CHAUNCEY, Ohio — Candidates for Chauncey mayor and Dover Township trustee participated in a roundtable discussion Tuesday with community members in Chauncey.
This event, held at the Athens Friends Meeting House at 22 Birge Drive, was hosted by the League of Women Voters of Athens County.
Each candidate had one minute for an opening statement, then took a seat at each of the four tables to answer questions from audience members. These discussions were limited to 12 minutes, before each candidate had to switch to another table.
Mayor of Chauncey
Frank Campbell
In Campbell’s opening statement, he said he has traced his family roots in the area back to 1914 and has the “only farm in Chauncey.” Family is important to him.
“I’d love for people to raise children here, have them get a job in town, build a house in town, and have everything they need here. I don’t want them to have to leave,” Campbell said.
Campbell said he has a focus on collaboration between community and local government. He wants council members to reach out to their neighbors and community members to consider other opinions when making decisions for their community.
“I think to have a good local government takes community involvement and understanding the direction the community is headed,” Campbell said. “I believe you have to take into consideration the history and the heritage of the community to be a good leader. With the relationships I have I will understand what the community opinion is before we enact ordinances or policies.”
When asked about if differing views would happen between the council and the community, Campbell said the thing he loves about Chauncey is the diverse community and how throughout their history, regardless of status, the community has stuck together.
Campbell said he would like to progress the village by finding ways to fill vacancies in Chauncey through connections he has with other organizations in Athens County. Campbell added, “We want houses, we want people here.”
Campbell said there have been issues in Chauncey due to collaboration issues. For example, he said, some of the storm drains for the village’s new sewer system have no curves, which prevents proper drainage of rain.
“If there was collaboration, this wouldn’t have been an issue,” he said.
Campbell acknowledged he does not have as much experience with making budgets as he does working to achieve them.
“Although I’ve never did a budget for a community, I do have the basic concept of what needs to happen,” Campbell said. “We do it on a much smaller scale, but I have helped start a local nonprofit with some of my peers to serve our community.”
Evelyn Nagy
In Nagy’s opening statement, she said she serves on the Chauncey Village Council as council president, and believes that Chauncey deserves nice things.
Nagy has an associate of arts degree from Ohio University and an associate of applied science in addiction studies from Lorain County Community College. She said she has been a chemical dependency counselor for the last 25 years and said that because she’s considered a certified listener, she can find a more agreeable solution when differing viewpoints clash.
Nagy said she wants people to be heard and runs in on the heels of previous mayors who were good examples. Her plans for Chauncey include thoughtful decision making, listening to residents, weighing options carefully and balancing immediate needs with long-term goals.
“My approach is to make decisions with both accountability and collaboration in mind, so the whole village benefits,” Nagy said.
She said she plans to continue Chauncey’s progress and find answers to questions from community members. She is concerned about how Chauncey wants to develop, whether it wants to grow current businesses or attract new ones.
Like Campbell, Nagy said she is interested in partnering with other organizations to grow Chauncey and thinks that outreach and community input is important. She also said she wants to create more affordable housing and keep the needs of the community first.
“I see the mayor’s role as a leader, listener and a connector,” Nagy said. “Someone who ensures services are delivered, resources are brought in and partnerships are maintained to continue improving the quality of life in our village.”
When asked about her experience with budgets, Nagy said she has been closely involved with fiscal decisions in the village.
“I have several years of experience working with budgets through my services on Chauncey Village Council,” Nagy said. “During that time, I have been directly involved in reviewing and approving annual budgets, making careful decisions to fund projects that benefit the village and ensuring taxpayers dollars are used responsibly.”
Nagy said she also has experience with managing funds for long-term and short-term needs, as well as seeking grant opportunities and balancing priorities to ensure essential services are maintained and new opportunities can still make progress.
Dover Township trustees
Three candidates are running for two seats with the Dover Township board of trustees. Of those, only challenger Hubie Cooksey joined Tuesday’s forum. Incumbents Danny Brown and Stuart Neal were unavailable.
Hubie Cooksey
In his opening statement, Cooksey said he has lived on SR 550 his entire life and has been involved in the community. He said he’s got ideas that will help Dover Township.
“I’ve talked to some people that’s probably got a pretty good idea in their heads and hopefully it’ll work out,” Cooksey said.
Cooksey said the trustees are in charge of the roads and cemeteries in Dover. He said road safety is an important issue to him, especially when it comes to his town.
Cooksey criticized the township for the current state of its roads. He said he believes the town has let them go and has not put enough of a priority on safety, such as slowing down drivers on flood routes.
He said he has some ideas of how things should move forward with Dover that some people will agree with and some people will not. He proposed the idea of chip seal paving the roads a list of roads each year to give them a longer life before needing to be repaired.
More information
Early voting for the Nov. 4 general election began Oct. 7. Find more information on voting and the election from the Athens County Board of Elections.
The League of Women Voters of Athens County is hosting additional candidate events this fall. A Glouster roundtable was the first in its series; the next is in Nelsonville Oct. 14.
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