By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Newly elected trustee George Lang was portrayed by his incumbent opponent in a heated race as a crown-wearing Wetherington resident who was backed by developers and the Butler County GOP.

Lang, 41, does live in West Chester's gated subdivision and was backed by several power hitters, including Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester. And, yes, he spent more on the race than any of the other three candidates.

But really, he says, he's just a down-to-earth, conservative business owner who scraped and worked his way up in a family of Cuban and Portuguese immigrants. He spent the first 31/2 years of his life as a ward of the state in a St. Louis foster home. His mother eventually remarried, and the family reunited - but they were poor and lived in the inner city.

"We had a two-bedroom house - and there were eight of us living in it," he recalled. "If you didn't go to bed early, you didn't get a bed - you got a cot."

Now, as the newest leader in Ohio's third largest township, Lang insists that its his working-class roots and passion for residents' issues - not big business - that will influence him when he takes over the trustee seat from Dave Tacosik in January.

Residents can expect him to work hard to fix long-term problems such as flooding and road congestion, he said. He plans to push some short-term fixes as soon as he takes office, such as moving public input up in the trustee meetings' agendas so residents don't have to wait hours to speak.

Some of his stances already are upsetting his supporters, he noted, such as his desire to see the proposed $20 million to $30 million community center go to a public vote.

He also campaigned against the 1.95-mill park levy that failed Tuesday. On Wednesday, Lang said he hopes to help develop a new park plan that citizens will accept, perhaps a smaller levy that has a definite timeline.

Meanwhile, township officials on Wednesday said it wasn't certain if another park levy would make the ballot next year, especially with Lakota Local Schools planning to ask voters for more money this spring.

Park supporters, many campaigning in animal costumes such as turtles and squirrels, were disappointed but said they won't give up on the vision.

They can't, however, think of any other way to fund the park plan without a levy.

"To build these parks and facilities we hear over and over again that the residents want, we don't know how else the township would accomplish that task," said Barb Wilson, a park levy committee volunteer. "We need places to play and be and enjoy nature. We can't give up on it."

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.