17-year incumbent county commissioner faces first contested election

For the first time since becoming a Butler County Commissioner in 2007, Don Dixon is facing a contested race.

Dixon, who previously served one term in the 1980s and returned to the role decades later, has run uncontested as a Republican ever since. This year, though, Democrat Chantel Raghu is running against him.

Don Dixon

Party: Republican

Campaign website: www.dixonforbutler.com

After multiple requests, Dixon did not agree to an interview with the Oxford Free Press. A campaign manager cited “time constraints” and instead provided a PDF.

A lifelong resident of Butler County, Dixon previously said in an interview with The Miami Student that he saw his decades of experience in local government as a plus, particularly in building relationships with state representatives. During his 17 years in his current seat, Dixon told The Student he had worked to reduce the county deficit from $125 million in the general fund to zero today.

Dixon’s campaign website lists his priorities as fiscal focus, economic development, public safety, community engagement and roads and bridges. The website also states that Butler County has the lowest sales tax in Ohio, a balanced budget and the highest Moody’s Credit Rating in the state.

The Board of Commissioners has overseen the allocation of nearly $75 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding since 2021. Of that money, the commissioners have allocated $17.2 million to go toward a joint project between Miami University, Butler Tech and the City of Hamilton to develop an advanced manufacturing workforce and innovation hub. Dixon voted in support of those allocations.

The statement provided to the Free Press states that the county has “made investments in housing, commercial and industrial development, education, and recreation” during Dixon’s time as a commissioner. The statement goes on to accuse Raghu of being willing to “say anything to get a promotion” and failing to attend a county-wide meeting to address homelessness and affordable housing. Dixon also claimed that Raghu had “missed almost 20%” of Oxford City Council meetings in the past year. A review by the Oxford Free Press found that she was absent for less than 14% of meetings in the past 12 months.

During a Republican candidate forum Oct. 15, Dixon discussed his campaign and said that he and his colleague T.C. Rogers, who is also on the ballot this year, prioritized conservative issues. He added that he would “deal with [Raghu] after the election.”

Chantel Raghu

Party: Democrat

Campaign website: www.chantelforbutler.com 

Raghu, an Oxford veterinarian and Vice-Mayor, has served on Oxford City Council since 2017. She planned to run for Ohio’s State House of Representatives in 2022 before deciding to run for County Commissioner this year.

Raghu said she was motivated to run for commissioner because of her experience on city council. In her view, the commissioners did not collaborate with municipalities enough, an issue she saw as heightened while the county made decisions on how to allocate ARPA funding. 

Oxford originally requested $1.5 million for a one-stop social services center before updating its request to focus on adding a seniors wing to the TRI Community Center and building a new Amtrak station. City officials then reversed course after public feedback, according to reporting from the Journal-News, and the commissioners were split on how to proceed. At the time, Dixon favored letting Oxford decide where to allocate the money.

 Raghu says a Republican asked her to run for commissioner and said she had heard from employees in several county departments who 

If elected, Raghu said her top three priorities would be creating an economy that works for everyone, increasing access to affordable housing and improving access to affordable childcare.

In Oxford, Raghu has voted to approve the purchase of land to give to Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing. Countywide, she wants to see a program where mobile shelters are deployed to different neighborhoods over time to avoid centralizing poverty. She saw a similar initiative in Denver, which uses insulated ice-fishing tents to provide shelter to homeless people.

“It’s hard on a neighborhood … when you have a permanent shelter there,” Raghu said, “and so I think that we need to have smaller shelters that are taking care of people from that community so people don’t feel like they are bearing the brunt of the entire county.”

To create an economy that works for all residents, Raghu said she is opposed to “growth for the sake of growth.” She said the county needs to think carefully about projects like the Millikin Road Interchange which will open several hundred acres of farmland up to development. Raghu said Dixon owns land near the project and did not properly disclose the conflict of interest until 2023. Dixon recused himself from conversations regarding the interchange on the advice of the county prosecutor starting in 2023.

While she isn’t against the development, she said it needs to go along with affordable housing, childcare and other services to make the county more livable for families.

“[Dixon] has been there for almost 20 years. The issues that are plaguing the county — if he doesn’t realize that they are a problem in the past 20 years, he’s kind of missing the point,” Raghu said. “The concern I have is that he is out of touch with how people are actually struggling with life and the cost of living.”

Raghu said she has heard from people in several county departments who feel that the county government is dysfunctional and has a toxic work environment. If elected, Raghu said she would prioritize funding departments which provide services to the community and work to ensure that county staff is retained.

Dixon’s focus on fiscal responsibility has left money sitting unused, Raghu said. Last October, the Journal-News reported that the county had $119 million in unencumbered cash on hand as the commissioners debated the 2024 budget.

“If they are going to take those tax dollars, why are they taking it just to sit in a bank account?” Raghu said. “That needs to be reinvested back into the community to do the job that we ask them to do.”

Raghu has called on Dixon to debate her and said he did not agree to a debate offer for Oct. 10. Dixon also did not attend a candidate forum held Oct. 7.

Early voting began in Ohio on Oct. 8 and will continue through Election Day on Nov. 5.