Fulton County: GARMENN VS. GENTER
2/26/2004Retired Wauseon postmaster Darrel Garmenn decided to run against Dean Genter for his Fulton County commissioner s seat by default.
R.J. Lumbrezer had filed to run against Paul Barnaby before Mr. Garmenn chose a race, he said. So, feeling that two contested races would be better than three people running for one seat, he said he sought Mr. Genter s seat.
Mr. Garmenn s election slogan is “Vote for a change.” He has said he is concerned about preserving farmland while maintaining landowner rights; he is not a big fan of zoning. He points to control of waste and clean water as important issues but has not given examples of how his leadership would be different from Mr. Genter s.
Mr. Genter s election motto is, “The vision to see what s right; the wisdom to know what s right; and the courage to do what s right.”
He has taken a public stance against what he has called past improper spending at the county Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities board.
He and Jack Graf, president of the county commissioners, sparred last summer over Mr. Genter s remarks on problems he saw at the disabilities board. Mr. Genter this year cast the lone no vote in a 2-1 decision to re-elect Mr. Graf president of the commissioners and himself vice president.
Mr. Genter is on the county regional planning panel, agricultural affairs and Community Action Commission boards.
Both farm. Mr. Genter, 45, is a farmer in the Pettisville area and operates a custom crop harvesting service. Mr. Garmenn, 58, grew up on a farm north of Delta and maintains a small farm.
Mr. Garmenn served in the U.S. Army s Military Police in Korea, became a U.S. Postal Service carrier in 1967, and was appointed Delta postmaster in 1980. Three years later he became Wauseon postmaster. He retired in 2001. He was Wauseon Citizen of the Year in 2000.
Mr. Genter has been president of Fulton County Farm Bureau and on the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation board.