Sauber seeking a second term

By Kevin Risner, krisner@advertiser-tribune.com
Seneca County Commissioner Dave Sauber is asking voters this year for another term in office. Sauber is to appear on the March 4 Republican primary ballot. Edward B. Brickner, Herbert A. Faber and Jeffrey F. Kuhn are the other Republicans challenging for the party’s nomination to appear on the November ballot for the same seat.

“We need someone who can manage the county as a business, who can stand up for what is right, and be responsible for making the tough decisions,” Sauber said, repeating his own published comments from the 2004 election campaign.

Sauber said he believes he has lived up to the commitments he made during the 2004 campaign. He said he and Commissioner Ben Nutter, elected at the same time, committed to address issues head-on and move ahead with projects. Sauber said he believes voters should recognize he and Nutter have pursued the issues presented to them as commissioners aggressively.

“Some of the issues are popular, some aren’t,” Sauber said. “But I think we’ve done a good job stepping up to the plate and doing what we said we were going to do. I know a lot of people are out there talking about the issues and what they want to do. I can go on my track record for what I’ve done, not what I want to do.”

Sauber is a Tiffin native and a Columbian High School graduate. He attended Tiffin University, where he received a peace officer certificate. He also attended Terra Technical College and Owens Community College. He gained additional coursework at Sentinel Vocational Center for mechanics, law enforcement and insurance adjustment.

Before his election as a county commissioner, Sauber owned and managed his own business in Tiffin — Sauber’s Garage and Mini-Storage. He managed two service stations and was the service manager at Bush Chevrolet.

“I remember during the blizzard of ’78 I was the only gas station open in the whole city,” Sauber said, recounting how he assisted Tiffin street crews to clear streets during the emergency as well.

Sauber said he has 24 years of business experience. He said he has extensive experience in construction on large projects and some smaller projects. He was an insurance adjuster for Nationwide Insurance for six years. Sauber also was a sheriff’s deputy for 19 years.

Sauber said the space needs issue is one of the biggest facing the county at present. He notes Juvenile and Probate Court is operating in a fraction of the space the department needs.

“It’s a very busy system and I thing Paul Kutscher has done a great job down there,” Sauber said. “You have to love kids and you have to love the judicial process to be able to do the job he does.

“That’s one of the biggest things I see facing Seneca County. The reason I say that is because of the 1884 courthouse. In the near future the citizens are going to have a chance to make a decision on the courthouse, whether to restore it or whether to replace it with a smaller structure.”

Sauber said even though many people are focused on the 1884 Seneca County Courthouse issue, the county deals with many other important issues. Elected officials in the county take issues, often financial, to the commissioners. Other departments are under the supervision of the commissioners. Sauber oversees the county maintenance department, emergency management services, emergency medical services and the county dog warden.

“I just see many things for Seneca County,” Sauber said. “We went after our comprehensive road study. We’ve done that as a community-type effort with Regional Planning helping us, (Seneca Economic and Industrial Development Corp.), the chambers, a lot of key leaders in Seneca County. Now that we have this comprehensive road study plan, we’re out and working on this as a grass-roots type effort to involve the community in this for support.”

Sauber said the county has the support of the Farm Bureau, the township trustees, the county EMS department, the county sheriff and the various county municipalities. Sauber said the support of different groups in the county is important to convince state and federal legislators to support road improvements.

“They don’t have to fear they are going to upset some of their constituents in the area by supporting that,” Sauber said. “The last thing they want to do is upset the agricultural base in any county. They are the backbone of the state and the country.”

Sauber said he believes the focus of economic growth in the county should be on businesses already in the county. By improving current businesses, Sauber said other businesses should find Seneca County a more attractive location.

Sauber said the county’s debt has been lowered by $1.5 million since he and Nutter were elected. He also said the county paid $1.3 million for a jail expansion without borrowing money.

“That has created new jobs in Seneca County for corrections officers,” Sauber said. “It’s also brought back a lot of federal tax dollars to the area. I believe last year the sheriff brought in just a little under $2.5 million from the federal government through the (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) program. Believe it or not, that is huge for this area.”

Sauber said he is personally proud of the current commissioners’ office building. He said most of the cost for the project was paid with grant money. The county only paid about $20,000 — less than one-fifth — of the total cost. The county maintenance department did most of the labor and new furniture was purchased with fees from the Solid Waste District.

Sauber said one event at the former commissioners’ office building on Jefferson Street punctuated the need for different office space.

“I’ll still never forget the meeting when a young lady showed up in regards to a water issue on CR 16, and she couldn’t come into our board meeting,” Sauber said. “That makes you really step up and think about, ‘this just isn’t right.’ That’s when everybody got together and this building became available. We made the decision to move ahead.”

Sauber said the county has dealt with findings and orders from the environmental protection agency and been faced with the possibility of fines for other environmental issues. The county dealt with issues to avoid fines and is currently moving forward with sewer projects for Bascom and for Harley and Huron streets at the edge of Tiffin.

The county has captured more than $11 million in grant money for Seneca County projects since Sauber took his seat on the board, Sauber said. Sauber also points to improvements and grants for the county airport. The airport recently received a grant for more than $400,000.

“I know Ben (Nutter) and I made a commitment when we ran that we weren’t going to worry about being re-elected,” Sauber said. “We were more worried about doing the right thing, then we would be re-elected automatically, because that is what people want. They want leadership in this position. I think that’s what we’ve done.”

Sauber has two children and four grandchildren.