Voters can vote early in person at the Clark County Board of Elections through March 17. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by March 18 and received by the Board of Elections by March 23.
In November the primary winner will face Democrat Kevin O’Neill, former longtime Springfield city commissioner.
Incumbent Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt is running unopposed for re-election to her current seat.
Background and experience
Marshall touted his work on state campaigns and involvement in several levels of government as qualities giving him a leg up on other candidates. He said this has given him “some really great contacts” to whom he can reach out and bring opportunities to Clark County.
Lindsey is in his seventh year of being in an elected position, he said, and he is “beholden to the voters.” He is a New Carlisle City Council member on his second term, previously serving as the vice mayor for the city.
Lindsey was also elected to be the central committee chairperson of the Clark County Republican Party.
His leadership was disputed last year, when party members voted to remove him and another party leader and install a new team. There are now two groups in the county operating on behalf of Clark County Republicans. Attempts by the News-Sun to get state leaders to comment on which group it officially recognizes have been unsuccessful.
Lindsey said he is a retired firefighter and he previously started and ran multiple small businesses. He said he has a lot of life experience as the oldest candidate at 70.
He said, if he is elected commissioner, he will serve for one term before passing the role on to someone younger.
Patterson has also been involved in several levels of government, with positions in multiple counties, involvement with the state and testifying in front of Congress in his health commissioner role, he said.
Patterson said he decided to run because he felt God had “placed it on my heart” to do so.
Quesenberry, a project manager and Kenton Ridge graduate, said while he has never served in office, he has a lot of experience dealing with budgets, contracts, government and people.
“We’re a small company, so I wear a lot of hats; I jump around from IT to vehicles [for example],” Quesenberry said.
Quesenberry said he decided to run because he wants to effect change and not be someone who “complains and not try to do something about” an issue.
Priorities
All candidates said they would like to spend as little taxpayer money as possible. All candidates want to work toward an improved jail, too.
Lindsey said on the New Carlisle Council, members always talk about how to spend taxpayer dollars, rather than how to reduce spending. He said politicians view taxpayer money as theirs to spend.
“You never hear those conversations; nobody ever speaks for that ... I’m constantly wanting to cut something,” Lindsey said. “Cut the budget, cut this, cut that. Reduce spending somewhere to save taxpayer money, because it’s their money; it’s not the county’s, it’s not the city’s, it’s not the state’s; it belongs to the taxpayer and politicians do not understand that.”
Lindsey said he would ensure money the county spends is absolutely necessary, and the budget and other information is easily accessible for voters. He said he’d like to nix the fee for license plates, seeing it as unnecessary for cars driven on roads paid for by taxpayers.
Patterson said he would like to continue economic development in the county and bring more businesses and jobs here.
“People ask me, ‘What’s the big thing you want to change?’ And it’s like, there’s no big thing I want to change,” Patterson said. “I just want to be part of continuing to see Springfield and Clark County grow, just like we want our families to do; we want them to flourish.”
Patterson said he is a “law and order person” who follows the rules and is fiscally conservative. He cited traffic safety as a concern, with people not following rules of the road.
Overdoses and mental illnesses are another concern, and Patterson said he would like to see more rehabilitation opportunities for people affected by either who commit crimes.
“There are opportunities to do that through the One Ohio settlement that Clark County has been involved with since the beginning of it,” he said. “I used to sit on the Clark County One Ohio Committee as health commissioner, and I certainly look forward to participating in that if I’m given the opportunity to serve the public again.”
Marshall cited roads, water quality and economic development as priorities. He said he moved to Enon three years ago, and he wants there to be more for kids to do outside of school, like a recreation center.
He said he likes the idea of having a recreation center, a senior center, an animal rescue and a satellite jail all close together in Enon.
He said things like this are necessary in places throughout the county like Enon, South Vienna, Medway and North Hampton.
Quesenberry said he sees getting the 911 combined dispatch center up to par and support to government agencies handling concerns related to the increasing Haitian population as some of the most important issues he would like to address. He said that, if elected, he would learn more about what needs to be addressed as a whole.
Community involvement
Patterson said he has been involved in numerous places throughout the community in his time as health commissioner, something that he would continue as county commissioner. He’s been involved on the Family and Children First Council, the local United Way board, McKinley Hall board, Rotary International board and the Solid Waste policy committee.
He also goes to regular community events like the Apple Butter Festival and Clark County Fair.
He has also gone to many county commission meetings and know how they work, something Patterson said he has not seen other candidates do.
“If you’re running, you should be going to the county commission now to understand what those issues are that they’re dealing with,” Patterson said.
Patterson encouraged voters to look at his work as health commissioner, including when he ran a “well-oiled machine” of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic during the height of the pandemic. He said he ensured that everyone who wanted a COVID-19 shot was able to get it in Clark County.
Quesenberry said he works long hours and is on call 24/7, but plans to pull back. He said he is always reachable and will continue to be if elected commissioner.
“[Running] is not something I had to do; it’s something I felt led to do,” Quesenberry said.
Lindsey said as a councilman, he is reachable and amenable to speaking with his constituents on a regular basis in order to get their input on city issues.
“If you can’t get ahold of me, you’re not trying,” Lindsey said. “Everybody in this county I assume has my cell phone number.”
Locally for the last two years, Marshall said he has represented the county Republican Party at events like the county fair and local festivals, where he has spoken with and gotten to know community members. People shared with him their concerns, and Marshall said he decided to run to help out the county’s small communities in addition to bigger cities.
“I’ve been listening for the last two years to Clark County people, and I’m going to help them and react,” Marshall said.
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