By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

BATAVIA - Clermont County voters will have the choice between a watchdog and a consensus builder when they vote in the only contested countywide race.

They're vying for a seat left open by Republican Martha Dorsey, who is not running after taking office in 1987.

Gregg Conrad, a Democrat from Pierce Township, said he thinks the all-Republican county needs someone of another party to provide a check on the government.

"Clermont County has been controlled and run by one office, and I think that's a recipe for things that could go wrong quickly," he said. "There is no check, nobody questioning."

But his opponent, Robert Scott Croswell III, of Miami Township, said there's a reason the county offices are all Republican - because that's the view of the people. What the county really needs is an independent thinker with the ability to build a consensus, he said.

"I have a greater ability to work within the system because he has been attacking the system," he said. "That does not seem to me to be an attitude that can help reach a consensus."

Mr. Croswell said he has established his independence from the Republican Party by running against and defeating the party's endorsed candidate, David Caudill, the county clerk of courts, in the primary.

Neither candidate has held a countywide office before, but Mr. Conrad has served two terms on the West Clermont Local School Board. He has run twice for commissioner and lost both times. Mr. Croswell has never held or run for office before.

Both said they plan to take a proactive, one-decision-at-a-time approach to controlling growth, maintaining the infrastructure and protecting the environment.

Mr. Conrad has been self-employed in insurance and has worked closely with local companies.

Mr. Croswell has worked as a trial lawyer for 28 years. He has also been involved with the family business, Croswell Bus Lines.

Whether they'll continue their professional work if elected became an issue during the primary. Mr. Conrad said he plans to put aside his personal business.

"The commissioner job is a full-time job, both mentally and physically," he said.

But Mr. Croswell plans to continue in his law practice.

"I will join the majority of the other county commissioners in the state of Ohio and balance my personal career," he said.

The commissioners serve four-year terms. The annual salary is $57,400.