MANSFIELD — Richland County residents voting in the Board of Commissioners’ race Nov. 5 will choose between a long-time elected official and a locally familiar face making his first venture into politics.
Incumbent Republican Darrell Banks, 76, is seeking a third, four-year term in office. Democrat Rev. Aaron Williams, 55, is in his first try at elected office.
The role of a county commissioner in Ohio is spelled out in Chapter 307 of the Ohio Revised Code.
A county commissioner doesn’t make laws, unlike a city or village council member. It’s largely an administrative body that sets strategic direction and fiscal priorities for the county.
The three-member Board of Commissioners serves as the budget and appropriating authority for all county government, including all county agencies and elected officials.
(Below is the “Candidate Conversation” at Richland Source on Oct. 23 between Republican Darrell Banks and Democrat Aaron Williams, moderated by Richland Source City Editor Carl Hunnell.)
Here is a look at both candidates:
Darrell Banks
Banks, elected three times as mayor of the Village of Bellville, was first elected county commissioner in 2016.
During the Republican Party primary that year, Banks unseated incumbent Tim Wert in a narrow election. Banks then defeated Democrat Ron Davis in 2016 general election, receiving 63 percent of the vote.
Banks, who said his family has lived in Richland County since before the Civil War, was unopposed in the 2020 primary and general election cycles.
A Bellville resident, Banks graduated from Clear Fork High School in 1966 and earned an associate’s degree from Iowa State University in 1969.
A U.S. Army veteran, Banks has taught at the Knox County Career Center and also worked in the family restaurant and golf course businesses.
“I want to continue to use my varied experiences in business, education, public service and the U.S. Army to manage Richland County in the best interest of the taxpayers of the county,” Banks said.
“I believe I have greater breadth of experience in both private and public sectors, which is essential for the position,” he said.
“I am admittedly an outspoken proponent of limited government and fiscal discipline,” said Banks, pointing to the board’s adopted policy of approving a balanced budget each year.
Banks points to capital investments made during his tenure in office, including the 9-1-1 dispatch center, a communications tower in Lucas and a wide array of improvements made at the county courthouse.
“We’re investing in the building so that it can be used many years into the future,” he said. “If you don’t maintain it, things don’t last.”
Rev. Aaron Williams
An Ontario resident, Williams has been the the pastor of Maddox Memorial Church of God in Christ, 1148 Walker Lake Road, for the past eight years.
Williams, who has also worked in the Mansfield City Schools in the area of safety, followed his father into church ministry. A speech he delivered about gun violence in 2023 at the Democratic Women’s Caucus helped to spark his interest in public office.
His remarks came during a year which saw the City of Mansfield suffer a record number of gun-related homicides, many involving teen-agers and young adults.
“Young people are the future. Period. To ignore this is to sign the demise of our county. I work at a school. I mentor children. I feel that building relationships with our youth is one of the best investments we can make,” said Williams, a father and U.S. Air Force veteran.
“As a resident of Richland County, I feel strongly about the well-being of my fellow residents and the future of our communities,” he said. “The future of our county is its youth.
“I want to make sure they have the tools and support from their leadership to equip them to carry on building and guiding our communities,” he said.
“If we don’t invest in our children, then somebody else will and we’re not going to like who that is,” Williams said.
Williams, who has served on boards for organizations like the Richland County Foundation and the North End Community Improvement Collaborative, said the ability to seek out and listen to different voices is important.
“I feel that the foundation of any issues I am faced with stem from being able to hear the voices of the community and hearing what is important to them … bringing in more support and resources to areas like Children Services, or providing support to someone in need of a speed limit sign on their street,” said Williams, a New Jersey native who came to Mansfield in 1979 with his family and pastor father.
“Everything I have done here is based on service,” he said.
