THE TODD HALL FILE
Residency: Liberty Twp.
Occupation: Owner of homebuilder Todd Homes LLC
Family: Married with two children
Goals as chairman: Unity and financial stability
THE TODD HALL FILE
Residency: Liberty Twp.
Occupation: Owner of homebuilder Todd Homes LLC
Family: Married with two children
Goals as chairman: Unity and financial stability
Unifying a divided Butler County Republican house is one of the reasons why a 32-year-old Liberty Twp. homebuilder wanted to be the next party chairman.
Todd Hall, the grandson of former Butler County GOP chairman Carlos Todd, was elected Tuesday night as nearly 300 party members came out in single-digit temperatures to Tori's Station in Fairfield to cast their vote. Hall said his only motive to be the GOP executive chair is to rebuild the party's reputation which has been tarnished by financial troubles, infighting and a lawsuit against it by Bridgewater Falls for breaking the lease on its headquarters this summer.
And to do that, Hall said there needs to first be unity, and he is someone who can bridge gaps. A unified party will loosen the membership’s purse strings that can help lead to a more balanced party checkbook.
“I’ve got a job to do. If I can get both of those (under control), I’ve got everybody in sync. We’re still strong … we just need to get some unity and we need to get some money in the party,” Hall said. “I don’t think there’s any secret any more that the party’s divided. My only goal’s the party. I have no motive or agenda other than a successful, prominent Republican Party.”
Hall received votes from 177 of 286 party members Tuesday night. Mark Haverkos, the only other candidate for the job, received 97 votes. The remaining dozen votes were for “no endorsement.”
Hall replaces Dave Kern, who stepped down on Dec. 17, and will serve out the remaining months of that term term until the party reorganizes after the May 6 primary election.
The GOP Central Committee is up for election during the primary, which will lead to an election of Central Committee and Executive Committee leadership. Hall intends to keep his chairmanship.
“I’m going to give it 100 percent 100 percent of the time,” he said.
The owner of Todd Homes, founded by his grandfather, said the party should be run “like a business.”
“I want to put some money back into the fund, to be able to support the people we need to support, and pay the bills we need to be able to pay,” he said.
The Journal-News reported this summer the financial troubles the Republican Party had faced, including paying more than $2,700 a month to lease space at Bridgewater Falls. The party broke the lease and on Dec. 18, the day after Kern resigned, the party was sued by Bridgewater Falls for just under $40,000 for back rent, future rent, and associated fees and costs. Hall said he will "talk to a lot of people" about the lawsuit.
“There’s a lot of things that went on that got us to that point that a lot of different people know a lot of different information,” he said.
The Butler County Democratic Party isn’t concerned with Hall’s election, and the Democratic Party’s Central Committee chair, Kathy Wyenandt, said they “remain focused for November and we’re united. While they are working to rebuild, we’re ahead of the game.”
Hall — the youngest party chairman in 35 years, according to member Dan Acton — said the divisiveness within the party shouldn’t exist since everyone should have the same fundamental Republican beliefs.
“If all the core values are the same then the only thing we’re fighting about are secondary issues, and secondary issues need to be worked out,” Hall said. “It should have never gotten as far as it did, but we’re not going to look in the past we’re going to look into the future.”
And in looking forward, Hall said he isn’t going to reflect on what has been or has not been done in past administrations.
“The party is what the party is today,” he said. “I’m going to deal with tomorrow.”
And “tomorrow” started before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning, said Central Committee Chair Judy Shelton.
“He brings a fresh new approach to the party,” Shelton said. She said his election is “absolutely a good sign” for not only a youth movement in the GOP, but being politically involved.
“For being only 32, he’s very mature and he has great negotiation skills,” Shelton said. “His goals of unity and financial stability, those are the two things he’s striving for and I credit him for that.”
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