Sunday, March 05, 2000
Ohio House 60th District (Rep.)
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — There will be a three-way battle in the March 7 Republican primary for the Ohio 60th House District seat.
Ohio's term-limits law is forcing Republican incumbent Gene Krebs from office this year.
All three candidates for the Republican nomination — Shawn Webster of Hanover Township, Sally Southard of Oxford and David Wesler of New Paris — have served in various elected public offices.
And all three have been focusing on education issues in their campaigns.
Mr. Webster, who has been endorsed by the Butler County Republican Party, is a veterinarian who has been involved in educational issues for more than 18 years.
“I'd like to see a state funding formula that's understandable to the taxpayer,” he said. “It should be equitable to all school districts and have some small growth built into it. As it is now, districts have to keep coming back to the voters for more money every three or four years.”
Mrs. Southard, a former Butler County commissioner who now serves on Oxford City Council, also has deep concerns about education. She was a member of the Talawanda Board of Education and the Ohio Board of Education.
“Any new tax formula for schools needs to be fair and to make sense,” she said.
Mrs. Southard said she's not worried about failing to receive the endorsement of the Butler County Republican Party. In 1992, she was elected a Butler County commissioner, even though she was not endorsed by the Republican Party.
“I consider that an advantage not to have the endorsement,” Mrs. Southard said. “My only special interest is the people of this district and my ability to work with them person to person.”
Mr. Wesler, a Preble County resident, has been working to raise his profile in the more populous Butler County.
The 60th House district includes the western and north-central parts of Butler County and all of Preble County.
“I'm fairly well known in Preble County,” he said, “but I'm getting my name out in Butler County.”
He sees education as the most important issue for the district.
“The school-funding formula is too complex and is unfair to some of the school districts,” Mr. Wesler said. “I want to make sure every school district is funded fairly so that each child receives a thorough and efficient education.”
The winner of the primary will run in the November general election against Democrat Kevin Williams, an editor at the Middletown Journal, Natural Law Party candidate R. Jason Bach of Somerville and one of two Libertarians, Howard R. Matre of Seven Mile or Patrick K. White of Camden.
THE CANDIDATES
Shawn Webster
Personal: The 50-year-old lives at 333 Sir Lawrence Drive, Hanover Township, and is a veterinarian. He received a doctorate of veterinary medicine from Ohio State University. He was a captain in the Air Force from 1973 to 1977. He and his wife, Penny, have three grown children.
Experience/qualifications: He served on the Ross Board of Education from 1982 to 1993 and is a member of the Butler County Educational Service Center's governing board. He is a former member of the Butler County Children Services Board.
Sally Southard
Personal: The 60-year-old lives at 110 Oberlin Court, Oxford. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English with a teacher's certificate from Miami University. She and her husband, Jack, have three grown children.
Experience/qualifications: A current Oxford City Council member, she was a Butler County commissioner from 1992 to 1996. She also served on the Ohio Board of Education and Talawanda Board of Education.
David Wesler
Personal: The 42-year-old lives at 9430 Smyrna Road, New Paris, and is part owner of Wesler's Orchard. He earned a bachelor of science in horticulture from Ohio State University. He and his wife, Mary, have three children.
Experience/qualifications: He is clerk of Jefferson Township and is a member of the Preble County Planning Commission. He is former president of the Preble County Township Association and former president of the Preble County Farm Bureau. He also served on the Preble County 911 Advisory Board.
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