The GOP is accepting applications until Jan. 26 and whomever is chosen will serve until the next county office elections in 2024.
The commissioners made it clear they have no power over the selection of the new auditor.
“We are not making a recommendation to the central committee in filling this, we’re simply doing our duty for the 30-day period,” Commissioner Cindy Carpenter said. “This isn’t a support for one candidate over another.”
Reynolds was indicted last February on five counts for bribery and leveraging his public office to further his own interests on charges related to trying to help his family develop land in West Chester Twp. A third felony was added in July for him allegedly asking Lakota Schools officials to use $750,000 of the unspent fees he routinely returns to taxing bodies each year for a golf academy at Four Bridges Golf Course, where his family lives.
The jury found him guilty on the charge related to Lakota but not guilty on the development deal charges. He faces a possible six to 18 month jail term and a $5,000 fine. Visiting Judge Daniel Hogan has scheduled his sentencing for Feb. 15 but Reynolds was forced out of office because he cannot serve as a public official after a felony conviction.
Neither Reynolds nor his attorney could be reached for comment about a potential appeal, but they have to wait until he is sentenced anyway.
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said an appeal, even if he successfully overturned his conviction wouldn’t change his ability to serve as auditor under his current elected term, “he could win an appeal with a blue ribbon stamp of approval, but that doesn’t mean anything as far as the position is concerned.”
“That ship has left the station with the conviction regardless of the appeal,” Gmoser said. “He would be eligible however to run again.”
Reynolds always maintained his innocence and even ran for re-election and won with 67% of the vote in November. The Republican Party narrowly endorsed Reynolds and Chairman Todd Hall and others called for Reynolds to resign early on “for the good of the public trust and to protect the integrity of the office” and now they can restore the office’s reputation.
“It is not just the conviction of the crime, but the obstinate attitude of Reynolds that his legal battle was of more importance than the reputation of the office to which he was elected, and that became perhaps the most unfortunate storyline of all,” Hall said. “For those who determinedly stood by him in the face of the serious legal charges, many should have known better. But now, finally, we can move on as he is forced to resign and rebuild trust in the office of auditor.”
Who wants the job
Nix and Jones pulled petitions to challenge him in the May primary last year but both backed out. Jones said he quit the race because few people countywide paid attention to Reynolds’ legal issues and it would have required him to spend a lot of cash and be “incredibly vicious” to educate the voters “and that’s just not me.”
He told the Journal-News it is time for the GOP to pick someone outside the inner circle.
“I don’t bear any of the baggage that goes sometimes with county government, I would be a new face,” Jones said. “I’ve got the credentials, I’ve got the reputation, it’s the right time for the right person, that’s me. The Party needs to consider maintaining it’s good reputation and that’s another reason to bring in a new face. Playing musical chairs isn’t going to work.”
The county auditor wears many hats including serving as the chief financial officer, valuing real estate for tax purposes, overseeing weights and measures and other duties. Jones said he has the credentials to take the post with his experience as West Chester’s fiscal officer and 14 years as a licensed realtor with training in appraisals.
Nix told the Journal-News months ago she would seek the seat if Reynolds was convicted and she hasn’t wavered. She has had a very close working relationship with Reynolds and his staff for the 15 years she has been in office, since the auditor’s sets the property values and her office bills taxpayers.
She said at a time like this, when higher tax bills — due to some tax rollbacks expiring and after Reynolds lost a two-year battle with the state over property values — are about to hit most taxpayers, someone who understands the two offices is critical.
“I bring stability to the financial departments of Butler County, my 15 years of experience as county treasurer working alongside the auditor is invaluable especially at this time, with our tax bills going out at the end of the month,” she said adding she also has experience as a CPA, a banker and former city council member, “plus providing continuity with the auditor’s staff that I’ve developed over 15 years and my relationships here in he treasurer’s office.”
Statzer is a long-time county employee, most recently as the chief deputy Clerk of Courts. He also worked in upper level management positions in the prosecutor’s office and the auditor’s office from 2005 to 2012, he has a master degree in government and was the dean of a two-year college.
He said he hasn’t decided yet whether he will apply for the permanent position.
“I want to take a little time, I’ve got ‘til the 26th of January to put my name in, I’m not being coy I want to see who would be the right person,” he said adding he knows both Jones and Nix very well “I want to just be able to know that the right thing is being done. If I choose to run for it I’m very qualified to do it ... I know I have what it takes, I’m just going to go over in the office and see what’s needed to be done and then I’ll make a decision.”
Reynolds still has a civil lawsuit to fight
Reynolds’ legal troubles aren’t over when he serves the sentence Hogan hands down — he is still fighting a civil lawsuit seeking around $1.4 million filed by 88-year-old Gerald Parks and his daughter Tina Barlow in September 2021. The allegations in the civil case spawned the criminal investigation, but the jury found Reynolds was not criminally liable for downing a development deal Parks was trying to forge.
County taxpayers have been paying the legal tab for the civil lawsuit because he was sued in his capacity as a county officeholder — to the tune of $89,358. The county’s insurance kicks in after the $100,000 deductible is met. He has been paying his own criminal attorney.
Parks’ attorney Chip Goff told the Journal-News the not-guilty verdicts in the charges involving his client’s claims won’t adversely impact his case.
“The burden of proof the jury must apply in a civil trial is a preponderance of the evidence. It is a much lower standard than that required of a criminal trial which is reasonable doubt,” Goff said. “The facts and evidence presented to a jury in a criminal trial may result in a not guilty verdict for a defendant, but those same facts and evidence presented to a different jury in a civil trial may result in the same defendant being found civilly liable for damages.”
The civil trial is scheduled for Oct. 30 and Reynolds’ civil attorney Andrew Yosowitz told the Journal-News the not-guilty findings are important to their case.
“There is still a civil case by plaintiffs Parks and Barlow seeking money based on all the same claims for which Roger Reynolds was acquitted by a jury of his peers,” Yosowitz said. “The jury rejected each and every one of those claims.”
About the Author
