MORE COVERAGE State Treasurer Joe Deters. Enquirer/STEVEN M. HERPPICH

• Time in Columbus tarnished Deters • Advocate likes to bring the big guys down • Blackwell says election has all his attention • Democrat candidates harp on danger of 'one-party rule' • Attorney general looking into Allen affair • Prosecutor quitting as UC trustee • EDITORIAL: One-party system not healthy • Borgman editorial cartoon • Special section: Mike Allen coverage

"One-party rule didn't work in Moscow; one-party rule doesn't work here, either," said Eve Bolton, the Democrats' candidate against Republican Pat DeWine.

The Amos Project, a church-backed group that focuses on race issues, sponsored the first debate of the fall campaign season for two commissioner seats. The group asked the candidates' views on racial and other issues before the conversation turned to the subject that has dominated the news and water cooler conversations for almost three weeks.

Allen said Monday he would not seek re-election after admitting last month to a 31/2-year affair with an employee - an affair that was widely known in Courthouse circles.

Allen's name was never mentioned at Tuesday's debate, and commissioners have no control over the independently elected prosecutor. Still, audience member Judy Green asked Republican commissioner candidate David Grossmann "why anybody should vote for a Republican for any county office" given what she called the culture of corruption at the Courthouse.

"I am familiar with the problem you refer to, and I will be no part of it," said Grossmann, a retired Juvenile Court judge.

He is challenging incumbent Democratic Commissioner Todd Portune in a matchup that's a priority for both parties. Portune is the first Democrat elected commissioner since 1964, and he is one of only two Democrats to hold a countywide, non-judicial elected office. The other is Auditor Dusty Rhodes.

"If we go back to one-party domination on the (board of county commissioners), then we have a real serious problem," Portune said.

But Grossmann told the audience of about 80 people that they shouldn't count on a crop of Democrats sweeping into office: "I'm sorry, but that's probably not going to happen."

The two candidates weighed in on other issues, including:

• The economy. Grossmann said the county needs to make it easier for developers to do business here by reducing red tape. Portune touted his "Rebuild Hamilton County" plan, which calls for doubling the current rate of about 1,000 new homes a year in the county.

• Race. Grossmann said the region's protracted focus on racial issues is "creating a false problem." This is actually a great place to live, he said. Portune said ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away. African-American infants in Hamilton County die at a higher rate than even some Third World countries, Portune noted.

Bolton, a teacher and former county recorder, and DeWine, a Cincinnati councilman, are running for Commissioner John Dowlin's seat. DeWine did not attend the debate because of another commitment.

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