By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

FAIRFIELD - There are two new council members in this Butler County city - and one of them could help re-ignite the debate over the location of the new justice center.

New councilman Mitch Rhodus is a familiar face and has been on city boards for years. But the second one, Marty Judd, narrowly captured the 2nd Ward race with 31 percent of the vote - beating incumbent and three-term council veteran Jeffrey Holtegel, who received 25 percent of the vote.

Judd's election could mean Fairfield will take another look at many issues, including the location for the justice center.

The location decision, abruptly made earlier this year in a City Council work session, sparked controversy for several reasons - particularly because some residents opposed the city's police and courts moving so close to Village Green, the new downtown.

"I am going to do the will of the people of this ward, and they have spoken loudly that we need to take another look at the whole issue," Judd, 44, said Wednesday. "The people were definitely upset with the way the whole issue was handled, and that's something that's going to change."

The current justice center is on the site of a former restaurant on Ohio 4 that has grown outdated and overcrowded.

Judd is a bailiff for Butler County Juvenile Judge Ronald R. Craft. He has served on the Butler County GOP Central Committee for nearly 20 years.

His main issue in the election was leadership, saying some council members lost sight of why they were elected and weren't listening to the people.

"The people in this ward were simply ready for a change," Judd said. "They were tired of elected officials who were supposed to be representing them but were doing anything but that. With me, they are going to get someone who listens to them and does what they want to on this council."

In the 3rd Ward race, Rhodus received 52 percent of the vote, or 1,287 votes, over three newcomer candidates.

Rhodus, regional vice president for Eskco Inc. of Dayton, has served on Fairfield's parks and recreation board for 12 years and served on the Fairfield Planning Commission for eight years.

He has pledged to work with the new council to implement further flood control measures and calls for a regional approach to solving the city's flooding woes.

He does not, however, want to re-examine the justice center location debate, saying he doesn't want to waste taxpayers' money.

Fairfield City Council voted Sept. 22 to spend $770,000 for an architectural contract for the new $10 million justice center at the new location at Pleasant Avenue and Wessel Drive. Construction is expected to begin in late 2004 or early 2005.

"We've already spent a lot of money on it, and I can't see that we would want to change that and waste that money," Rhodus, 45, said Wednesday.

In the 4th Ward race, incumbent Steve Miller easily won his second term with 71 percent of the vote, or 1,681 votes, over Charles Klosterman.

Miller wasn't inclined to re-open the justice center debate either.

"The election, especially mine, shows the citizens of Fairfield are supportive of what the council has decided," said Miller, 38. "There is no way that the justice center is going to come back on the table as far as I'm concerned. That is a done deal."

In the 1st Ward, incumbent Mike Snyder, 59, also handily captured another term with 61 percent of the vote over his challenger, former longtime Fairfield city councilman and mayor Robert Wolpert.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.