Reynolds went on to win the special election in November 2008 over Democrat Jack Zettler to fill the unexpired term after Rogers’ resignation. Reynolds won again in November 2010 over Democrat George Stephen.
The Republican Party has been the dominate political party in Butler County for decades. Only one of the Democratic Party’s members — Juvenile Court Judge Kathy Romans — is elected to a countywide office.
Winning in November in the very Republican county will be a challenge for any Democrat. There are four times as many registered Republican voters (30,004) than registered Democrat voters (7,542). However, there are more than 190,000 registered voters that are nonpartisan or are affiliated with a minor party.
Powell said that a “one-party system is not good” for the county.
“It’s hard to get a Democrat to run in Butler County because the opposition is so great,” she said. “You’re up against a force.”
Powell said she’s running because friends and former colleagues in the auditor’s office have said “things were never the same since you left” in 2005. While she thought they were being nice, Powell said she now believes they’re right.
Powell, who worked on both the payroll and real estate sides of the office, said she believes people aren’t getting the customer service they were used to receiving when she was a county employee.
“People would say, ‘I can’t call up and get the information like I was able with you,’” she said.
Reynolds said as he talks with residents about his campaign, he talks about the work he’s done after the public corruption era of the office.
“We’ve made major improvements when I came into the office 2008,” he said. “We modernized it and it runs like a business. We’re focused on customer service and saving tax dollars.”
He said he’s improved the office’s transparency and has saved millions in tax dollars by retooling the office with new technology and improving the skill sets of employees.
The campaigns are underway for both candidates as they talk to voters.
“It’s amazing to them that somebody is going door-to-door to talk about what’s important to them,” Powell said.
“I’m excited to get out to talk to people,” said Reynolds. “I thoroughly enjoy the job; it’s very rewarding.”
This year’s general election will be on Nov. 4. Early voting for the November election begins Oct. 7.
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