Incumbent Doug Weisenauer says he doesn't have an agenda, he does what needs to be done

Incumbent Doug Weisenauer aims to keep his position as a Crawford County commissioner in the March 19 primary election.

The Republican candidate says he's a firm believer in American liberties and plans to work on improving the quality of life in Crawford County.

He faces Republican Jeff Price in the primary race.

Weisenauer grew up in Crawford County on a dairy farm in Lykens Township and graduated from Wynford High School. He drove a Wynford school bus for 12 years, founded his own trucking business and served as a Lykens Township trustee before becoming a commissioner.

His first term as commissioner began in 2009. He said he got his first supporters through his involvement with the Bucyrus Kiwanis Club.

“So, I had a lot of friends in the community,” Weisenauer said.

He decided to run because at that time he knew one of the commissioners was retiring, and he thought someone with a good business background and good morals and principles was what it took to do the job.

“I didn't run for Commissioner with a goal as an agenda,” Weisenauer said. “I just knew that many issues come through this office and affect the people.”

Challenges and victories of the first terms

When Weisenauer took his seat, an economic downturn had just gripped the nation, and finances were tight, whereas the commissioners’ No. 1 responsibility was to provide elected officials with the finances they needed to run their departments.

“We had to provide finances for the county,” said Weisenaier. “We are the taxing authority for the county and trying to balance budgets.”

At that time, Weisenhauer said, to get the county out of a financial crisis, the commissioners had to be conservative about spending and select the programs they wanted to support with double caution.

“We had to tell a lot of people no,” Weisenauer said. “We had to really tighten our belt for the expenditure.”

Within five years, the conservative fiscal policy bore its fruits, said Weisenauer, and in February 2014 Weisenauer felt financially comfortable as a commissioner. Since then, his priority changed from making sure the basic needs are ensured to better serving the projects that come up.

“I've never had an agenda,” Wiesenauer said. “Whatever issues come up, those are the ones that I have to deal with.”

One of the victories for Weisenauer was helping to overcome drug overdose problems that arose in Crawford County, causing family break-ups and children being sent to foster care.

Weisenauer was one of the first Ohio commissioners who filed a lawsuit against the drug manufacturers in 2017.

“I myself and some other folks we met with Governor [John] Kasich at the time,” said Weisenauer. “We told him that something needs to be done with the drug problem.”

More: Crawford County voters uphold ban on industrial wind farm

In September 2021, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced an $808 million settlement with three large pharmaceutical companies to provide compensation to communities impacted by the opioid crisis.

Another issue Weisenauer took a firm approach to was the matter of windmills. The issue started with the Apex Clean Energy proposal for a 300-megawatt windfarm, the Honey Creek Wind project.

The project was predicted to generate up to $2.7 million in annual revenue for the county, with the money going to schools, infrastructure and government services. The windmills would have been placed on farmland Apex Clean Energy leased from farmers.

The preliminary project development started in 2011, but in 2021 Gov. Mike DiWine signed Senate Bill 52 stating county commissioners could reject particular wind turbines or solar farms, ban the projects entirely or carve out portions of the county where the facilities couldn't be built.

The residents in Crawford County have long disliked the fact their farmland would have been used for turbines, and following the popular sentiments in 2022 the commissioners voted to restrict wind farm development on unincorporated areas of the county.

More: Wind farm opponents celebrate commissioners' vote

Commissioners Tim Ley and Larry Schmidt voted for the restriction; Weisenauer voted against it. A referendum vote in November 2022 upheld a 10-year ban on industrial wind development in Crawford County.

Weisenauer, who faced criticism from the community for his position on windmills, said his stance was based on a conviction that commissioners, just as any other elected officials, do not have the right to tell voters what they can and can’t do.

“Not everybody can be happy, but this is a democracy,” said Weisenauer. “I am not going to tell people how to live.”

Priorities for the future

Should he be elected to a new term, Weisenauer said his priorities would include improving the quality of life in Crawford County through delivering better Internet access and attracting more residents and jobs.

Weisenauer said after people started to work remotely during COVID, providing Internet access “to every home” through working on zoning and permits is the first thing to ensure the influx of residents to Crawford County.

“The technology is changing so fast, that if we support one type of industry, another one's going to emerge that we didn't even know was possible,” Weisenauer said. “We don't want to hold anything up if it's going to help people.”

Housing is another priority on Weisenauer’s list because jobs and housing are the two things needed to attract young professionals.

To improve the housing situation, Wesenauer said, a housing study was completed in the summer of 2019, an initiative of Crawford Partnership. The data determined the need for single family and multi-unit housing throughout the county.

Weisenauer pointed out there are some construction companies that might be interested in Crawford County projects, but they are busy elsewhere. The reason for this is that while the costs of construction of a subdivision might be about the same in Bucyrus and in Columbus, the profit will be significantly higher in the state’s capital.

“A construction company can build a whole subdivision in Columbus and that's going to cost them basically the same to build that house whether it's in Bucyrus or Columbus, but when it's done, they can sell it for twice as much money as it's worth,” Weisenauer said. “That's one of the obstacles.”

Despite the challenges Weisenauer said he is committed to Crawford County. He said what attracts people is the quality of life and recreation opportunities, such as parks and restaurants within driving distance, as well as the cost of living that is cheaper than in big cities.

“We need to make Crawford County an attractive place,” Weisenauer said.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Doug Weisenauer running for fifth term as Crawford commissoner