One of the biggest decisions for voters going to the polls in Lawrence County on Tuesday will be determining the make-up of the Lawrence County Commission for the next few years.
Currently, the commission is comprised of three Republicans, Bill Pratt, Les Boggs and Freddie Hayes, Jr.
Two of the seats are on the general election ballot, with Pratt running for re-election, while the race for Boggs’ seat is open, following his defeat in his party’s primary in March.
Five candidates are vying for the two positions, with Pratt facing Democrat Doug Malone in one race and Democrat DeAnna Holliday, Republican Chris Collins and independent Jon Ater competing for the other seat.
The Tribune spoke with the candidates, as they entered the final days of the campaign and offered them a chance to make the case for their candidacy.
Pratt, a Chesapeake-area dairy farmer, is seeking a second term on the job. He said the primary focus of his campaign and work on the commission is responsibility with finances.
“I’m running as a fiscal conservative, I believe what we need to do is look after people’s money,” he said.
Pratt said that the commission has saved the taxpayers $1.5 million while he has been in office, money he said could be put toward a new county jail.
He said he has taken care of his primary responsibilities in the job, to be “frugal with money and protect the people,” and points to improvements in roads and the replacement of all county EMS vehicles and a deal reached to replace all sheriff’s cruisers, which he said are set to be delivered soon.
One accomplishment he focused on was the establishment of the Sybene-Chesapeake Senior Center, which opened in 2014. The center replaced the Burlington Senior Center, which was forced to close after a levy failed to pass and state funds were decreased.
Pratt spoke of the work the commission has done with the Chesapeake Community Center and the Chesapeake CAO to make the site possible.
“For $6,000 over the past two years, we have a site seniors can go to,” he said.
Doug Malone, who is challenging Pratt, is running on his record serving on the commission from 2003-2010.
“I’ve always been a person who works well with others and we need people to get things done,” he said.
Malone points to accomplishments in his career, such as his role in the establishment of St. Mary’s Medical Center’s facility in Ironton and The Point industrial park in South Point.
He is particularly proud of the creation of the Lawrence County Port Authority during his time on the commission.
“We’re one of only few states in the middle of America to have a foreign trade zone designation, that we were fortunate to receive” he said, stating the agency helps businesses in both Lawrence and Scioto counties.
Malone said the most needed thing for the county is to resolve the need for a new jail. He said he will implement a plan within 90 days of taking office, which would include taking into account the size, type and cost of a facility before taking action. He also wants the county to resolve the situation with the 15-year lease on the OVR building in Franklin Furnace.
Malone said he would like to improve the economy by establishing an industrial park in the eastern end of the county and by expanding both St. Mary’s and The Point, where he said there is room for growth.
In the other commission race, Republican nominee Chris Collins, who defeated incumbent Boggs in his party’s March 15 primary, said he’s running on his experience working as an administrative assistant and legislative aide in Columbus, as well as his time as assistant director of the Lawrence County Department of Job and Family Services.
“I’m running on experience, coupled with perspective, that’s given me a unique understanding of the issues and the awareness of the responsibility to move the county forward,” he said.
Collins said the problems of the county are intertwined, with the need for a new jail tied to the opiate crisis, which he said impacts the economic climate.
“I was at a Tri-State drug conference in Huntington last Thursday, and the consensus among everyone there was that drug epidemic and opiate crisis is one of the biggest issues facing America,” he said.
Collins said one of the biggest assets he could bring to the position is his network of connections in Columbus. He said the county needs to do more to work with the legislature to secure funds and resources.
“We’re one of 88 counties,” he said. “If we don’t get the help we need from Columbus, nothing here is going to change. I would be honored to be Lawrence County’s advocate.”
Facing Collins is Democratic nominee DeAnna Holliday, a local businesswoman who has served for eight years as a member of the Dawson-Bryant Board of Education.
“I’m the most prepared candidate, with the right qualifications for the job,” she said, citing her work preparing a business plan and managing large budgets.
“But, most important, are my intentions,” she said. “I have no personal agenda. My family lives here in Lawrence County and I want to see it thrive.”
Holliday said her top priority is getting the jail crisis under control. She said the county needs to put things in place in the interim, such as utilizing the OVR facility in Franklin Furnace.
“We’ve made a commitment to the state of Ohio to occupy the building,” she said. “I was initially bothered that the facility was not located in the county, but I learned that, since it has been annexed to Lawrence County, any employees there would be employees of Lawrence County.”
Holliday proposed building the new jail in phases, rather than all at once.
“It would be there not just for this generation, but for generations to come,” she said.
She said the jail crisis has been damaging the county’s financial health and is an example of poor leadership.
“There was no vision for the future,” she said.
Collins and Holliday will face independent candidate Jonathan Ater in the general election.
A retired teacher, farmer and former member of the AFL-CIO and CSX Railroad, Ater is running against the two-party system under the slogan “Had enough?”
The Tribune reached out to Ater to offer him an opportunity to make a case for his candidacy.
“I already know I’m not getting your endorsement,” Ater said, adding that he would only offer a statement under the condition that it was reproduced word-for-word.
“Here is my statement – I don’t want your endorsement,” Ater said, before concluding the call.
Statewide early voting in Ohio ends at 2 p.m. on Monday. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Election Day on Tuesday.