UPDATED: Alex Butler announces candidacy for Highland County Commissioner

Highland County native Alex Butler has filed to run as Highland County commissioner.

Butler, an Independent, announced his candidacy Tuesday afternoon.

Butler is running for the commissioner’s seat currently occupied by Tom Horst. As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Democrat Tara Matthews Campbell is also running for commissioner, along with Republicans Terry Britton and Barb Cole, who will face each other in the March 15 primary election.

Butler graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2009 and received an associate’s degree in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University in 2011 and a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Xavier University in 2014. He has recently been employed with Jarvis Corp., a Chicago-based LED light manufacturer.

Butler said that he has “had the good fortune of calling Highland County my home for the past 25 years” and is known by many in the community from his years of exposure to local government, community service and/or his family’s small businesses.

“Regardless of where I went to school or what city I was working in, I always stayed in touch with the community and kept my finger on its pulse,” Butler said.

Butler chose to run as an Independent “to focus on the issues while not being distracted by politics.”

“When preparing to run for office, I had an internal dialogue, evaluating the challenges of the county and the challenges our people face,” Butler said. “If you think of our most daunting challenges — the drug epidemic, struggling economy, lack of foster homes and effect they all have on the county budget — those are not political problems, and they don’t have political solutions. That was an important realization.”

Butler said that he also determined that he did not want to be “preoccupied about politics.”

“I asked myself, what kind of a leader do I want to be? How am I going to approach these challenges?” Butler said. “I concluded that I don’t want to be distracted by politics because that is not necessary to find solutions.

“I’m not preoccupied about politics when leading and finding solutions to our challenges. I have political views and preferences just like everyone else, but when it comes to serving the county, politics will always take a backseat.”

Butler said that he would like to address the “many difficult challenges” in Highland County, including the economy and local budget issues, economic development and the drug epidemic.

“In spite of our challenges, I believe in Highland County and see opportunity all around us,” Butler said. “We have a solid manufacturing base to build upon, new jobs to attract, tourism opportunities to invest in, families to raise and addicts to heal.

“I am confident that with a young, fresh perspective, enthusiastic leadership, teamwork and working cooperatively with local non-profit agencies, faith-based organizations and surrounding counties' resources, Highland County can and will prosper in the future.”

If elected, Butler outlined four goals he would like to achieve as commissioner. In addition to his aforementioned first goal, working across the political aisle to achieve progress, Butler said his fresh perspective and enthusiastic leadership will be an “asset” for achieving long-term progress in the county.

“Oftentimes, youth is viewed as a liability, not an asset,” Butler said. “This is not true. A fresh new perspective that I bring to the table through my experiences and education is something that is currently absent from the county commission.

“I provide an enthusiastic, passionate, optimistic leadership and outlook because at my current age and position, I’m thinking, Highland County is the place I’m choosing to invest myself. I want to see it thrive and do well not only in the short term, but I’m looking for ways to make Highland County successful and prosper, 20, 30 or 40 years or more down the road.”

Butler also hopes to “aggressively solicit new investment and work on the further expansion of the county’s existing manufacturing base, in order to create more/new jobs.” Butler said he recognizes Highland County is “a logistical desert” and wants to work to overcome this barrier.

“We have 32 below us, 35 to the east, 71 to the west, but nothing comparable to those highways coming through us,” Butler said. “The reality is we are where we are. One person or one term cannot solve that problem, but it certainly is something we need to recognize and find ways to overcome. We do have several highways and infrastructure coming through the county; however, we are inhibited by lack of a major highway.

“It’s one of the jobs of county commissioners to create an environment for economic development and actively, aggressively and enthusiastically represent Highland County and solicit new business. It won’t happen unless the county leadership takes the initiative to make it happen.”

Butler said the expansion and development of local factories, including Candle-lite, PAS Technologies and Corvac Composites, are examples of “recent success” that is encouraging.

“I’m totally confident progress can be made – it just won’t come easy,” Butler said.

Finally, Butler said he wants to “work closely with law enforcement in an attempt to mitigate the drug epidemic and rein in the skyrocketing costs of Job and Family Services as a result of the epidemic.”

“The drug epidemic is literally killing our citizens of all ages, of all backgrounds,” Butler said. “It makes our community less productive and drains county resources. It’s certainly one of the most important issues facing our community because an atmosphere like that is unattractive for new businesses to invest and makes it more difficult for existing businesses to thrive.”

Another reason Butler decided to run for the commissioner seat is his love for Highland County’s citizens, he said.

“During the past 25 years, I have seen the county go through plenty of good times and unfortunately – and more recently – bad times as well,” Butler said. “Regardless of the situation, there has always been one eternal redeeming quality about the county we can all be proud of – our citizens. That is why I have a strong desire to serve in this community.

“I am truly interested in hearing the citizens' opinions, ideas and concerns. I look forward to further discussing the issues and connecting with the people of Highland County.”