The Knox County Commissioner race between Chuck Rogers and Barry Lester is unusually important. The role of a county commissioner is wide-ranging and diverse, but a primary one is the fiscal responsibility of the position.
That responsibility includes allocating funds to county offices, budgeting and monitoring expenditures, investments and purchasing. The three commissioners collectively decide how and where county money is spent.
A mistake in this area could cause any agency that they oversee to go under, to fail, to shut down, resulting in loss of services, and jobs.
In researching both candidates, it turns out that Barry Lester is unable to manage his own finances. He’s being sued for defaulting on two separate loans, both cases in 2024. These are substantial loans, one for $21,053.59, and the other for $16,812.56.
Sofi lending corporation and American Express National Bank, respectively, both sued him for those amounts. One of those cases is currently open at the time this letter was written.
It’s hard to believe that a person who is running for a position whose responsibilities include fiscal management, foresight, and a basic understanding of economics, was pulled into court because he failed at managing his own personal budget.
Barry claims that he “ran” a million-dollar business (a car dealership), and increased it’s revenue by leaps and bounds. However, he didn’t make payments for months on his defaulted loans.
This is an egregious flaw; not a mistake. He should not be given the opportunity to make these same poor decisions in office.
Chuck Rogers, on the other hand, was, due to prudent financial management, able to retire from his full time job at age 45 to pursue his dreams of volunteering locally and operating an animal sanctuary.
Chuck is a small-business owner and owns several rental properties with the goal of providing affordable housing and he is on the board of Habitat for Humanity as well. Chuck is the candidate who will make responsible fiscal decisions for our county and deserves your vote.
Linda Michaels
Gambier, Ohio