MOUNT VERNON — On Tuesday, local democrats will choose between John Booth and Paul Harris, candidates for the Jan. 2 term of Knox County Commissioner.
When asked about the issues that matter most to them, Booth and Harris said they want to do what is necessary to improve the county highway system to attract new industries and jobs, and fight for better senior services.
Booth said his experience qualifies him for the position — 22 years on City Council, with over 10 years as council president, which carries some adminstrative duties. He said he worked 43 years as a factory worker and spent many of those years as a labor leader, negotiating contracts and working with management.
Harris, a self-employed licensed massage therapist for the last seven years, said that although he has never held public office, he has long been active in the community. He said he has been involved with the Knox County Democratic Party for the last five years and helped to work on amending the local party’s constitution, which had not been done in decades. He briefly served as zoning inspector for Brown Township and has been active in fundraising, food drives and other local events.
Booth said he will bring a “calm, effective style of leadership” to the board of commissioners, and is excited at the opportunity.
“Both the commissioners and City Council work to solve problems and help people,” he said.
Booth said he has served on the city’s finance committee for several years and has also worked with the Knox County Area Development Foundation, the county’s arm for industrial development, on many tax abatements to promote local industry and job growth. But one stumbling block that has kept some industries from coming, he added, is the highway system.
“A full-blown bypass is years away, if it ever happens at all,” Booth said.
He said that in place of a bypass, county officials need to work to work to develop connector roads and to improve existing roadways. Booth said he supports plans to connect Ohio 661 with Ohio 3 south, for instance.
Harris said there needs to be a different and more aggressive approach in the way the county commissioners approach economic development. He said all of the possibilities for industrial development should be taken under consideraton, including new and green technologies. He said it’s necessary to seek out new manufacturers, adding that in the last 12 years the service industry has been the only sector that has really grown in Knox County. Harris said a recycling company, IMESCO, recently got in touch with the commissioners; it should have been to county who sought the company out, not the other way around, he said.
“When I grew up, there were all kinds of factories,” Harris said. “Now, it’s a ghost town with big service industries and a few factories. I don’t think it will happen overnight. I want to work to lay the ground work for the future and try to bring it back to something. I love this county and want to see it prosper.”
He said one of his ideas is to seek to attract manufacturing companies that make some of the raw materials or basic parts for some of the industries are already in the county. Such a strategy could be beneficial to the ones already here and encourage them to stay, by cutting transportation costs, for example.
Harris also said he advocates transportation improvements to attract new industries, and said that whether the name is called a bypass or a business loop or something else, steps need to be taken to improve highways, while, at the same time, preserving farmland in the county. He said there needs to be creative ideas put into place to fund highway improvements, instead of just tax dollars, state grants or even fundraising in the county. He said someone recently asked about the possibility of accepting pledges that would go toward an outer belt or business loop; Harris said he found the idea interesting and would be willing to look into such new ways of thinking.
“Having the support of the people is key to getting anything done,” he said. “And these are concerns that a lot of average county citizens care about, especially getting better jobs.”
Booth said he is in favor of new senior citizen area, as they have outgrown the one they are in now. Voters turned down the idea of building a new center on Coshocton Avenue.
“Maybe we need to look at an alternate location,” he said. “I’m not saying it has to be in the west end, but, maybe a different location.”
Harris said he is a firm supporter of senior citizens and feels it is important to secure funding for senior services. He said he advocates the funding for the construction of a new center.
“If they can find millions of dollars to build a new dog shelter, they ought to be able to find the money for a new senior center,” he said.
Alhough each had little to say about the another, they were not without criticisms of the current board.
Harris said he thinks there needs to be greater accessibility and transparency with the board of commissioners, adding that it can be difficult for the average citizen to get in communication with the commissioners.
Booth said he wants to improve relations between the board of commissioners and the county engineer.
