Voters in Crawford County will select two new commissioners this fall

Two of the three Crawford County Commissioner seats will be decided by voters this autumn .

Each seat has its own election and will appear on the ballot separate from the other.

One contest features Larry Schmidt, an incumbent, and Kevin Crawford, his challenger.

The other race consists of Aaron Sharrock and Jeff Price, both of whom are hoping to win the position for the first time.

Early voting began Oct. 8, which was also the day when the first mail ballots were issued.

The general election is Nov. 5.

Voter turnout will likely be high over the next month with voters eager to weigh in on who should be the nation's next president.

Larry Schmidt and Kevin Crawford

Schmidt, a Republican, was first elected as county commissioner in 2020.

Crawford, who is running as an independent, is a political newcomer.

Schmidt is 69. Crawford is 52.

Both men were born and raised in the county.

Schmidt said he spent 50 years in business management, the majority of that time running his family business, NAPA Fisher Auto Parts Co., until his retirement in 2020.

Crawford said he has worked in manufacturing, electronic sales and repair and various other skilled trades as a contractor both throughout Ohio and nationwide.

Schmidt said he always wanted to run for public office, but wanted to wait until he was out of the private business sector.

"In 2019 with retirement on the horizon and the retirement of the incumbent commissioner and with a lot of encouragement, I decided it was now or never," Schmidt said. "I ran for commissioner and was fortunate enough to be elected."

Crawford said he has been considering public office for some time, and felt the time had arrived to run.

"I enjoy public service and feel as if our county deserves effective leadership and a fresh approach to some of our issues and infrastructure," Crawford said. "I've always dreamt of being a Crawford County Commissioner since my early 20s."

Schmidt's priories are helping get key levies passed, encouraging economic development and improving infrastructure.

"I am running for a second term to continue the work that we have started in economic development and infrastructure," Schmidt said. "Experience will definitely be a plus."

Crawford thinks top priorities for the next commissioner should be job creation and public safety.

"I am very familiar with our constituents throughout the county and their needs as well as having new ideas to fulfill those needs," Crawford said.

Aaron Sharrock and Jeff Price

Sharrock, 48, is running as a Democrat.

Price, 54, is running as a Republican.

Both candidates were born and raised in the county.

"I have been a student, bouncer, security guard, investigator, store manager, server, substitute teacher, bus driver, office manager, child care provider, bartender, truck driver, HR/Safety supervisor, party planner, photographer, volunteer and mom," Sharrock said of her broad background.

Price said he has been a skilled worker his entire career: "I have been a heavy equipment operator most of my adult life and briefly worked in equipment maintenance."

Both said they chose to get into politics because they weren't satisfied with existing leadership.

Sharrock won her first election in 2020 when voters made her a member of Bucyrus City Council.

Price scored his first political victory this spring when he defeated incumbent commissioner Doug Weisenauer in the primary.

Sharrock sees a lot of issues in this race.

"We need to bring in good jobs and help retain the jobs we have. We need affordable housing. We need to find ways to keep people here and to bring more people into our area." Sharrock said. "We need to work out issues with the landfill and recycling. We need to make sure everyone in the county has clean drinking water. We need accessibility for everyone. We also need more and better access to mental health services."

Price also has many concerns: "I believe we need positive economic growth. All county services are funded by taxes. The more growth the county has, the better the services the county can provide without higher property taxes. We need to make the industrial wind ban permanent and also add industrial solar complexes (they certainly are not 'farms'). The November 2022 election results showed a huge majority of our citizens opposed industrial wind here. I want to protect our heritage and farm land for future generations."

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Voters in Crawford County will select two new commissioners this fall