{"id":20501,"date":"2012-02-11T07:24:11","date_gmt":"2012-02-11T12:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=20501"},"modified":"2012-02-13T07:35:52","modified_gmt":"2012-02-13T12:35:52","slug":"commissioner-candidates-speak-at-republican-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2012\/02\/11\/commissioner-candidates-speak-at-republican-luncheon\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissioner candidates speak at event"},"content":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Republican candidates for two county commissioner's races spoke Friday at a Republican luncheon held at Willow Bend Country Club. Those who spoke include (top row, from the left) Phil Baxter, Todd Wolfrum and Denzil Wortman; (bottom row) Stan Owens, Kim Brandt and Megan Price, on behalf of her father, Bill Evans. (Dave Mosier\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for two separate Van Wert County commissioner\u2019s terms got another chance to air their views during a candidate\u2019s luncheon hosted by fellow county Republicans.<\/p>\n

The event, held at Willow Bend Country Club, drew all but one of the candidates. Bill Evans, a township trustee, was attending a state trustee association event, but still sent daughter Megan Price to represent him.<\/p>\n

Those up first were the two candidates for current Commissioner Gary Adams\u2019 term of office, which begins January 3, 2013. Denzil \u201cDenny\u201d Wortman was the first to speak, and he emphasized his degree in electronics from ITT and his 31 years with Chrysler Corporation and GKN Sinter Metals. Wortman also operates a small farming operation, and stressed the management skills it takes to operate a farm. \u201cIt takes a lot of input today to be a farmer, and stay a farmer,\u201d Wortman said.<\/p>\n

Wortman said he feels economic development — particularly the airport and Job Ready Site megasite — are critical to the financial health of the county.<\/p>\n

Wortman, who is also a private pilot with an instrument rating and volunteers at the airport, said he would like to see aviation take a front seat in the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think economic development is a priority for everybody,\u201d Wortman said, adding that he would support an expansion of the airport, possibly linked to programs at Vantage or a junior college to promote training for mechanics and pilots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis way we will bring people to Van Wert that have the financial means to possibly bring business here,\u201d Wortman concluded.<\/p>\n

His opponent, Sheriff Stan D. Owens, stressed his more than two decades as sheriff and his background helping operate the family farm. \u201cI learned at a young age what it was like to work and the value of a dollar,\u201d Owens said.<\/p>\n

The 1972 Crestview High School graduate said he felt his conservative values and fiscal management and administrative skills would be a plus in the county commissioner\u2019s position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe in bringing a common-sense approach to issues, looking at the whole picture and trying to work out positive solutions,\u201d he noted. \u201cI firmly believe that we need to stand on our beliefs and our principles when we hold these offices, and I will do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owens also noted that he would be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars and would promote economic development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely believe in economic growth and development for Van Wert County,\u201d the sheriff said. \u201cI\u2019m very invested in Van Wert County.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up were the candidates for the January 2, 2013, term of county commissioner now held by Clair Dudgeon.<\/p>\n

Phil Baxter spoke first, noting his degree in electrical engineering from ITT and his experience in re-organizing a local business that was struggling at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI reorganized Cool Machines,\u201d Baxter said. \u201cWhen I got hired there they were able to go belly up; I reorganized their books, reorganized everything in the plant \u2026 they\u2019re up and running, they\u2019re profitable and they are taking more and more of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed his background in business, in a variety of positions. \u201cI\u2019ve been blue collar, I\u2019ve been white collar, and I\u2019ve been a no collar worker,\u201d Baxter noted with a smile.<\/p>\n

Baxter, a 1986 graduate of Parkway High School whose father died when he was a senior, also said he was used to working for a living and taking care of the family\u2019s farm facilities.<\/p>\n

Megan Price spoke on behalf of her father, Bill Evans, stressing his extensive economic development involvement, including as a representative of the Community Improvement Corporation, Van Wert County Economic Development Advisory Council, Van Wert County Regional Planning Commission, and Van County Port Authority.<\/p>\n

Price also talked about her father\u2019s successful operation of the family farming operation, noting that her brother would be the fourth generation of the family to be involved in the farming business.<\/p>\n

Evans, a 1971 graduate of Lincolnview High School, also is a York Township trustee and sits on the Van Wert Health Department\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has been actively involved in the megasite since its inception, and continues to promote it for the benefit of Van Wert County,\u201d Price said of her father.<\/p>\n

Kim Brandt, currently county 9-1-1 coordinator, stressed her knowledge of county government and her experience as a grant writer for the 9-1-1 program.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a county employee the past 12 months, I\u2019ve been part of the budgeting process,\u201d Brandt said. \u201cI know my way around the county and the Courthouse; I understand county government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandt also touted her experience as a member of the Parkway and Vantage school boards, noting that she was part of the Parkway team that brought a $32 million facilities project $1 million under budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been there and done that,\u201d Brandt said of many of the responsibilities that come with being a county commissioner and stressed that she would be a full-time commissioner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could hit the ground running,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Wolfrum, a local attorney who has built up his own practice over several years, was the final speaker and he stressed both his knowledge of the law as a benefit for being a commissioner and his business experience as an attorney, landlord and operator of a pizza business in Middle Point.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a commissioner, I can read the law, I can follow the changes,\u201d Wolfrum noted. \u201cI can get the grants, I can get the advantages that we\u2019re missing otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said it\u2019s important to be able to bring tax money back to the county in the form of grants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re sending money to Ohio, if we\u2019re sending money to the federal government, we\u2019ve got to know how to get it back,\u201d Wolfrum noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut most importantly, I think I bring ideas to the commissioner\u2019s office,\u201d he went on to say, adding that bringing some type of branch campus to the county would be advantageous to the county\u2019s economic situation, as well as continuing to work to bring a plant to the megasite.<\/p>\n

“We need to bring in advanced education,” Wolfrum stated, noting that doing so would bring in people with ideas of how to improve the local economy.<\/p>\n

Republican Central Committee Chairman Martin Burchfield emceed the event and thanked the candidates for their participation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DAVE MOSIER\/independent editor The six candidates seeking the Republican nomination for two separate Van Wert County commissioner\u2019s terms got another chance to air their views during a candidate\u2019s luncheon hosted by fellow county Republicans. The event, held at Willow Bend Country Club, drew all but one of the candidates. Bill Evans, a township trustee, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-05 16:07:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20501\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}