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County commission candidate says he's ‘an option for better government’

West Chester Township Trustee Jose Alvarez, candidate for the May 4 GOP primary, answers questions during the candidates forum Tuesday evening, April 6, at the Butler Tech Public Safety Education Complex.

Jessica Uttinger/Contributing photographer West Chester Township Trustee Jose Alvarez, candidate for the May 4 GOP primary, answers questions during the candidates forum Tuesday evening, April 6, at the Butler Tech Public Safety Education Complex.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 8:14 PM Thursday, April 29, 2010

WEST CHESTER TWP. — He doesn’t remember what the specific newspaper story was about — Butler County’s budget woes, allegations of nepotism, work being done without contracts — but Jose Alvarez said he had enough.

“I think people are absolutely livid because of what’s transpired over the course of recent years,” he said. “Closed contracts, ethical lapses, cronyism.”

“Last year, you’d pick up the paper and almost every week there was another story.”

The 58-year-old engineer at GE Aircraft Engines said he’s running for Butler County Commission in the May 4 GOP primary to bring “honesty” and “integrity” back to the office. He is one of six Republican candidates for the seat.

Having served as a West Chester Twp. trustee for 10 years, Alvarez says he knows the lay of the land.

“I have the experience from working in the township, I know quite a few people around the county one would have to deal with,” he said.

Alvarez has been active within the Butler County GOP for 14 years, and was one of the front-runners for party endorsement in the commission race. No one got the 60 percent of the party’s central committee vote needed for endorsement, though.

But he said he’s also an outsider. He referred to ongoing Ohio Ethics Commission investigations into two sitting commissioners — including the incumbent — and other recent scandals.

“I owe no one a contract. I owe no one a job. They owe me no job,” he said.

“We need to get off this habit that ... economic development is helping your friends,” he said. “That’s not what economic development is.”

If elected, Alvarez said he would address the county’s ailing budget by scaling down services, wherever possible, to what is required of county government by state law. He would look for ways of reducing the cost of the county airport and getting out of the fiber optics business.

And once the county establishes a budget, he said, it must stick to it. He’s not a fan of pet projects, he said.

“I’m standing here as an option for better government, someone who’s got the background,” he said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.

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