BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- Political fisticuffs have broken out over appointments to a committee formed to solve Butler County's jail space limitations.
Commissioner Mike Fox, who chairs the committee, refused to permit Martin Wisbey to substitute at the committee's inaugural meeting Monday for Don Daiker, chairman of the Butler County Democratic Party.
Mr. Daiker is one of the committee's nine voting members, all appointed by the three GOP county commissioners. He said he could not attend the meeting because he had cataract surgery that day. Mr. Wisbey, a Democrat, is running against incumbent Republican Ohio Rep. Gary Cates in November.
On Thursday, Mr. Daiker criticized Mr. Fox. And Brian Harrison, a Middletown attorney and a Democrat, asked commissioners Courtney Combs and Chuck Furmon to replace Mr. Fox as jail committee chairman with Mr. Furmon, a former police officer.
"Ideas and voices are being squelched," said Mr. Harrison. "The chairman should be someone who's not on the election ballot in November."
Mr. Fox and Mr. Combs are running for re-election this year. Mr. Combs and Mr. Furmon declined to replace Mr. Fox.
Substitutes unwelcome
Mr. Fox said he had asked Mr. Daiker to be a voting member of the jail committee and didn't want substitutes sitting in for him or anyone else -- especially political candidates.
Mr. Daiker and other Democrats had opposed a half-percent sales tax increase proposal for building a $34 million county jail that was defeated by voters last November.
"The Democrats have used this issue as a political football," Mr. Fox said.
He said he and the other two commissioners decided before the committee met that they would not permit voting members to send substitutes.
"Every week, (Mr. Daiker) would send somebody to disrupt the proceedings," Mr. Fox said.
Mr. Daiker denied making the jail a political issue. He also said he saw nothing improper in sending Mr. Wisbey in his place. The Democratic Party, Mr. Daiker said, wants to determine whether a jail is needed and if it is, to support its funding in the least expensive way to county taxpayers.
"Mike Fox is being the dictator that he usually tries to be," Mr. Daiker said. "I'm afraid that his egotism is going to get in the way of the new jail."
He said he will not be able to serve the committee because of other time commitments, including work for Democratic candidates on the November ballot.
He said he had told Mr. Fox that he would consider serving on the committee, but had not agreed to do it.
"There are a number of prominent members of the Democratic Party in Butler County who know more about jail issues than I do and have the time and energy to serve on the committee," Mr. Daiker said.
Mr. Fox said anyone can speak at the jail committee meetings. Another jail committee controversy concerns retired Hamilton real estate executive Harry Wilks, a Democrat. He showed up for that Monday jail committee meeting thinking he was a committee member.
But Derek Conklin, county administrator, informed him that the commissioners had voted 2-1 not to appoint him to the committee. Mr. Combs had nominated him, but Mr. Fox and Mr. Furmon voted against the appointment.
Mr. Fox said he voted against Mr. Wilks, founder of Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, because he believed the committee should be small and he wanted its members confined to people with direct knowledge about the issue.
"It was nothing against Harry Wilks," Mr. Fox said.
Mr. Fox and Mr. Combs said each thought the other was supposed to call Mr. Wilks and tell him he was not a committee member.
