Republican Luncheon Comments
1-29-2026
Ashland County Republican luncheon meet the Candidates for County Commissioner event.
Yesterday I participated in the Republican Party Meet the Candidates event as one of four speakers. Many ideas were brought up and questions asked. My take away was that even though a lot of very good ideas were raised, some of them have already been tried with poor results. And, unfortunately, as good as the ideas sound, some of them may be outside of the scope of what a Commissioner has the power to do. After all, A County Commissioner is an arm of the State Government. See this link:
https://www.ashlandcountyoh.us/upload/documents/duties_updated_02_07_23.pdf
Under A, 2 it says “Commissioners have limited powers, no implied powers.” Now this doesn’t mean that new things and ideas can’t be tried, only that one has to be judicious in their implementation.
One of the other ideas was that “we need evening meetings so more people can attend. Love this idea, but having had a conversation with one of the present Commissioners and asking about whether they had ever considered evening Commissioner meetings instead of 9 am morning meetings, I was met with the response of “We’ve already tried that. We advertised, used social media, and the turnout for the evening meetings was actually worse than the Morning meetings, so after a few months we went back to the mornings.”
Another issue that came up, and there is some confusion, was the Dog shelter and if it is a “no kill” shelter. A no kill shelter simply means that the shelter has or strives to have a 90% adoption rate. It breaks my heart because I love dogs so much but here is a link that explains it: https://bestfriends.org/no-kill/what-does-no-kill-mean
Another question that was asked was “If you are elected how many hours a week will you be in the office?” The implication is that this is a full time job and your ONLY function is to be tied to your desk to be a good Commissioner. I guess that some of the Commissioners treat it as a part time job. Or, at least it appears that way. Most people think of this as a 8 to 4 job. Commissioners have many out of the office day and evening meetings. The Commissioners are assigned by default in January of every year, spots on all of these boards and committees. Are you ready for this list?
For 2026:
Mike Welch:
Ashland Area Economic Development,
Ashland County Land Bank,
Records Commission,
911 advisory committee,
Community Corrections Board.
Denny Bittle:
Local Emergency Planning Committee
Storm Water Management Plan
Jim Justice:
Kno-Ho-Co Governing Board
Board of Revision
Erie Basin Research Conservation and Development Council
Senior Citizens Board
There are a lot more activities not on this list that a Commissioner has to attend and speak at. So, as you can see, being on all these boards and the subsequent activities take up quite a few hours out of the office, so an 8 to 4 “office” job it isn’t. That’s probably why it’s a salaried position and not hourly.
One of my ideas was to have either a part time grant writer for every Department to get as much “out of the County” money coming in as possible, or which makes more sense, a full time grant writer that can float across all departments and learn the various State and Federal grants that each of those departments are eligible for and write and submit those grant applications.
I forwarded the fact that the public should be kept in the loop as far as what decisions have to be made in the County, after all, if it’s not a grant, it’s your and my County tax dollars being spent, and why did the Commissioners chose that particular decision? I will be forthcoming with those answers if I am elected. I want the public to be involved. As I keep saying “Some of the best ideas come from the feedback of the community.”
I want public interaction. Constructive, positive, flow of ideas, not just complaints. I have noticed that most social media complaints come from frustrated people who think they aren’t being heard or their concerns aren’t being addressed. Keep it civil, positive, and constructive while on social media and we all can benefit from the flow of information and ideas.
Lastly, I will strive to be the “everyman’s” Commissioner. Not just the Republican party candidate. As I said to an elected official the other day “A one party rule might be convenient for the party in power but it’s not really smart.
I will be answering questions on Tuesday February 10th at the Ashland County Coalition meeting being held at the Ashland Eagles at 6 PM. 400 Eastlake Drive.
I ask for your vote on May 5th 2026. Thank You.
Jeff Hardman