The job next year will pay $103,829.
“This race isn’t about courtroom drama or past scandals, it’s about the future of Butler County,” Ryan said about why he wants to go into countywide leadership.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Ryan believes he is the only candidate who will offer no distractions, he said.
“We need a commissioner that’s going to fight for our conservative values. We need a commissioner that’s going to be a voice for every city, township and village, and we need a commissioner that is going to take Butler County to the next level,” he said to the Journal-News. “We need someone that’s looking ahead to 2050, to the future, that is going to attract the next generation of workforce, the next generation of up and coming companies that are innovative and advanced in technology.”
Ryan, 41, who has been on city council for eight years, ticked off a list of things the city has accomplished on his watch like bringing 1,400-plus new jobs, $700 million in capital investment, new hotels and restaurants and numerous other developments.
Reynolds, 55, was elected auditor in 2008, he is touting the fact he returned $21 million in excess fees to various taxing bodies through office efficiencies, targeted illegal gas pump skimmers among other efforts.
Reynolds believes he can win, he said, despite being ousted from his prior countywide office in 2022 under the cloud of a felony conviction.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
A jury found him guilty on one felony count of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, but the Ohio Supreme Court ultimately vindicated him. In the midst of his legal troubles — which he characterizes as a witch hunt — he was re-elected auditor. That’s what gives him confidence.
“The legal troubles were going on in 2022 when I was elected by 67% of the voters,” he said to the Journal-News. “I think the voters saw through the political games that were going on and the voters were vindicated just like I was with all the charges being overturned. Once all the information was put out it was clear there was a witch hunt abrew, so those folks that stood beside me in ‘22, I expect will stand with me in ‘26.”
Reynolds says he is seeking the commission position because he can have more of an impact than trying to retake the county auditor position — which he tried and failed to do after the high court exonerated him.
“I can have a much larger impact as commissioner for the taxpayers of Butler County than even as I did as auditor,” he said. “The tax issues, surprisingly I can do more as commissioner in getting money back in people’s pockets.”
Reynolds was indicted in February 2022 on five counts for bribery and leveraging his public office to further his own interests on charges related to trying to help his family develop land in Liberty and West Chester townships.
A separate felony charge was added alleging he asked Lakota Schools officials to use $750,000 over three years of the unspent fees he routinely returned to taxing bodies each year for a golf academy at Four Bridges Golf Course, where his family lives. The jury in December 2022 found no fault on the development claims but guilty on the Lakota charge. He was forced to leave office because he could not serve with a felony conviction.
The Ohio Supreme Court essentially exonerated Reynolds of any criminal wrongdoing last year — when it refused to disturb the appellate court’s not guilty decision.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Carpenter, 66, has held a county office for nearly three decades, serving first as the clerk of courts from 1996 until 2010 when she was elected commissioner. She said the competition doesn’t bother her, she has had primary challengers in three of her eight elections and Democrats came after her in all but one.
“I’ve had 16 opponents, I’ve had lots of competition,” she said, “So I guess we’ll have a race again. I’m pretty confident that I have good name ID and reputation, and I’m out here working all the time. It’ll just be another race.”
“It’s way early” to be circulating petitions, she said, given the filing deadline isn’t until Feb. 4.
Ryan said he is pounding the pavement now — he actually pulled petitions in May and filed June 20 — because “I wanted to give my self a full year of campaigning.”
Reynolds has come out of the gate with a list of campaign promises. During his tenure as the county’s chief financial officer he waged a historic fight with the state tax commissioner to try and ward off what turned out to be catastrophic property value hikes, to no avail.
He said, if elected, “on day one” he will “make motions” to increase the Homestead exemption for seniors and disabled veterans; return property tax windfalls and reduce conveyance fees.
“We have a property tax crisis, and it has led to local governments, schools and the county getting a huge windfall in taxes. It needs to be addressed, and it needs to be fixed,” Reynolds said. “I’m ready to go in first day and make motions to get the huge surplus sitting at the county general fund back to those that paid it in. They are sitting on $165 million.”
The commissioners have given $26 million back to taxpayers, rolling back the entire $18.5 million property tax collection in 2022.
Last year, they waived the estimated $6 million property tax windfall. They are currently considering another tax break.
Carpenter has heard Reynolds is criticizing the robust fund balance, she said, and there is a reason for that. She said they brought the county back from the brink of fiscal ruin in 2010, so they are very cautious with county dollars. Plus, they need the cash to fun some major building projects.
“I know one of the issues that Roger has mentioned is that we have a lot of money in the general fund right now,” she said. “We worked really hard to have that amount of money. We don’t support frivolous spending, and we don’t ever want to get caught in the situation we were in back in 2010, and we’re not going to.”
Reynolds said he is campaigning now because he wants the GOP endorsement, but he angered many Republicans when he tried to kick current Auditor Nancy Nix out of office after the Supreme Court exonerated him.
“I believe with my accomplishments as auditor, any prudent central committee person would support me for taking that same passion for the taxpayer over to the commissioners’ office where I can actually accomplish more,” he said.
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