The Paulding County Republican Central Committee met on Thursday, January 5, 2023 for regular business and to appoint a new County Commissioner after Roy Klopfenstein’s seat was vacated as he was elected to the OH state legislature in the 2022 election.
Jan Commers read the secretary minutes from the last meeting and Blane Fickel gave the financial report. Jerry Zielke gave his report and an update on the appointment of Probate Judge Replacement, saying he was disappointed in how long it took to get the resignation letter after the November election. He also reported that he received the resignation of Roy Klopfenstein. The Republican Central Committee can now move forward with selecting a new Commissioner for Paulding County. Fickel asked if this is for the full term or the unexpired part of the balance of the term. The answer was not 100%, but is believed to be until the next election. Laurie Lucas gave the women’s report. The extension office has been reserved for September 23 for the banquet. There won’t be a special “meet the candidate” night because this is not an election year. The booth for the Paulding County Fair is also scheduled to take place and has been reserved.
There were four candidates presented for the open position of Commissioner, but only one was in attendance at the meeting – Lisa McClure. A question was asked, “Was five days enough for the position because there has to be a minimum of 5 days to place someone for the position?” According to Joe Burkard, County Prosecutor, the answer, was “yes”. The three candidates that were left after one was removed (Bryan Smith, due to not confirmed registered Republican), were Lisa McClure, Fred Langham, and Ray Garbaciak.
A question was asked about the dynamic of having a person from Antwerp being a County Commissioner. Jerry stated their first priority for their approval was to look at their abilities and qualifications. After a simple majority vote, the result came up as 12 votes – 11 Lisa McClure, 1 abstain. Lisa’s term will expire in December of 2024.
The people in attendance welcomed Lisa to her new position while Jerry Zielke signed the paperwork confirming the wishes of the Central Committee. Lisa will start in her new position, possibly next week, but that wasn’t confirmed at the meeting.
Lisa has overseen the operations of the Paulding County Area Foundation for many years now, providing grants and donations to benefit the community in many ways.
The video of the meeting is at the West Bend News Youtube channel.
