EATON — Voters in Preble County will be choosing two new county commissioners this election cycle.
And, depending on how another race on the ballot in Preble County shakes out, folks could see an all-new board of commissioners in Eaton come January.
Preble County’s Commission has three seats. Incumbents Chris Day and Denise Robertson each lost in the Primary Election in April, costing them spots on the November ballot.
Republican Rachael Vonderhaar is running un-opposed for the one open seat while Independent Mary Bullen and Republican Adam Craft are squaring off for the other open county commission seat.
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With early voting underway at the Preble County Board of Elections in Eaton, voters are casting their ballots already, but we won’t know results for another two weeks.
But there are two certainties in Preble County politics these days: there will be at least two fresh faces on the county commission after Election Day.
In addition to the actual commission race in Eaton, how voters decide a separate race for a seat in the state House in Columbus could also have an impact on the Preble County Commission.
Current county commissioner and Republican, Rodney Creech is running against Democrat and career teacher, Amy Cox to represent Ohio’s 43rd House District. Both candidates are Preble County natives.
The district encompasses all of Preble County and a portion of northwestern Montgomery County including: Farmersville, New Lebanon, Trotwood, Brookville, Clayton, part of Dayton, and Harrison, Jackson and Perry Townships.
Incumbent State Rep. J. Todd Smith, R – Jackson Twp., lost to Creech in the Republican primary for Ohio’s 43rd House District in April. Smith announced he was withdrawing from the primary in January, but never submitted the needed paperwork to formally end his candidacy.
Cox was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Although the last race for this seat was tight – Smith edged Democratic challenger Dan Foley by 137 votes in 2018 – the district has been red recently. The GOP has held the seat since the 2014 election.
Creech is hoping to keep that streak alive, while Cox is seeking to break that trend.
Monday, News Center 7 asked both candidates why they chose to run for State Representative in this district?
“Well, I started out as a township trustee and found out that I love to serve people,” Creech said. “Then went to the county commissioner role. And just want to serve a larger base and take our voice to Columbus for the 43rd.”
Cox said, “Well, it’s really out of frustration. I have been a school teacher since 2003. And as a school teacher I have seen basically a decline of working middle class, whether it’s drug overdoses and drug abuse to stagnant wages, not having access to healthcare and the stress is seen on the students' faces. I can’t escape it. I know their stories. And I’m ready to do something about it because a lot of what goes on, especially when it comes to schools has to do with what it legislated at the state level … I think there’s a frustration among everyone and I think people just are ready for something different and ready for a change.”
If Cox wins the election, Creech will continue serving as one of the three Preble County Commissioners. But, if voters send Creech to the Statehouse, it will be up to the Preble County Republican Party’s central committee to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Creech’s current term as county commissioner. That scenario would mean three new faces on the Preble County Commission in January.
Cox Media Group
