Here is a roundup of the candidate races:
Mayor’s race: Foster vs. Funk
Two men are seeking to replace incumbent Mayor Richard Verga, who is stepping down to run for a seat on village council. Harveysburg is a statutory village and does not have a charter; it is a weak mayor/strong council form of village government in which the mayor is directly elected for a four-year term to preside over council meetings and other ceremonial functions. Council members are not paid however, the mayor receives a small stipend each month.
Christian Foster said he’s “running as a fresh face” because he’s seen a few odd and undesirable things in the community. He believes he has “knowledge, experiences and skills to do the job.”
Foster, 53, is a 21-year Army veteran and has lived in the village for about 2½ years. He is employed as an independent truck driver. He says there are two issues facing Harveysburg: the contention between Harveysburg Village Council and the ownership of the Ohio Renaissance Festival; and the off-balance structure of the mayor and council.
“We need to restore order and balance,” he said. “I hope to change the relationship and correct the processes. The problems precede me but I believe I can help. Life is about balance.”
Foster has posted his ideas and is soliciting suggestions on social media and has debated them there with his opponent.
As for the dissolution question, Foster said “it would be a mistake to use the nuclear option by dissolving.” He also said the village needs to have a relationship with the Ohio Renaissance Festival.
Jonathan Funk, 51, is also a first-time candidate. He has lived in the village for 12 years and is the owner of DTB Distributors. He’s running “to give back to the community and help out.”
Funk said chief among the issues facing the village is the lack of communication between residents and its locally elected leaders.
“We need to better inform the residents about community issues and we need to listen to the community and make improvements,” Funk said.
If elected, Funk said he hopes to find ways to cut costs, grow and improve the village, and find additional revenue.
Funk said dissolving the village would only make things worse for Harveysburg. “We have a voice to make change,” he said. “Don’t vote your rights away.”
Three candidates vying for two council seats
Patrick Bennett, 63, is an incumbent council member who has served the village since 1989. Bennett also has served on the planning commission, finance committee, as village clerk of council, court clerk, and fiscal officer.
Bennett, who works in retail, is seeking re-election to council because he believes he’s been a good steward of the village.
“I’ve seen some tumultuous times in the village and I try to take a rational approach,” Bennett said. “Some (council) moves have created uncertainty with everyone and that the timing was wrong.”
He said things could have been handled better, adding there were one or two rogue members on council that created problems.
Bennett said issues facing the village revolve around the Ohio Renaissance Festival and he believes a deal can be brokered, saying the village always had a good relationship with the festival. He said the village needs to remain intact and there needs to be a semblance of order restored.
In addition to working out an amicable agreement with the festival, Bennett hopes to address street needs.
Mark Tipton, 67, is a retired business owner and engineer. He has been around the village for more than 20 years and has lived in the village for close to six years. He is an incumbent, appointed in 2020 and serving as president of village council for the past four years.
He said he is running to impart change in the community.
“I feel that I bring to the table a level of experience and insight on how to improve village operations and I feel that I have demonstrated to all my intense desire to accomplish this task,” Tipton said. “I am at a point in my life that I now have the time and resources to give back to my community and serving on council is just one of the many ways that I can do so.”
He cited saving the residents money through a new trash contract and electric aggregation program, as well as infrastructure grants. He championed a new building and inspection fee schedule which became law and is advocating for a 3% admissions tax for entertainment venues, such as the Ohio Renaissance Festival.
“I will continue to pressure property owners to either remediate or demo(lish) the assorted and blighted properties that have been a part of the Harveysburg landscape for far too many years,” Tipton said. “Our hiring of a new Building Official is greatly facilitating that effort.”
Tipton agreed with the other candidates that the village should not vote to dissolve itself.
Richard Verga, 85, is a retired federal employee who has lived in the village since 2000. He has served on village council since 2001 and as mayor since 2008.
“I decided to run for council because I wanted more of a voice in community decisions,” he said. “There’s a general lack of doing things and a lack of harmony on council.”
Verga said the three key issues facing the village include the relationship with the Ohio Renaissance Festival ownership; avoiding the detachment of the festival property from the village to Massie Twp.; and necessary infrastructure improvements which haven’t been done because tight budgets. He also said the village has staffing issues.
He said there have been no commercial business openings in years and work is needed in that area. Verga said the village has talked with some possible businesses about locating in the village.
Verga said he’s against the dissolution of the village.
“I’d rather it not go away and I would hate to see that happen,” he said. “The village is closer to residents than the township. However, the management of the village government has not been user friendly and has not had the best interests of the village residents.”
Longtime Massie Twp. trustee facing challenger
Incumbent Trustee Mark Dawson is being challenged by Scott Huddleson, who is making his first run for elected office.
Mark Dawson, 56, has lived in the community for the past 35 years and has been serving as a trustee since 2008. He is the deputy of operations for the Warren County Engineer’s Office.
“My job with the county helps me as a township trustee and I know how to efficiently spend tax dollars,” he said. “We have a super good board that always gets along.”
He said the big issues facing Massie Twp. are the possible dissolution of Harveysburg and the Ohio Renaissance Festival detaching from the village and moving back to the township’s jurisdiction. Dawson also said working to keep the volunteer fire department staffed continues to be a challenge in the rural community.
“I hope they (Harveysburg) stay together,” Dawson said. “There are different funding sources that villages can go after. They need to sit down and tolerate each other if nothing else.”
Credit: Richter, Edward (COP-Dayton)
Credit: Richter, Edward (COP-Dayton)
Scott Huddleson, 46, is employed as a public utilities inspector, and previously served a year as an appointed member of Harveysburg Village Council. This is his first campaign for elected office.
Huddleson said all of the trustees have been in office for multiple terms and he feels the community needs a change in leadership.
He believes the big issue facing the township is “commercial solar farms invading the township and taking farmland away. Huddleson said he’s talked to a number of residents who would like to see the township follow its 2015 comprehensive plan to preserve farmland.
While Huddleson is against industrial or commercial solar farms using farmland, he said he was not opposed to residents using solar energy for their personal use.
Huddleson said he wants to see Harveysburg stay intact.
“That would be a lot for the township to take on because Harveysburg has very old infrastructure,” he said.
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