Editor’s note: This story was initially published March 6 in anticipation of the March 17 in-person primary election, which was extended until April 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no additional in-person voting.
Any Richland County voters who have not already voted (through early voting prior to March 17) may request an absentee ballot application by calling (419) 774-5530 or by completing and printing an application at the Richland County Board of Elections website.
Applications must be received by noon on Saturday and ballots must be returned by April 28. If returning voted absentee ballot by mail, they must be postmarked by Monday. If dropping off a completed absentee ballot, must be received at the Board of Elections by April 28 at 7:30 p.m.)
MANSFIELD — One thing is almost certain in the Richland County commissioners’ office after the primary election.
Republicans will maintain complete control of the three-member board.
Commissioner Darrell Banks is unopposed in the primary in his bid for a second term and no Democratic candidate has filed for the office in November.
Commissioner Tony Vero, also seeking his second term, faces challenger David Morgenstern in the Republican primary and there is no Democratic challenger in the general election.
Both men are Lexington residents.
Vero, 41, who defeated three-term Democratic incumbent Gary Utt in 2016 when he captured 52 percent of the vote, has focused his re-campaign on the financial success the county has obtained in the past four years under he, Banks and fellow Republican Marilyn John.
In November 2019, that financial success led to Richland County receiving the best bond rating in its history, a decision by S&P Global Ratings that could save local taxpayers about $500,000 in interest payments.
Vero said the board’s financial discipline also led to a $5 million carryover in 2020 and a $1.3 million “rainy day” fund, which Vero said are the largest in county history.
Morgenstern, conversely, said local commissioners have benefited from the improved economy under President Trump.
“The only reason they have good financial numbers is the Trump Train,” Morgenstern said. “I believe I can do a much better job (than Vero) with my business and financial background.”
Vero said the county’s increased cash reserves are not coming at the expense of capital projects. From 2017 through the end of 2020, Vero said, commissioners have approved capital expenditures of $2.4 million.
He said $1.3 million of that is going to relocate, renovate and upgrade the county’s 9-1-1 dispatch center within the Peoples Community Center and also to move forward with a new county-wide digital emergency radio system.
A county government derives the bulk of its revenue from sales tax and commissioners have benefited from an improved local economy in recent years.
“We held the line in good times,” Vero said. “Revenues are up, but let’s not go out and spend frivolously. Let’s buy what we need to buy, as we have in some years of prosperity, but let’s also set aside money that allows us to pay for (some capital projects) in cash now.
“That’s the key to managing a budget. Just because times are good doesn’t mean there is a change in spending wisely and monitoring the budget closely. You can use years of excess revenue to pay for long term capital projects,” Vero said.
Vero said completing the county-wide branding campaign, a $100,000 project being funded through a private-public partnership, is a goal for 2020.
“A branding campaign is more than a logo. It’s an identity. It’s a way for Richland County, as a whole, not just Mansfield, to explain itself to the outside world,” Vero said.
“Communities, like Columbus, who do this well receive so many direct benefits from a project of this scope,” he said. “What does Richland County offer the state and the country at large?”
Vero grew up in Stark County and moved to Richland County in the fall of 2004. He earned a bachelor of arts in history and political science from Miami University and a law degree from the University of Akron School of Law.
He worked at the Mansfield Law Director’s office before joining ArcelorMittal in Shelby, where he served as the supervisor of human resources before being elected in 2016.
Morgenstern has run for commissioner every two years since 2010, losing in the primary in 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He won the Republican primary in 2012, but lost to Utt in the general election.
If elected, Morgenstern said he would not use the commissioner’s office as a “stepping stone” to another elected office. He has not run for any elected office other than a commissioner’s seat.
Morgenstern, who graduated from Lexington High School before attending OSU-Mansfield, said he attended many county commissioner meetings before this current board took office.
“I feel I would be very beneficial in our community (as a commissioner),” he said. “I am very knowledgeable, very personable and not hot tempered.”
Morgenstern said he and his brother started a successful medical facility in Columbus and that he later worked as a personal assistant for the “No. 1 Realtor” in Ohio in the same city.
“I understand real estate and the real estate market,” he said.
The challenger said he and his brother successfully challenged the assessed value of the house they built in Lexington, which reduced the amount of property tax they were required to pay.
“I could advise (Richland County) homeowners how to do the same thing and reduce their taxes,” he said.
Morgenstern said he runs for local political office because it’s a “privilege” to seek office.
“My opponent has never been in a primary (election),” he said. “He has basically walked into everything.”
Morgenstern said he would be accessible to residents if elected.
“I would be open to anyone who has questions about how government works,” he said. “A lot of people call me and I tell them where to go to seek help and what buttons to push.”
A commissioner in a county with the population size of Richland County (between 95,001 and 200,000) will be paid $79,761 in 2020, according to Ohio law.
