Come September, the Hamilton County Commission will bump from nine seats to 11 seats – thanks to the 2020 Census and the commission’s vote to add seats thanks to redistricting. The short impact of those and other changes is that at least seven – perhaps nine – of our commissioners could be newbies. That means more fresh air.
After the May primary, we know returning commissioners are Republicans Chip Baker, District 2; Greg Martin, District 3; and Democrat Warren Mackey, District 4. Republican Lee Helton, District 7, had no primary opposition and will be new. Also new will be Republicans Gene-O Shipley, District 1; Mike Chauncey, District 8; Jeff Eversole, District 10; and Democrat Greg Beck, District 5, who won their primary races and have no opposition in August. Beck served on the commission for 14 years until 2018 and now makes a comeback. The average age of this group is 60.
For the remaining three seats up for election this year, the Times endorses:
David Sharpe, District 6
Incumbent Democrat David Sharpe, 46, has served the county and Democrats here well. As a former brewmaster and now stay-at-home dad of three children, he both lowers the age bracket of the commission and brings it a right-now, today passion for education. He helped push the county to repurpose the former Mary Ann Garber School into a building trades vocational school, and was instrumental in consolidating the Hamilton County Jail into the expanded Silverdale Detention Center, now run by the Sheriff’s Department.