E-mails regarding Greene County ‘Welcome’ signs
Written by Robert Geyer, Greene County Engineer. The first two are to county party member Jerry Smith and the third is to Smith and County Commissioner Marilyn Reid.
Sept. 17: Jerry,
I received a call late yesterday from the Dayton Daily News about the signs and they have also called Rick Perales. To say the least they are stirred up and on a witch hunt. I had not seen a sign until today and I don’t think we ever discussed the disclaimer at the bottom about the party paying for the signs. The reporter stopped and looked at the sign and saw Marilyn Reid’s name and he wants a pound flesh from me as he says these are political signs permanently installed. I am just waiting for the axe to fall. Depending on where this ends up I may have ask that you remove them from my right of way and put them on private property. You know I had reservations about this from the start and my worst fears are coming true, especially with the disclaimer which I was not aware of. I am not going to take a political hit for this and it may even give the party a huge black eye if the paper continues to pursue the story which I think they will. Once it hits the papers the TV stations will be next. This is a young kid looking to make a name for himself, so he is going to make the most of this situation. In this current political climate we have to so careful and this may have been the very bad idea I thought it would be. I know you were well intentioned, but some things just aren’t palatable to all people and this is one. I’ll stay in touch.
Bob Geyer
Greene County Engineer
Sept. 20: Jerry,
Here is an e-mail that Rick Perales got from a Fairborn resident about the signs. When we first talked and before I turned you over to my Traffic guy, I thought that the signs were to be at or near the county line as you entered the county and they were to be paid for by you. In reviewing the list of approved locations which I never saw I see that none are in that location. It appears you and the party have taken liberty with my goodwill and simply placed the signs on heavily travelled roads at various locations around the county, all in the west. I am a little upset in that I feel you and the party have taken advantage of the situation and that I, in my opinion, was used for political gain of the party as the proof of the sign did not show the disclaimer which makes this a political sign. Further, I do not recall being at a Central or Executive Committee meeting of the party where this expenditure was approved. This whole situation does not sit well with me and perhaps it would be in everyone’s best interest with this comment and the DDN reporter on the issue to remove the signs immediately. If you wish to place them on private property that is your decision. Again, this not at all what we originally discussed and now I know it was a bad idea. I somewhat blame myself for not having been involved more on this and seeing it to the end.
Bob Geyer
Greene County Engineer
Sept. 23: Marilyn and Jerry,
After further thought and numerous calls, including one from an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, other elected officials, and a TV reporter I asked to ignore the story and they have complied at this point in time, I have decided a meeting is not necessary. Apparently you two are the only ones who think this is a good idea. Therefore, I am returning to my e-mail a couple of days ago and I would like the signs removed. You can place them on private property, but not on the right of way of any road. While what you wanted to do maybe legal, this has gotten too political, deviated too far from the original concept, and I don’t like where it is headed. As I told you earlier, this turned into the nightmare I thought it would. Please remove the signs ASAP.
Thanks,
Bob
XENIA — The “Welcome to Greene County” signs that said, “Courtesy of The Greene County Republican Party” were taken down in September almost as fast as they were put up.
But the controversial signs left a lasting impression on a faction of the county’s Republican Party that allege party chairwoman and County Commissioner Marilyn Reid and others broke party bylaws by approving the $2,800 it cost to make and put up 10 such signs.
The issue came up during Wednesday night’s county GOP central and executive meeting in which Dick Gould was voted the new county treasurer and John Langenderfer was voted the new party treasurer. They replaced James W. Schmidt, who resigned from both positions after pleading guilty to misdemeanors related to abuse of a public office.
Reid introduced party member Jerry Smith, who explained how he came up with the idea for the welcome signs.
A motion was made to retroactively approve the expenditure. After some shouting, a motion to remove Reid as chairwoman and a voice vote about the expense that was too close to call, Don Knickerbocker offered to pay for the signs. That threw the meeting into procedural confusion, with a vote being held to approve the expenditure despite the fact Knickerbocker said he would reimburse the party.
The results of the vote were 47 to retroactively approve the expenditure and 43 votes against.
Reid said she and other committee members thought they were approving one $280 sign and claimed she didn’t know how many signs there were.
Opponents of Reid’s leadership point to the bylaws, which specifically states that any expenditure over $1,000 must be approved by the central and executive committee. No vote was ever taken, and numerous party members said they had never heard of the issue until a story ran Sept. 23 in the Dayton Daily News.
On Sept. 16, Reid said: “The executive committee approved the signs, the project.”
Reid’s fellow commissioners and Republicans Alan Anderson and Rick Perales said they knew nothing about the official-looking Ohio Department of Transportation-style signs until after they were posted. Neither did multiple other party members.
As party treasurer, Schmidt most likely wrote the check used to pay for the project, said multiple party sources.
On Tuesday, a day before the GOP meeting, Reid said: “The signs are a dead issue right now. I’m not going to talk about the signs.”
County Engineer Bob Geyer first approved the sign project brought forward Aug. 19 by Smith. The permit application listed the party and was signed by Dan C. Hahn.
Later, Geyer ordered the signs’ removal.
In an e-mail obtained by an open records request, Geyer wrote to Smith on Sept. 17: “I am not going to take a political hit for this and it may even give the party a huge black eye if the paper continues to pursue the story which I think they will.”
On Sept. 20, Geyer wrote that he didn’t remember any party approval of such an expenditure and that the signs were not put up at county entrances as was described by Smith. One sign was between Fairborn and Byron.
Geyer wrote; “I am a little upset in that I feel you and the party have taken advantage of the situation and that I, in my opinion, was used for political gain of the party.”
On Sept. 23, Geyer wrote to Smith and Reid: “Apparently you two are the only ones who think this is a good idea. Therefore, I am returning to my e-mail a couple of days ago and I would like the signs removed.”
»DaytonDailyNews.com exclusive: Full e-mails between GOP members regarding the signs
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