Merrell

Sohnly

One seat on the Delaware County Board of Commissioners is up for grabs this election season, and the race features a familiar face in incumbent Gary Merrell being opposed by a political newcomer in Garrett Sohnly.

Merrell is finishing up his third term as a commissioner and seeks reelection for a third time, while Sohnly hopes to bring a new perspective to the board.

Both candidates spoke with The Gazette about their campaigns and what they hope to accomplish should they be elected on Nov. 5.

Sohnly

After being contacted about potentially running to prevent the commissioner race from being uncontested, Sohnly launched his campaign late last year.

“That’s sort of what put the idea in my head to run,” Sohnly told The Gazette of being contacted by No Race Uncontested. “I try to be as politically active as possible, especially after 2023 in the state of Ohio when there were a lot of attacks on civil rights from the GOP and increasing anti-LGBTQ sentiment. That led me to want to run at the local level.”

Sohnly said he chose the county commissioner race because it was, in fact, local, and the fact that he’s lived in Delaware County since middle school. “It’s a really nice county, and I’d love to do what I can to fight for it,” he said.

Running for an elected office was “very lightly” on his radar prior to being approached about running in 2024, but he said he concluded over the past year that he “had to do something” to play his part in the county’s future.

Among the issues on which he has centered his campaign are soil and water conservation, sustainable development for a sustainable future, and fighting gentrification he said “forces us locals out of the county.”

He added that ODOT’s work on the Route 23 corridor is “a big issue,” as is garnering more support for the local foster care system.

Sohnly currently works as a designer for an electrical engineering company, and he serves on the company’s DEI Committee. “That’s a very important value to me that I want to bring to the board,” he said, also noting that he hopes to bring “traditional democratic values” to a county that is scarce of Democrats in elected positions.

Having never previously run a campaign, Sohnly said graduating from LEAD Ohio served as a “big help” in preparing him for the road ahead. According to its website, LEAD Ohio recruits, trains, supports, and empowers progressive leaders in all regions of the state.

“I’ve learned that there is a lot that goes into campaigning,” Sohnly said. “Whether I get elected or not, there’s still a lot I’ve taken away from it to potentially help other aspects of the political sphere, such as campaign financing and raising money. Without money, there’s not much of a campaign. Also, doing research on local issues that I may not otherwise know about, and getting to connect with voters is a really special moment.”

While there’s been a lot to learn, Sohnly is excited about the campaign he and his team have ran and believes it will pay dividends regardless of the outcome.

“I’m very optimistic,” he said. “There have been some roadblocks along the way … But I’m still staying committed to the voters. I’ve pounded a lot of pavement and gone to a lot of events and stuff. And there are more events to come. I remain confident about the future.”

Sohnly added, “I am a candidate who will definitely put the locals first and have a goal of building a sustainable future while protecting the environment along the way.”

Merrell

As he remains hopeful for a fourth term, Merrell can’t helped but be amazed at how fast the previous three terms have passed.

“I can remember going out and doing the door-to-door for that first race and kind of learning as I went,” he said. “Visually, I can see myself doing that and it seems like it was just yesterday … It’s been a great 12 years. I will say this, and I think many people would say the same thing: the county has been well served by my having the opportunity to serve.”

Merrell said he never considered just how long he’d want to serve when launching his initial campaign ahead of the 2012 election. Rather, he concentrated solely on his first term and didn’t see the value in worrying about reelection.

“There’s certainly never a guarantee,” he said of reelection. “You don’t know who’s going to run against you. You don’t know if you’re going to do a job that people are going to like. So I never thought past the first term other than as I approached that third and fourth year and thought I was making a difference and had a lot to offer.”

Speaking with The Gazette in March 2023 after announcing he intended to seek reelection, Merrell noted job creation in Delaware County will be important as the area continues experience rapid growth. With just over a week left until Election Day, Merrell expanded on the need for more jobs in the county.

“We want to create good jobs in our county … We’re trying to create quality jobs where you can raise a family on it in this county. But we’re always going to be a place that exports jobs. That’s the reason we have such a high average income in this county because a lot of these people are going to Franklin County to work in Columbus. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you do want to have a better job base in the county because it provides more stability.”

While Merrell places a high priority on job creation, he noted the county’s primary focuses remain fluid and are different than when he first arrived.

“When I came on board, we were behind with our facilities because of the growth in the county,” he said. “The first project I got involved in was the new courthouse, and we got that built. And we built it for some expansion. It won’t be enough as the growth of this county continues, but we have room for some expansion. And then we remodeled the old courthouse, which I’ve not had anyone say anything other than how fantastic a job that was. Everyone’s been extremely pleased.”

He added, “Our facilities are in pretty good shape now. And the thing we brag about is we did not borrow a nickel. We were creative in how we did it, and because we run a conservative county, we had enough cash flow to make up the difference over the federal dollars that we could assign where we wanted to assign them. So that’s the best gift we’ve given the taxpayers, to build that facility out there and not have to borrow, meaning there’s no debt we have to pay.”

As for what he’s most proud of over his time on the board, Merrell began by saying he’s been able to see his initial promise to voters, come to fruition. That promise was to get Sawmill Road connected to Route 42, which didn’t garner initial support but eventually became a reality.

Merrell also played an important role in getting the Tanger Outlet Mall to Delaware County, which has helped to save county taxpayers money.

“I think that’s been a tremendous help to the county,” Merrell said. “When we can bring people in from outside of Delaware County to spend sales tax dollars here, it means less of a burden for our taxpayers … Because of that, we’re only at 1.25% on the sales tax and we could be at 1.5%. Because we’re running the county the way we’re running it, we don’t have to collect that other quarter of a percent and have no interest in collecting it.

“And of course, the rollback on real estate taxes and that small part that the county gets, over the last three years we’ve done that and it totals around $16-17 million we’ve returned to the taxpayers. Now, spread out over the whole county, that’s not a lot of money. But we don’t have a big pot of money in that area.”

Should he be reelected, Merrell said he’s looking forward to filling the county’s economic development director position, although he noted the county is very pleased with how it’s being operated today under the guidance of Dana McDaniel. Following the departure of Monica Connors, McDaniel and Westerville-based Management Advisory Group were contracted to oversee much of the day-to-day operations.

Because the county is pleased with its current operations, Merrell said it has afforded them the opportunity to conduct the search for a permanent replacement correctly and take “as long as it takes” to do so.

Merrell added that he believes there are opportunities for economic development in the western parts of the county, but sewer expansion is a critical component in being able to make it happen.

“The thing about economic development is it’s kind of sequential,” he said. “You can’t just leapfrog five miles and put a sewer in. It has to be sequential, so we have to plan that growth. Townships play a huge role in that. And working together, we’re able to make considerable progress in that. Berlin Park is an example of that, as is the Berkshire area where the outlet mall is. Sunbury, they’re doing a great job over there. Their mayor and the things they’re doing on the east side, I think they’re going to pay huge dividends for our county long-term in job creation.”

While he’s aware that not everyone may be fond of the idea of having any commissioner settling into a fourth term, Merrell believes there’s considerable strength in the continuity and cohesion that’s been formed by the current trio and the team its assembled in the county.

“I hear it frequently by other people that these are the three best commissioners we’ve ever had,” Merrell said. “Now, obviously, as a commissioner, I love hearing that. That’s an endorsement of the three of us and our ability to work together. We’re very different in how we approach problems and issues, but that’s a positive because we all look at it a little differently. We have our different strengths and weaknesses, and that’s what makes us strong … I think overall, there’s a great deal of satisfaction with how this team is working together.”

He added, “And when I say team, the three commissioners are the ones who identified the (county) staff we have in place today. And we may have a vision as commissioners, but the staff is who carries it out, and they also have visions. Together, we’re advancing the county. And we have great elected officials everywhere doing great work.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.