Tuesday, April 06, 1999
Defection hurts Democrats
Butler Co. judge now in GOP
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — In the realm of Butler County politics, Democratic countywide office-holders are a rare species.
The species moved a step closer to extinction recently when Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Sage switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
That leaves longtime Prosecutor John Holcomb as the lone countywide Democratic office-holder in the booming county.
“I feel like the Lone Ranger,” Mr. Holcomb said.
The defection of Judge Sage is the latest blow to the efforts of the Butler County Democratic Party to gain a foothold in the GOP-dominated county.
Democrats say Republicans have too much unchecked power in county government.
“It helps to rob Butler County of a two-party government,” said Don Daiker, chair man of the Butler County Democratic Party. “The more a single party controls county government, the less democratic and representative that government will be.”
Republicans dispute this, saying their party screening process for incumbents as well as new candidates provides protection against incompetence and abuse of power in office.
“If they're not performing in office the way they're sup posed to, our screening committee won't recommend them in the next election and our party might not endorse them,” he said.
Greg Jolivette angered Butler County Democrats 11/2 years ago by becoming a Republican so that he could be appointed by that party to a seat in the Ohio House. The switch came only two days after he had assured the Democrats he would give up his independent status to run for state representative as a Democrat.
The party switches of Mr. Jolivette and Judge Sage illustrate how thoroughly Butler County has been transformed from a community dominated by blue-collar urban Democrats in the 1960s into today's Republican stronghold ruled by suburban conservatives.
The large influx of affluent Hamilton County Republicans into Butler County in the past 30 years radically changed the county's political landscape.
In 1976, registered Butler County Democrats outnumbered Republicans, 23,737 to 22,551, with 40,726 independent or undeclared voters.
Last year, the count was 40,625 Republicans, 17,029 Democrats and 139,160 undeclared voters.
The Republican dominance mirrors the conservative bent of Southwestern Ohio. In Warren County, for example, Republicans hold all countywide offices.
Although judges' races are non-partisan, political parties endorse candidates and contribute money to their election campaigns.
Mr. Daiker angrily accused Judge Sage of switching parties to secure his political future.
“It was a move of opportunism rather than a move that represents integrity or principle,” he said.
He also blamed Judge Sage for the problems Butler County has experienced in implementing a new computer system for the county criminal justice offices.
“I think Mike Sage is a liability to the Republican Party,” Mr. Daiker said. “Sage is primarily responsible for the computer fiasco in Butler County that is costing taxpayers so much money.”
But Judge Sage said he had nothing to do with the computer project.
He said he switched parties for philosophical reasons.
“I'm a retired Navy officer and a former prosecutor,” he said. “I've always been a rather conservative individual. I simply wanted to align my party affiliation with my personal beliefs.”
Judge Sage's current term runs until 2002.
“If I wanted to be political about this decision,” he said, “I would have waited until the eve of my election and cut a deal. I wanted to do it now so I couldn't be accused of doing it for political gain.”
Carlos Todd, chairman of the Butler County Republican Party, called Judge Sage “a man of honesty and credibility” and said he's a welcome addition to the party.
He said Mr. Daiker's criticism of him is “sour grapes.”
Despite the odds stacked against them, the Democratic Party is far from dead in Butler County, Mr. Daiker said.
Mr. Holcomb, a 61-year-old Hamilton resident who has been prosecutor since 1973, will run for re-election next year.
Mr. Daiker said the party is hopeful of placing one or two more in countywide offices next year.
Philip Russo Jr., director of Miami University's Center for Public Management and Regional Affairs, said the Butler County Democrats shouldn't let recent setbacks cause them to give up hope.
“I'm not sure it's a death knell for the Butler County Democratic Party,” he said. “Clearly, the party has and will continue to fight a tide of Republican Party dominance.”
Mr. Russo said the Democrats can still be elected in Butler County if the party recruits and cultivates good candidates.
Mr. Holcomb has built up enough political clout that he has been able to raise enough money on his own without the help of Democratic Party funds.
He said the party should spend almost all its campaign money on a few new candidates who have a decent chance of being elected instead of spreading it out among the entire slate.
“If you help a few good candidates a little more,” Mr. Holcomb said, “some of them might win.”
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