By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DOWNTOWN -- The two Republicans who are battling for one Hamilton County commission seat offered not only different opinions but different approaches Tuesday in their first and possibly only face-to-face debate.

INFOGRAPHIC

•How the candidates stand on the issues

Twelve-year incumbent John Dowlin, 74, touted himself as an experienced, behind-the-scenes consensus-builder in the candidates' joint meeting with The Cincinnati Enquirer's editorial board. He serves on a multitude of committees that address topics from vocational education, to the dangers of falling and regional transportation.

"I am not a confrontation type of person," Dowlin said.

Challenger Pat DeWine, 35, a Cincinnati councilman, said he'd bring an outsider's perspective to the issues he sees as most important: the county's job and population losses.

"I appreciate John's work," DeWine said. "I just think sometimes we lose sight of the macro issues."

Dowlin has declined to debate DeWine, although the two appear together at candidate forums.

DeWine is taking on Dowlin in a primary that's tantamount to the election in majority-Republican Hamilton County. Kabaka Oba and Erich Streckfuss are contending in the Democratic primary.

Dowlin and DeWine disagreed most sharply on taxes Tuesday. DeWine repeated his assertion - backed up by Auditor Dusty Rhodes - that Hamilton County residents' taxes are the highest among Ohio's urban counties.

Dowlin, however, said the county's tax rate - known as the millage - is in the middle when compared to other urban counties, and county spending has fallen for the past five years.

Anyway, Dowlin said, it's not the commissioners who increase taxes - they merely agree to let the voters decide.

He opposes forcing all countywide levies to run on one ballot, a proposal that DeWine supports. With the other two commissioners split on the issue, the outcome of this race could decide the question.

Dowlin said lumping all questions together could cause levies for mandated services for children, the mentally retarded and the mentally ill to fail. That could shift the burden to the county's general fund and financially endanger the county.

DeWine said the one-ballot plan would encourage levy-seekers to ask for the absolute minimum they need.

On the emerging issue of jail overcrowding, DeWine said he's not sure if a new jail is needed, but he wants to see drug dealers spend more time behind bars. Judges are pressured to give them short sentences, he said.

Dowlin disagreed, saying jail overcrowding can be reduced by more efficient scheduling. That way, people would spend less time in jail awaiting hearings, he said.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com