ASHLAND — Incumbent Denny Bittle takes on challengers Brandon Carpenter, Jeff Hardman and Burton Williams on May 5 in the Republican Party primary for the Ashland County Board of Commissioners.
The winner will face Democrat Sandy Bally in the November general election. Bally is unopposed in May.
Below is more information about each candidate.
Bittle seeks fourth term
Bittle, 70, is currently serving his third four-year term as a county commissioner.
During an Ashland County Republican Party luncheon at the end of January, Bittle highlighted his successes as a commissioner in his current and previous terms — including purchasing the former Pump House building in 2020 and later selling it to the city of Ashland in 2022.
“A lot of them (decisions), people don’t like because it doesn’t look to them at the time that there’s any value there,” Bittle said in January. “It looks like a waste of taxpayer dollars. But the Pump House is a great example of sticking, going forward with what you believe in, even though there is a lot of pushbacks on that.
“If we’d cowered and tore it down, then we wouldn’t have a $20 million hotel there.”
Bittle, an Ashland resident, acknowledged that not all decisions made by the board are met with support.
He said he made a mistake on the employees hired by commissioners to help run the county dog shelter, nodding to a fired kennel manager and other personnel turnover two years ago.
Bittle said commissioners eventually put the right people in place to manage the dogs and shelter, including contracting with the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office to hire Sheriff Kurt Schneider as dog warden.
In recent months, he has also advocated for the addition of a second administration building for the county — a $6 million-plus project currently underway at the corner of Cottage and Fourth streets.
“My focus, and our focus of this board, has been to put this county in a position for the next 50 to 75 years without (the need for) any new buildings,” Bittle said in January.
‘Tired of sitting along the sidelines,’ says Carpenter
Carpenter, 38, is pursuing a commissioner seat for the first time. An Ashland resident, Carpenter said in January that he was tired of “sitting along the sidelines.”
“I can sit there and complain about these things, but what good is it to complain? Get involved, do something about it,” he said.
He is a lifelong Ashland County resident and owner of two businesses; Hollerback Trucking and Carpenter’s Customs, a custom truck building company.
He said commissioners need to be more fiscally responsible, transparent about decisions and spend more time listening to residents. But how would he address those issues if elected?
Carpenter shared two efforts to create the changes he wishes to see:
- Utilizing social media to make more announcements and updates about projects through the commissioners’ Facebook page.
- Having some nightly meetings so more members of the public can attend.
Carpenter also said he wants to build a better understanding of county agencies by sitting in on meetings and talking about their projects, as well as working with township trustees to make zoning more business-friendly.
Hardman: ‘Everybody’s voice will be heard’
Hardman, 68, is a lifelong Ashland resident seeking a commissioner seat for the second time.
Currently “semi-retired,” he co-owned a water well drilling business with his family and now operates small public water systems at 14 Dollar General stores. If elected, Hardman plans to fully retire so he can focus solely on responsibilities of the office.
“That’s the kind of kind of commissioner I would be, out in the public, door’s always open, always available, maybe by phone, by social media, that kind of thing,” he said in January.
Hardman highlighted his experience as a business owner, which included managing payroll and sales, as qualifications for county commissioner. Formerly a member of the board of health, he said he asked lots of questions and made sure he understood each decision that was made.
A proposal Hardman shared in January was to hire a grant writer committed to helping county offices obtain funding for various projects. He also agreed with Carpenter that commissioners should be more vocal on social media.
“I want to understand county government, the parts that I do understand and the parts that I don’t understand,” he said.
“I’m not going to stand up here and tell you, ‘I know everything. You should elect me.’ No. But I’m learning. And I will be flexible going forward and everybody’s voice will be heard.”
Williams seeks election after 2022 defeat
Williams, 48, is currently a Perry Township trustee and a board member of the Ashland County Planning Committee, Ashland County Land Bank and the Polk Jackson Perry Township Fire District.
“I’ve always wanted to be involved in the community politically,” said Williams, a Polk resident.
He previously sought election to a commissioner seat in the 2022 primary election, but was ultimately defeated by Bittle.
In January, Williams emphasized the importance of transparency, although he does not favor the word itself.
“I don’t like the word transparency just because it’s a cliché,” he said.
Williams prefers transparency come through actions, such as clearly defining policies.
He used the dog shelter’s initial euthanasia policy, passed by commissioners in January 2024, as an example for improvement.
The policy originally included a euthanasia clause that “dogs that have been at the shelter for more than one year will be euthanized.” The policy created an uproar from dog-lovers and confusion about the definition of a “no-kill” shelter.
Williams said that confusion came because commissioners failed to explain the definition clearly. Similar to Carpenter and Hardman, he said he would utilize social media to get that message out, as well as clearly explaining decisions as they are made.
