Commissioner candidates – seat 1

 

Candidate	John Dowlin	Pat DeWine	Erich Streckfuss*	Kabaka Oba
Political party	Republican	Republican	Democrat	Democrat
Age	74	35	20	46
Residence	Sharonville	Pleasant Ridge	Westwood	Lincoln Heights
Web site	www.commissioner dowlin.com	www.Pat DeWine.com
Family	Wife Sally; four grown children; nine grandchildren	three sons	single	three children
Profession	Retired Procter & Gamble executive (38 years)	Attorney; Cincinnati councilman	University of Cincinnati student	Metro/SORTA operator
Education	Bachelor's in chemistry from University of Pennsylvania	Bachelor's degrees from Miami University; law degree from the University of Michigan		Associate's from University of Cincinnati; Taft High School graduate
Background	Mayor of Sharonville for 28 years; president of the Hamilton County Municipal League for 20 years; county commissioner since 1991.	Councilman since 1999
What one quality do you think would make you a good commissioner?	Have the integrity, honesty and professionalism necessary to lead Hamilton County. Quite simply, I make a good county commissioner because I've been a good county commissioner. Making tough decisions and taking county government in new directions has been the trademark of my tenure.	Will work relentlessly to protect tax dollars. On City Council, I was able to save taxpayers millions by rooting out abuses in employee overtime, take-home cars and cell phones; implementing managed competition to force city agencies to compete with the private sector for the delivery of services; and fighting wasteful pet projects like the Empire Theater.		100 percent concerned about the good and equal use of the American tax dollars.
What do you see as the most important issue facing the county commissioners?	We must create better paying jobs so college students and young families will no longer leave the area. We must work in partnership with the private sector to create good jobs, especially in the medical and high-tech fields, and make sound economic investments that will build the future economic base of Hamilton County.	Getting control of wasteful spending and escalating property tax rates. County residents pay more in taxes per capita than any county in the region and any other major urban county in the state.		Safety and protecting the American tax dollars by not overspending.
Where do you stand on these issues:
Putting all countywide levies on the same ballot	Oppose. Bundling all levies on one ballot will increase the probability of many, if not all, failing.	Support		Do not support
Holding levy increases to the rate of inflation	Have supported holding expenses to below the rate of inflation during 12 years in office.	Support		Support
Repealing the recent penny increase in the state sales tax	Support	Support		Support
Funding Every Child Succeeds	Support	We need to evaluate funding Every Child Succeeds in context of other budget priorities.		Support
Spending $5.5 million to expand and upgrade emergency sirens countywide	Do not support.	Believe we should insure stong emergency warning capability but haven't endorsed any particular plan.		Safety is most important.
Continuing the Community Compass effort to create a plan for Hamilton County's future	Support	Do not support additional funding.		There must be inclusion and diversity.
What would you do to attract and retain jobs, businesses and residents in Hamilton County?	Support the selective use of tax incentives to encourage businesses to remain or relocate here. Highest priority is to develop The Banks, a new neighborhood of residences, offices, retails and hotels that will revitalize downtown. The tide of young families leaving the county can only be stemmed by working with local governments to provide safe streets and good schools. Limiting county property taxes, working with local governments and supporting law enforcement are all efforts I support that benefit families.	We need to make Hamilton competitive by getting control of spending so we can stop the escalation of tax rates. We also must make the county an easier place to do business by eliminating unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy. We need a countywide economic development authority that is focused on attracting and retaining businesses; I support giving the Port Authority countywide jurisdiction.		Believe that jobs and businesses go where the people and are the people stay where there is safety and a clean environment, so safety is key.
* Erich Streckfuss did not return a candidate questionnaire

Commissioner candidates – seat 2