester trustee with website

Those who want to see West Chester Twp. Trustee Mark Welch lose in November have launched an opposition website while the candidate’s landing page is still “under construction.”

Butler County Democrats launched MarkWelchForTrustee.org on Tuesday, the day before early voting was set to start in Ohio. The landing page of Welch's campaign site — MarkWelchForTrustee.com — indicated as of Thursday morning the site is not ready, but an Internet search found live links to the site's pages.

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The first-term trustee said creating the website “shows a lack of character” and his opponents should want to win on merit and “not stoop to fake news,” saying the moral compass of whomever is behind the site “is declinated.”

The opposition website consists primarily of news stories and court filings over the past four years, but Welch said the claims “are shallow” and involve “extenuating circumstances.”

Butler County Democratic Party Executive Chairwoman Jocelyn Bucaro said “it’s time for a change” from the conservative township trustee’s leadership.

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“Welch has served his own interests while also allowing the fiscal officer to launch unrepentant public campaigns of sexism and hatred against West Chester residents,” she said. “The township is being run by special interests at the expense of West Chester families. It’s time to clean up West Chester government and start fresh with new leadership.”

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