Friday, June 25, 1999
Boone sheriff, state prosecutor switching parties
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — Two leading Boone County Democrats, Sheriff Mike Helmig and Commonwealth Attorney Willie Mathis, are switching parties to become Republicans.
They are scheduled to make the announcement today during an 11:50 a.m. joint press conference at the Boone County Courthouse in Burlington.
The moves are a further blow to Boone County Democrats, who last fall lost control of the majority of courthouse offices, including all four seats on the county fiscal court.
And earlier this year, Republicans overtook Democrats in voter registrations for the first time, making Boone County the largest county in the state controlled by the GOP.
Reached at his Hebron home Thursday evening, Sheriff Helmig, 39, said he is switching parties for personal reasons.
“Anybody who knows me knows this isn't about politics,” Sheriff Helmig said. “This is a very personal decision. This is not about a political office, but what my wife, Bonnie, and I believe in and how we live our lives.
“The Republican Party is better suited for my conservative philosophies of public administration and fiscal responsibility,” he said. “The party is just more tuned in with family values and more suited to what I believe in.”
Sheriff Helmig said he has also told his deputies and employees that they could belong to the political party of their choice, and that their political affiliations and registrations would not affect their jobs.
“Everybody has to make that personal decision,” he said. “This is America, and people have that right.”
Mr. Mathis, who has been the state's top prosecutor in Boone County since 1974, could not be reached to comment. He is up for re-election in 2000.
Sheriff Helmig is a Boone County native who has worked in the sheriff's office since 1982. A father of five, he was appointed sheriff in 1997 after the death of former Sheriff Ron Kenner and was elected to a four-year term in November.
Boone County Democratic Party Chairwoman Kristi Nelson could not be reached to comment.
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