Van Wert County vs. State Machine

To the Editor,

There is a lot of noise surrounding the upcoming election for the Van Wert County Probate and Juvenile Court, but we need to look past the campaign signs and focus on a much deeper issue: the survival of local control in Van Wert County.

To be clear, this is not about whether one candidate is “better” than the other. Both individuals involved have their own records of service. This letter is not an endorsement or an attack on a person. It is a critique of a broken process and the state-level “machine” that fueled it.

When a vacancy occurs in our local courts, there is a clear expectation of how the process should work. Our local leadership – the people we elected right here in Van Wert County – did their due diligence. They vetted the options, understood our community’s specific needs, and sent their recommendations to Columbus. They spoke for us. Governor DeWine chose to ignore them.

By going directly against the wishes and recommendations of our local people to install a hand-picked appointment, the Governor sent a clear message: Columbus believes they should control our courthouse. When you add the weight of outside endorsements from organizations like the Koch network into a local race, the “machine” is no longer just a theory — it is a visible attempt to exert top-down control over our area.

Why does this matter to the citizens of Van Wert County?

Local trust — our county leaders know our families, our values, and our unique challenges better than any politician or strategist in Columbus ever will.

The “machine” play — when outside interests and state-level power players try to “control the bench,” they turn our legal system into a political tool rather than a local service.

Our voice — the Probate and Juvenile Court handles our most private family matters. That seat should be occupied by someone chosen by this community, not someone installed by a machine that snubbed our local representatives.

This isn’t about party lines, and it isn’t about Candidate A vs. Candidate B. It is about whether we believe Van Wert County should be governed by its own people or by a political machine in the state capital.

On Election Day, we have the opportunity to send a message. Let’s show Columbus that Van Wert County belongs to the people who live here, and our courthouse is not a satellite office for state-level interference. 

Jarret M. Hammons

Van Wert