Ballard, Beard, Hanna, Bowers best choices

8:44 PM Friday, October 30, 2009

The Enon Village Council election is the third of three races on Tuesday in which the people who are elected will have a shared responsibility for the growth and development of the southwest corner of Clark County.

Greenon Local School Board and Mad River Twp. trustees will work closely with Enon council members on common issues and concerns. The area has a common fate in its battle to attract new home buyers, families with children, residents who like living in a small town and businesses that offer good jobs. The area will rise or fall on all three boards’ ability to forge a commitment among residents to work together and look for ways to share resources and grow.

The next council also needs to move on from this summer’s incidents involving Mayor Clifford Vernon, the council and former village administrator Tim Howard.

Howard abruptly resigned in August after more than 30 years with the village and several council members and community members have expressed disappointment that his exit was caused in part by friction between him and the mayor. The council then held an executive session to discuss hiring a new administrator – a meeting that is exempt from the state’s open meeting laws – but went to the rare step of also excluding Vernon from attending.

The village law director has ruled that that exclusion was improper but that there was little harm done.

The village needs to hire a permanent replacement for Howard and all members of the council and the mayor need to commit to moving ahead by treating village staff members and one another professionally.

In that spirit, the News-Sun endorses Elmer Beard, Rick Hanna, Diana Ballard and Steve Bowers for the council. Don Blair has not responded to the News-Sun editorial board’s attempts to reach him and did not attend a community election night, so the paper is unable to determine his fitness to serve.

Bowers is an incumbent in the race and incumbents generally earn our nod because the experience of serving on a board even once is a valuable asset that should not be thrown away lightly.

Beard has served before, is deputy chief with the Mad River Twp. fire and EMS department and is a former mayor, losing a re-election effort to Vernon in 2007. He is experienced and can serve well immediately.

Hanna is an employee of the Social Security Administration and a former Kettering police officer.

Ballard, who did not attend a News-Sun editorial board interview, is a substitute school teacher. She pledges to serve by keeping an eye on public spending if elected.

The four new members will make up a majority of the next council. Ballard, Beard, Hanna and Bowers are the best choices.

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