ASHLAND — The county commissioner campaign trail is in full swing ahead of the May 5 primary and Nov. 3 general election.
The Ashland County Republican Party hosted its first monthly luncheon of the year, inviting the GOP county commissioner candidates to speak about their plans if elected.
Four candidates spoke at the event: incumbent Denny Bittle, 70, Burton Williams, 48, Brandon Carpenter, 38, and Jeff Hardman, 68.
Each candidate had 10 minutes to speak about their backgrounds, plans as commissioner if elected, and other thoughts related to the commissioner work.
The candidates have until Feb. 4 to file to be on the primary election ballot. The primary election will determine which single candidate will represent the Democrat and Republican party nominees at the general election.
Independent candidates, such as Krissi Fussner, 55, must collect 183 signatures by May 4 to secure a spot on the general election.
Incumbent Denny Bittle
Bittle’s third, four-year commissioner term expires Dec. 31, 2026, and he seeks a fourth term.
In his 10-minute window, Bittle pointed to his successes as a commissioner in his current and previous terms, which he said includes purchasing the former Pump House building in 2020, and later selling it to the city in 2022 to sell the building to a prospective developer.
“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. 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,” he said.
Bittle recognized that people have not always agreed with commissioner decisions, including ones related to the dog shelter’s euthanasia policies.
Bittle reminded attendees that commissioners were the primary funders of the project, using American Rescue Plan Act funds, to create a building to last for 100 years.
He also said he recognizes he made a mistake on the people who were hired by commissioners to help run the shelter, nodding to a fired kennel manager and other personnel turnover in 2024.
Bittle said commissioners eventually found the right people to manage the dogs and shelter, including contracting with the sheriff’s office to hire Sheriff Kurt J. Schneider as the dog warden.
“We change with what we think works. If it doesn’t work, then we change again,” Bittle said.
“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. Everything will have a home, everything will work good, so then the next set of commissioners will do to more operation” Bittle said.
Brandon Carpenter
Carpenter is pursuing the commissioner seat for the first time. His campaign slogan, as he has touted on his Facebook page, is “bring common sense back to Ashland County.”
“I’m tired of sitting along the sidelines and sitting back and watching these things happen. I can sit there and complain about these things, but what good is it to complain? Get involved, do something about it.” Carpenter said.
“I know this coming from my generation, we feel like politicians don’t listen to us. They get into office, we elect them, and then as soon as they get into office, our voices are no longer heard,” he said.
Carpenter is a lifelong Ashland County resident and owner of two businesses: Hollerback Trucking and Carpenter’s Customs, a custom truck building company.
Carpenter said commissioners need to be more fiscally responsible, transparent about decisions and spend more time listening to residents.
He plans to accomplish those plans by:
- Utilizing social media to make more announcements and updates about projects through the commissioner’s Facebook page
- Having some nightly meetings so the public can attend
“They feel like they can never come to our meetings because a lot of them are held during the day. So a lot of people would like to see the commissioners conduct meetings in the evenings,” he said.
Carpenter also wants to better understand county agencies by sitting in on meetings and having talks about their projects.
“I feel like our help for our local business is almost nonexistent,” he said.
Carpenter said he wants to work with township trustees to make zoning more business-friendly.
Jeff Hardman
Hardman is a lifelong resident who is “semi-retired,” and seeking a commissioner seat for the second time.
Hardman co-owned a water well-drilling business with his family, and now operates small public water systems at 14 Dollar General stores.
But if elected commissioner, Hardman plans to fully retire so he can solely focus on county commissioner responsibilities.
“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.
Hardman pointed to his experience as a business owner, which included managing a payroll and sales, as qualifications for county commissioner.
He also said when he was a member of the board of health, he asked lots of questions and made sure he understood each decision that was made.
Hardman proposed hiring 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. 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,” Hardman said.
Burton Williams
Williams is a Perry Township trustee, board member of the Ashland County Planning Committee, board member of the Land Bank and board member of the Polk Jackson Perry Township Fire District.
“I’ve always wanted to be involved in the community politically,” he said.
He seeks the commissioner seat after being defeated by Bittle in the 2022 primary election.
Williams also emphasized the importance of transparency.
“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 pointed to the dog shelter’s initial euthanasia policy that commissioners passed in January 2024.
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 caused 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.
Williams said he would utilize social media to get that message out, as well as clearly explaining decisions as they are made.