Thursday, November 04, 1999
Warren voters shake things up
Incumbents lag, lose in several races
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON and KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — Warren County residents and candidates who didn't like Tuesday's election results pointed to the usual suspects — bad press, voter apathy and campaigns riddled with misinformation.
But the real culprit appears to be voters' disappointment in how some council members have handled the explosive residential and commercial development that is transforming their small towns into suburbs and swallowing 3,000 acres of farmland countywide each year.
Across the fast-growing county, voters threw out incumbents. In Lebanon, five votes separated the two in cumbents from last place. Mason incumbent William L. Kidder came in fifth in a field of seven. Franklin voters ousted two of three incumbents.
“I think voters sent a strong message,” said councilman-elect Ron Pandorf, the leading vote-getter in Lebanon. Voters “are tired of business as usual, and they want to get back to the basics.”
Those fundamentals hinge on planning for the inevitable growth already seeping north from Cincinnati and south from Dayton, Mr. Pandorf said. Lebanon's population is up 32 percent since 1990, to an estimated 13,800.
Incumbents Jim Reinhard and John McComb lagged behind their two challengers, Ben Cole and Ron Pandorf, by about 200 votes. Although a recount is expected, unofficial results show Mr. Reinhard edging out his brother-in-law, Mr. McComb, by only five votes.
Mr. Reinhard said council had been planning for growth. The board turned down proposals for dense and low-income housing while at the same time attracted a high-end residential development for the east side of the city.
“We've done all the right things,” he said, “but people aren't getting the right information.”
But Mr. Pandorf said the recent controversy over a 96-unit apartment complex to be built on Deerfield Road high lighted council's inattention to development. Although council members said a year ago they wanted to buy the 10 acres and transform it into a passive park, negotiations faltered in February, and the project was essentially neglected until late October when bulldozers started clearing trees.
“That made voters mad that (council) let it happen,” Mr. Pandorf said.
The Deerfield debacle capped six months of snowballing frustrations. Main Street homeowners, upset with how the city was handling a multimillion-dollar street repair and expansion project, formed a political action committee and aggressively campaigned against the incumbents. Downtown business owners have sparred with the city over issues of parking, historic preservation and maintaining Lebanon's small-town character.
“I think the downtown merchants weren't happy with the plans that the city was portraying for the city of Lebanon,” said lifelong resident and business owner Mike Yetter. His hope is the new council will work with residents and business owners to develop a shared vision of the downtown.
Kelli Peters, another downtown business owner, said the election puts Lebanon back on track to control development.
“I'm not against the growth of the city,” she said. “But I think they should put the horse before the cart. I think they should take care of what's here before they keep adding to it.”
Mason incumbent Bill Kidder was ousted after serving eight years, during which the city's population skyrocketed 65 percent to an estimated 18,850. He chalked his loss to confusion about term limits and whether he would be able to run for a third term.
Councilman James “Dick” Staten said his re-election solidified his “position that controlled growth is not just a slogan.”
The city has limited density to two units an acre and attracted quality development, and it should continue on the same path, he said.
Newcomer Charlene Pelfrey, who was the second-leading vote-getter behind incumbent James C. Fox, said, “Council needs to keep its focus on the wants and needs of the average family.
“There is an awesome task at hand to ensure that Mason continues to control growth and remains a place that families can afford to live and receive a good "hometown' quality of life.”
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