Weston Wamp, while campaigning to become mayor of Hamilton County before the primary, faced constant chatter (that's a kind word) from his Republican competition and others that he wasn't really a conservative, wasn't conservative enough, perhaps wasn't even really a Republican.
Sitting down with Times Free Press editors and reporters at one point in the seemingly endless days before the election, he shook his head at our questions about the "not enough" chorus.
His reply was something like: "I can assure you I'm the most conservative candidate on the ballot."
On Monday, we got the first show.
Wamp announced that he'd decided, after talking with members of the commission, to veto a resolution the panel approved last week to add a 12th seat -- for Wamp -- to the County Commission dais at a cost of about $49,000.
"Chairman (Chip) Baker and the entire commission were gracious in offering to accommodate both the larger commission and the county mayor on the dais," Wamp said in a news release.
"After several meetings with the finance team, it's clear we have some challenges ahead. With that in mind, I would prefer to direct the nearly $50,000 allocated for this project to more impactful priorities."
The county commission chamber has a dais with 11 seats that served the former nine-member commission plus had seats for former county mayor Jim Coppinger and the county attorney. But with redistricting following the 2020 census, the county now has 11 commissioners -- and exactly 11 seats on the dais.
Last week's plan was to have the dais expanded to 12 seats by extending it over an existing set of steps, making a seat for Wamp to use once a week. The county attorney would no longer have a seat on the dais.
In the news statement Monday, Wamp made it clear that foregoing a seat on the dais doesn't mean he won't be at meetings. And his veto made it clear he will be paying attention and playing a role in commission doings.
"As an ex-officio member of the County Commission, I will regularly attend meetings and always speak to issues important to the citizens and the county," Wamp said in the statement. "My staff and I are looking forward to working with this new commission as the county faces both unprecedented opportunities and challenges."
It would appear he was right about his conservative bona fides.
And if this action is an indication, he is a conservative even liberals can like.