The present board of Seneca County commissioners is the worst I have seen in my lifetime, and I have been around for awhile. Commissioner Dave Sauber, who failed in his own business, had little or no experience in budget matters. Voters finally realized that and he was dismissed in the primary.
Jeff Wagner, a lifetime politician, was a non-factor in Columbus simply because he was only one vote of many. He wanted to get back as commissioner (he was in once before and did a lousy job) so he could be a "big shot" representing one-third of the vote to make his share of ill-advised decisions. I am predicting he will resign before the next election because he is assured of a handsome retirement, funded by the taxpayers. Can we afford two more years of Jeff Wagner or should we have a recall?
Then we have Ben Nutter, a firefighter, also without any business background, who has done more damage in the county than the other two put together. He had the nerve at the recent candidate night to brag how proud he is of his accomplishments as a commissioner. Lest we forget, Mr. Nutter ignored the vote of the people when he raised the sales tax at a time when folks were struggling to make a living.
Most importantly, he was the driving force to demolish the county icon, our historic courthouse, even though he was told the funds were available to restore it. By so doing, he destroyed $20 million of taxpayers' equity, the figure the building was appraised at. It makes people sick, driving through the heart of town to see the empty grass lot. During his eight years in office, he authorized thousands of dollars worth in studies, only to do nothing. Space prevents listing more of his "accomplishments."
Mr. Nutter ran unsuccessfully for state representative, which seems to indicate he is more interested in himself than the future of Seneca County. Chances are he wants to be re-elected for another four years so he can supervise the construction of the "Ben Nutter Memorial Courthouse," a structure of two-by-fours and one-fourth-inch drywall.
The choice in an election when an incumbent faces a challenger is easy. If we don't like the performance of the incumbent, then let's send him home and take a chance with the new person. In this case, we are not even taking a gamble. Fred Zoeller is a successful businessman and it's high time that the county is run as a business.
Let's send Nutter back to his full-time job at the fire station so he can do an excellent job for which he is qualified.
Respectfully yours,
Dieter G. Schneppat,
Tiffin
