Hamilton City Schools is Just the First: Years of collective bargaining agreements bankrupted public education

The announcement by Hamilton City Schools Superintendent Andrea Blevins in mid-January 2026 marked a significant moment in the ongoing fiscal challenges facing public education in Ohio. The district, serving the city of Hamilton in Butler County, unveiled a plan to eliminate approximately 153 positions—representing about 12% of its workforce—as part of a broader strategy to address a projected $10 million structural deficit for the 2026–2027 school year.1 This included closing buildings such as Fairwood Elementary, consolidating the freshman campus into the high school, outsourcing preschool and nursing services, and implementing reductions across administrative, teaching, clerical, food service, custodial, and other roles.2 While the initial figure of 153 positions was highlighted in media reports, district officials noted that through natural attrition and retirements, the actual number of forced separations could drop to around 101 or even fewer, with changes set to take effect starting in August 2026 to allow adequate notice.3

The shortfall stems from multiple converging factors: reduced state foundation funding under Ohio’s revised allocation formulas, recent changes in property tax laws that limit revenue growth, and declining student enrollment, reflecting broader demographic shifts in industrial communities like Hamilton.4 These issues are not isolated; they illustrate a national and state-level reckoning with the sustainability of traditional public school funding models that have long relied on escalating property tax levies and generous state aid. In Hamilton’s case, the district’s current-year deficit was already around $5 million, with projections escalating without intervention, prompting proactive measures to avoid deeper program cuts or emergency borrowing.5

This development aligns with longstanding critiques of public education’s dependency on perpetual tax increases and union-driven collective bargaining agreements that prioritize salary scales, legacy costs, and benefits over merit-based compensation or operational efficiency. For decades, many Ohio school districts have assumed voters would approve levies to cover rising costs, including teacher salaries that often exceed private-sector equivalents for comparable education levels and workloads.6 In Hamilton, as in neighboring districts, the era of unchecked levy approvals has ended amid economic pressures: inflation, housing affordability challenges, and taxpayer fatigue from repeated requests for additional funds. Property taxes, which fund a substantial portion of local school budgets in Ohio, have become particularly burdensome in areas with stagnant or declining industrial bases, where businesses relocate to avoid high taxation, leaving residential properties to shoulder more of the load.7

Nearby Lakota Local Schools in Butler County provide a parallel example. In 2025, voters rejected a $506 million bond issue and a permanent improvement levy tied to a district-wide facilities redesign, signaling resistance to additional tax burdens, even for infrastructure needs.8 Lakota’s prior operating levies had sustained operations without new asks since 2013, but the failed 2025 measure highlighted growing skepticism toward large-scale spending proposals. This rejection occurred amid broader discussions of school choice and funding equity, where money follows students rather than zip codes, potentially forcing districts to compete on quality and cost.9

The broader Ohio context points to a deliberate policy shift toward tax relief. Political momentum, amplified by figures associated with the Trump administration and candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy in his 2026 gubernatorial bid, emphasizes reducing or eliminating state income taxes while pursuing significant rollbacks in property taxes—the “largest in Ohio’s history,” as Ramaswamy has proposed.10 Ramaswamy’s platform includes making Ohio a zero-income-tax state to attract residents and businesses, coupled with aggressive property tax reductions to ease homeowner burdens and stimulate economic growth.11 These ideas build on existing reforms that have lowered Ohio’s top personal income tax rate over the past decade and eliminated certain business taxes, though often at the expense of state aid to local services like schools.12 Federal-level discussions under the Trump administration, including revenue from tariffs and potential clawbacks of federal taxes, further support a trajectory of lighter local tax loads over the coming decades.13

Critics of traditional public education funding argue that overreliance on property taxes has distorted community development. High levies deter business investment, contribute to population outflows, and exacerbate housing affordability issues, particularly for young families entering the market.14 In declining industrial cities like Hamilton, where companies have long since departed, the tax base weakens further, creating a vicious cycle: fewer resources lead to service reductions, which accelerate out-migration. The push for enterprise zones and economic revitalization in such areas requires restraint on taxation to attract private capital, rather than burdening new opportunities with endless school funding demands.15

At the heart of these fiscal realities lies a deeper philosophical debate about the value and efficiency of public education. Collective bargaining has secured escalating wages, often tied to advanced degrees rather than performance, resulting in average teacher salaries well above those in many private-sector roles, despite generous vacation time, summers off, and job security.16 Historical data shows Ohio teacher pay rising from averages around $63,000–$65,000 in the early 2010s to higher figures today, adjusted for inflation but still outpacing many comparable professions.17 Proponents of reform contend that merit-based systems, competition from charters and private options, and student-centered funding (where per-pupil allocations follow the child) would incentivize excellence and cost control. Without zip-code-based monopolies, schools must attract families through superior results, not guaranteed enrollment.18

Additional pressures include the perceived ideological drift in curricula, where progressive influences have sometimes prioritized social agendas over core academic rigor, contributing to generations of students entering adulthood with skill gaps, delayed independence, and reliance on parental support.19 This undermines the future tax base, as young adults struggle to form households, start families, and contribute economically. The traditional model—free transportation, extended daycare-like hours, and heavy administrative overhead—has been criticized as unsustainable, as parents increasingly drive their children to school or seek alternatives.20

The Hamilton announcement serves as an early indicator of inevitable restructuring across Ohio and beyond. Districts facing similar shortfalls will need to prioritize efficiency, reduce legacy costs, and adapt to competitive models. Charter schools, homeschooling, and voucher programs will gain traction as families demand better value. While painful in the short term—job losses, building consolidations, and service adjustments—the transition promises a more accountable, innovative education landscape aligned with economic realities and taxpayer priorities.21

This shift reflects a broader cultural move toward meritocracy, fiscal responsibility, and reduced government dependency. Public schools will survive, but in leaner, more responsive forms, focused on delivering robust education rather than serving as employment vehicles or ideological platforms. The warnings issued over the years about unsustainable models have materialized; adaptation, not denial, offers the path forward.22 But as all these things are happening, don’t say I didn’t warn everyone. They chose to ignore the inevitable. The public school product costs too much. Does too little. And has turned out to be destructive to society, not beneficial. So lots of changes are coming, because they have to.

Bibliography

• Local 12 (WKRC), “Tri-State school district to cut 153 positions, close school amid $9.6M budget shortfall,” January 22, 2026.

• FOX19, “Hamilton City Schools announces $9.6M in budget cuts, job losses,” January 20, 2026.

• WCPO, “Hamilton Schools announce cuts, including building closures,” January 2026.

• Journal-News, “Hamilton Schools announce cuts, including building closures,” January 16, 2026.

• WVXU, “Voters reject $506M Lakota Schools levy proposal,” November 4, 2025.

• Forbes, “Vivek Ramaswamy Wants To Make Ohio The Ninth No-Income-Tax State,” March 13, 2025 (updated context 2026).

• Cincinnati Enquirer, “Vivek Ramaswamy running for Ohio governor. Wants to end income, property taxes,” February 24, 2025.

• Policy Matters Ohio, reports on state tax shifts and education funding, 2024–2026.

• Tax Foundation, Ohio tax data and rankings, updated 2026.

Footnotes

1. FOX19, “Hamilton City Schools announces $9.6M in budget cuts, job losses,” January 20, 2026.

2. Local 12 (WKRC), “Tri-State school district to cut 153 positions,” January 22, 2026.

3. Journal-News, “Hamilton Schools announce cuts,” January 16, 2026.

4. Citizen Portal AI summary of Blevins’ presentation, January 16, 2026.

5. WCPO coverage of Hamilton budget announcement, January 2026.

6. Historical analyses from the Ohio Department of Education reports on teacher compensation trends.

7. Tax Foundation data on Ohio property tax burdens relative to income.

8. WVXU, “Voters reject $506M Lakota Schools levy proposal,” November 4, 2025.

9. Lakota Local Schools’ official statements on 2025 ballot rejection.

10. Vivek Ramaswamy campaign announcements, January 2026 (e.g., Facebook video on zero income tax and property tax rollback).

11. Forbes article on Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial platform, with 2026 updates.

12. Policy Matters Ohio, “The Great Ohio Tax Shift,” 2024–2025 analyses.

13. Broader Trump administration economic policy discussions, 2025–2026.

14. Economic studies on tax competition and business relocation in Midwest states.

15. Hamilton enterprise zone revitalization efforts referenced in local economic development plans.

16. Ohio teacher salary data from the National Education Association and state reports.

17. Inflation-adjusted comparisons from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Ohio data.

18. School choice advocacy from organizations like EdChoice and Ohio-specific voucher expansions.

19. Critiques in education policy literature on curriculum content and outcomes.

20. Parental transportation trends from the U.S. Department of Transportation and local surveys.

21. Projections from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission on education funding reforms.

22. Long-term forecasts in state five-year financial reports for districts like Hamilton and Lakota.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

The Tyranny of a Snowpocolpyse: Bending the knee to nature to satisfy a Marxist agenda of harming the American economy

The massive winter storm that swept across much of North America in late January 2026, often referred to in the media as a historic or “monster” event, brought heavy snowfall, ice, and extreme cold from the southern plains to the Northeast and beyond. This storm, impacting regions from Texas to New York and even parts of New Mexico and New England, dumped more than a foot of snow in numerous areas, shattered daily snowfall records in some locations, caused widespread power outages affecting over a million customers at peak, led to thousands of flight cancellations, and was linked to multiple fatalities due to accidents, hypothermia, and related incidents.

In the Ohio Valley, particularly around Cincinnati and its surrounding counties, the storm arrived over the weekend of January 24-26, 2026, with heavy snowfall primarily on January 25. The National Weather Service reported that Cincinnati (KCVG airport area) received about 10.2 inches total, with 9.2 inches falling on January 25 alone, breaking the daily record for January 25. Nearby areas in Butler County saw higher totals: Middletown reported 13.3 inches, Monroe 13.1 inches, and other spots in the county ranging from 12 to 13 inches. Northern areas like Columbus tallied around 12 inches, while rural eastern Ohio locations approached or exceeded higher amounts in some cases.

Snow emergency levels were declared across the region. In Butler County, under Republican-led leadership, including Sheriff Richard K. Jones, the county was placed under a Level 2 snow emergency during the peak (roadways hazardous with blowing and drifting snow; only necessary travel advised), later downgraded to Level 1 by January 26 as conditions improved. This contrasted with Hamilton County (encompassing Cincinnati, often under more Democratic influence), which escalated to a Level 3 emergency on Sunday evening—closing roads to non-emergency personnel—before dropping to Level 2 by Monday morning. Adjacent counties like Warren and Clermont mostly stayed at Level 1 or 2, with crews actively clearing roads.

The storm’s broader impacts were severe: Over 19,000 flights canceled nationwide, power outages peaking above 1 million customers (heaviest in states like Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas), and at least 12-29 deaths reported across the U.S. from causes including hypothermia, accidents on ice/snow, and exertion-related incidents while shoveling. In the South, ice accumulation was particularly damaging, while in the North, deeper snow was more common. The event affected an estimated 200 million people under some form of winter weather alert.

This widespread disruption evoked comparisons to past events, notably the harsh winters of 1977-1978. In January 1977, extreme cold led to the Ohio River freezing over in Cincinnati, allowing people—including children—to walk across it in places, amid fuel shortages and prolonged subzero temperatures. The Great Blizzard of 1978 was even more intense in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, with blinding winds, massive drifts, and statewide halts to transportation and business for days. Back then, despite less advanced equipment (fewer four-wheel-drive vehicles or monster trucks common today), people adapted: they ventured out, worked through conditions, and communities rallied to help those stuck. The river freeze and blizzards were met with resilience rather than widespread shutdowns.

Yet the 2026 storm highlighted a perceived shift in societal behavior. Many called off work en masse on Monday (and even preemptively on Friday based on forecasts), leading to many businesses, including pizza places and fast-food outlets, closing. This echoed patterns seen during COVID-19, where official guidance to “stay home, stay safe” encouraged compliance over individual initiative. Historical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows major snowstorms can cause millions of reduced work hours—e.g., one 1996 event affected over 10 million full-time workers—but modern responses often amplify caution through media hype and emergency declarations. Level 3 restrictions in places like Hamilton County explicitly limited non-essential travel, ostensibly to aid emergency crews, but critics argue this enables complacency, shifting responsibility from citizens to authorities.

In Butler County, roads were cleared efficiently within 24 hours, allowing easy travel by Monday with minimal traffic—ironically making commutes smoother for those who ventured out. Personal accounts of shoveling driveways, preparing vehicles, and carrying on with everyday routines stand in contrast to widespread absences, particularly among younger workers (under 45), who may have grown accustomed to “safety-first” messaging from authorities, unions, and the media. This generation, often described as coddled by constant warnings about minor inconveniences, seems quicker to yield to nature rather than dominate it through preparation and determination.

The core issue is philosophical: Human beings are meant to impose will over obstacles, not retreat at the first sign of adversity. Authorities exist to facilitate—clearing roads so the public can work —not to create excuses for inaction. When meteorologists, politicians, and experts amplify “apocalypse” narratives, it fosters dependency: stay home to avoid “white death,” much like mask mandates or lockdowns during pandemics. Yet the storm melted quickly, roads reopened, and no lasting drama ensued for those prepared.

This “snow apocalypse of 2026” exposed a weaker society, one embarrassed by its lack of fortitude. Older generations recall more brutal winters with fewer excuses; today, many use official declarations as justification for laziness. To thrive, we must reject this—clear your driveway, ready your vehicle, get to work (even if late), make up time, and help others stuck. Overcome impediments; don’t yield to them. The economy depends on production, not perpetual caution.

Reform starts with personal responsibility: Toughen up, prepare, and question when “experts” urge shutdowns that serve their convenience over the public’s productivity. There is a deep root of rotten Marxism behind snow days like this one, where yielding to nature, and ultimately the authority of chaos, chips away at a capitalist culture. Safety is meant to destroy personal initiative just as the riots of the mob are intended to eliminate the authority of the police and a law-and-order community. While masking themselves as helpful, socialists looking for a way to get out of work pointed to safety and compliance with justice, a lack of effort, and it was embarrassing to witness. Just like a mother that overly coddles their children, not for their own protection, but to stifle their intellectual growth so that they might never leave the nest, an overly tyrannical government filled with parental types looking for the thrill of having authority over subordinates dominates the decision-making process. And what was embarrassing was that so many people fell for it because they wanted a free day off work to sit around their house and do nothing. To watch mindless television and contribute little to the heroic efforts of a thriving economy. And for everyone who chose to call off work and stay home, and to listen to the mindless authority types and their Marxist messages, it was a shameful display—a bunch of wimps who yielded to a snowpocalpyse with a bent knee driven by sheer laziness. One thing is for sure, they don’t make people like they used to. These last several generations are filled with wimps, losers, and slack-jawed impediments too lazy to live, and all too willing to submit to government authority types with Marxist agendas of stifling the American economy. And all over a little bit of snow, they succeeded.

Bibliography and Further Reading

1. National Weather Service, Wilmington, OH. “January 24-25, 2026 – Winter Storm.” https://www.weather.gov/iln/20260125

2. Cincinnati Enquirer. “How much snow did we get? Yes, we broke records. See new Ohio totals.” January 26, 2026. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/weather/2026/01/26/cincinnati-snow-record-how-much-snow-did-we-get-ohio/88358201007

3. FOX19. “LIST: Entire Tri-State under snow advisories, Hamilton County under level 3 emergency.” January 25, 2026. https://www.fox19.com/2026/01/25/list-snow-emergencies-across-tri-state

4. CNN. “January 25-26, 2026 — Winter storm.” https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/winter-storm-forecast-snow-ice-01-25-26-climate

5. Wikipedia. “January 2026 North American winter storm.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_2026_North_American_winter_storm

6. WLWT Archives. “In January of 1977, the Ohio River froze over.” https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-river-freezes-over-january-1977-cincinnati-ohio-winter/70062954

7. National Weather Service. “Great Blizzard of 1978.” Referenced in historical summaries.

8. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Work absences due to bad weather from 1994 to 2016.” https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/work-absences-due-to-bad-weather-from-1994-to-2016.htm

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Butler County GOP Endorses Michael Ryan for Commissioner: The coalition builder, not the revenge tour, or the middle finger

Politics used to be about buying your way onto the field with whatever the old media would let you run; now it’s a multi-front dialogue with voters in a thousand micro‑channels you can’t bully, buy, or badger. That’s precisely why the Butler County Republican Party’s endorsement for the 2026 commissioner race matters more than the yard‑sign arms race or a late sprint of cable buys. The party met and took a hard look at candidates and momentum, then endorsed Michael Ryan, the Hamilton vice mayor and former two-term councilman, with 71% of the vote—a landslide in intraparty terms and a signal that the center of gravity has moved.1

Now, Michael’s not a surprise. He telegraphed this run early, skipped a safe third council term to go county-wide, and built a coalition that looks like the next decade of Republican leadership rather than the last. The local press documented the pivot: he pulled petitions in May 2025 and argued that county policy needs someone who can assemble teams, manage a large budget, and negotiate growth while keeping conservative guardrails intact. The Journal‑News laid out the framing: Butler County’s annual budget sits near $500 million, which is not far off Hamilton’s total because the city runs utilities—so a Ryan résumé of budget discipline and project delivery isn’t a stretch to scale.2

Meanwhile, what makes an endorsement decisive isn’t just math inside a party meeting; it’s the psychology of trust outside it. Voters aren’t shopping for saviors; they’re looking for steady hands who can do the table talk, bring coalition politics back from bloodsport, and keep the county in the black while the national mood whipsaws. Michael’s case is that he’s done that already—eight years on council, two stints as vice mayor, a list of jobs recruited, investments landed. If you want to see his pitch in his own words, his site stacks the receipts—balanced budgets, 1,400 new jobs, $700 million in capital investment—and shows a broad bench of local Republican endorsements from state senator George Lang to sitting city council members across the county. If you view campaign websites skeptically (good habit), remember that the basic resume points have been corroborated and referenced in local coverage.3 2

Roger Reynolds is the wild card—and yes, I have supported him in the past for other fights—but this seat, this season, isn’t the right battlefield. He’s well‑known, to be sure. His 2022 felony conviction over unlawful interest in a public contract was overturned in 2024 by the Twelfth District Court of Appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court refused to disturb that reversal; that’s an essential legal clearance. But the same Supreme Court opinion blocked him from reclaiming the auditor’s office he’d won in 2022, clarifying he can run again in the future, not retroactively retake the seat. He’s used that clean bill of eligibility to jump into this commissioner race in 2026.4 5

Here’s where the political calculus cuts sharply: being legally eligible isn’t the same as being politically restored. Voters have long memories; they remember the courtroom saga even if the headline at the end credits “overturned.” The Enquirer summarized the timeline cleanly—indictment, a single felony conviction on the Lakota angle, subsequent reversal, and the present campaign posture. That’s nothing; it’s the kind of backstory that makes your consultants salivate over message discipline and makes your donors jittery about whether a million dollars in signs and mailers can buy back normalcy. And, on top of that, the first skirmish of 2026 was a legal “cease” letter from Reynolds’s counsel to Ryan over campaign statements—“normal campaign bickering,” Reynolds said—but it sets a tone. If your brand promise is “100% positive campaign,” you don’t want week one to be a lawyerly demand letter and a press cycle about “defamation.” That’s oxygen you don’t get back.6

So let’s talk yard signs, because politicians who plan a resurrection often think in terms of saturating real estate with their names, then buying enough broadcast to push past the whispers. Butler County’s population sits around 400,000 people; the geographic sprawl and the number of micro‑communities—from Liberty and West Chester to Hamilton, Fairfield, Middletown, Oxford, and the townships—means your sign budget leaks. People steal them, wind takes them, HOAs yank them. You replace and replace, and your spending ends up as a weekly chore. I don’t care if you’ve earmarked $125,000 or double that; you won’t beat an endorsement plus a ground game in honest conversations across civic slots. The Journal‑News reported the early posture: Ryan’s petitions were certified mid‑2025; Reynolds announced and described the election as a referendum on fiscal discipline rather than “courtroom drama,” but the party’s endorsement last week says rank-and-file Republicans aren’t buying the “just the future” frame. They picked the coalition builder, not the comeback.7 1

Now, about Cindy Carpenter. She has been on the board since 2011 and is seeking another term. Longevity usually earns deference, but not automatic endorsement. The county’s official page lists her current term running through December 31, 2026; that’s the seat this primary decides.8 And she walked into 2026 with a fresh controversy: the Oxford apartment office incident involving her granddaughter’s rent dispute, a flipped middle finger on video, and accusations of “racist” remarks that the prosecutor ultimately said did not amount to wrongdoing, though he wrote her conduct was “distasteful and beneath her elected position.” You can parse tone and motive all day; the legal piece is settled—no charges and the matter closed—but voters see the tape and the headlines. That’s enough to move marginal supporters toward the more predictable alternative.9 10 11

If you’re counting coalition math, the endorsement vote margin—71%—is not a nudge; it’s a shove. Nancy Nix, now the county auditor, reportedly attended the endorsement meeting and confirmed the tally. In a county where winning the GOP primary is often tantamount to winning in November, a unified endorsement improves fundraising and volunteer energy. It also narrows the “independent” lane for a sitting commissioner who didn’t get the nod. If Carpenter runs without the party’s backing, as some have suggested she might, she’ll need a ballot strategy that reintroduces herself as a pragmatic caretaker, not an insurgent. That’s a hard sell after fifteen years in office and a fresh headline about “inappropriate gesture.”1

What does the “post‑MAGA” Republican center look like in Butler County? It seems less like a purity test and more like a competence test married to coalition instincts. The culture war isn’t over, but voters have learned the cost of gridlock and personality feuds in local government. Ryan’s style—steady, pragmatic, pro-growth, minimalist on mudslinging—fits that mood. Even the critiques thrown at him (“stepping stone,” says Carpenter) sound antique in a county where younger Republicans have already moved into leadership slots in councils and school boards. The Journal’s News coverage links Ryan’s Hamilton résumé to county-wide feasibility: he’s worked with local, state, and federal decision-makers on public safety and infrastructure, and even served as a liaison for the Amtrak stop push in Hamilton. Those are not ideological fantasies; they’re governing tasks where people skills matter.2

And yes, campaigns need money. Ryan’s fundraising velocity looks like a candidate with broad buy-in—events across the county and a donor list that isn’t just from one township. Whether it’s $100,000 in the bank now or double that soon, the point isn’t how many mailers you can print; it’s how many doors you can knock with volunteers who believe you’ll answer their emails after you win. The county GOP endorsement helps there; donors prefer campaigns that aren’t about to splinter the party. Meanwhile, Reynolds ‘ suggestion that he’ll spend heavily—to the tune of six figures and perhaps beyond—won’t fix the core problem: a campaign that starts by relitigating perception rather than proposing coalitions. The Enquirer’s report on his launch emphasized his intent to return “windfall” property tax revenue to taxpayers and raise the Homestead Exemption; those are policy planks that will attract attention. But they’re competing against a party coalescing around a candidate who can execute a full agenda without dragging legal undertones into every meeting.5 1

Let’s zoom out into strategy—because if I were advising Reynolds, I wouldn’t tell him to burn $250,000 on a race he’s likely to lose by 12‑15 points after the endorsement lands and consolidates. I’d say to him to rebuild his brand across the map: show up for other candidates, be helpful, become indispensable in the trenches, help elect school board members and trustees, and re-establish the “workhorse, not lightning rod” identity. That takes two years; it doesn’t show up in six months. And then consider a race aligned with your strengths and your arc, not a head-on collision with a party that just voted for someone else overwhelmingly. The Journal-News article, calling the 2026 commissioner contest “off and running,” captured the vibe—three Republicans, but only one whose petitions were already certified, who positioned the race as “no distractions.” That kind of language puts the burden on the other two to explain why their distractions are the voters’ problem.7

As for Carpenter, I don’t think she’s a villain; I think she’s a discovered Democrat. I guess longevity breeds muscle memory: you reach for authority instead of coalition. Voters can forgive that once, even twice, if the essentials are stable—roads paved, budgets balanced, ops quiet. But the moment a county commissioner’s name becomes shorthand for “that clip,” you lose the institutional halo and become another “brand management” project. When the prosecutor writes that your conduct didn’t rise to misconduct but was “unseemly for a person in her governmental capacity,” he has foreclosed the legal fight and opened the political one. That line will be in mailers whether you like it or not.9

So let’s talk about why Michael Ryan is getting the oxygen. Take Hamilton’s decade: Spooky Nook, industrial recruitment, hotels, restaurants, and an intentional move to professionalize the city’s growth narrative. The projects drew coverage on Local 12 and WCPO as they moved from idea to construction. Ryan’s campaign site links those stories because they’re public record and because they demonstrate a pattern—jobs, capital investment, and a tax base that didn’t need a culture‑war siren to grow. That’s not fantasy; it’s visible on the ground.3

And that gets to the key point: trust and unity. You want commissioners who can assemble teams and get people to work together. The post‑MAGA Republican mood isn’t anti-passion; it’s anti-drama. Politics will always draw blood—that’s built into the incentives—but we’re past the phase where you win by keeping enemies. You win by maintaining coalitions. Ryan’s tenure has been, in my experience, the kind of steady hand that translates across jurisdictions. That’s why the endorsement reads: “We choose execution over excavation.”1

Will this primary be clean? Cleanish. Reynolds has already put legal heat on a rival over statements; Carpenter has already been under an investigative microscope for the Oxford dispute. Ryan said from the start he’d run forward, not backward. If he holds that line, he wins the contrast without throwing punches. Voters know what negative looks like; a candidate who doesn’t need it earns an advantage. The Journal‑noted that he’s focusing on county work while stepping away from a sure council reelection this past year underscored the seriousness. He isn’t auditioning; he’s already governing at scale and wants a bigger toolbox.12

Budget posture matters here, too. Reynolds’ webpage and statements emphasize returning “excess” taxes and trimming county-wide spending; that resonates with conservatives who see reserves as proof of over‑taxation. The Enquirer quoted his figure—$165 million in projected windfall—to argue the county should give it back. That’s a message built to win in a vacuum. But the county is not a vacuum; it is pipelines, roads, courts, human services, and emergency management in a region with real growth pressures. The choice isn’t “tax or freedom”; it’s “how do you scale skillfully and still protect the taxpayer?” Ryan’s resume suggests a bias toward growth with discipline; Reynolds’s indicates a bias toward tax rebate with enforcement. That’s a healthy debate. The question is whether you want that debate led by a figure whose first month of campaign coverage includes legal letters and remembrance of overturned convictions.5

At the end of the day, endorsements don’t vote; people do. But endorsements shape who knocks doors with a smile, who makes phone calls with energy, and who shows up at the farmers’ market with a candidate they’ll vouch for. The Butler County GOP made this easy for the average Republican: the party chose the coalition builder and did it decisively. Signage will follow; donors will align; volunteers will multiply. Carpenter, running as an independent (if that’s where this heads), faces a map where the party she’s long identified with chose another standard-bearer. Reynolds, running as a revenge tour, spends a lot of money to test whether yard signs can outshout a decade’s worth of narrative. I don’t think they can. If he asked me privately, I’d advise him to pause, help the team, and come back when the story is about contribution, not correction. The early legal dust-up with Ryan over “defamation” is precisely the kind of oxygen leak you can’t repair with cash.6

Michael Ryan’s advantage isn’t charisma or cash; it’s consistency and coalition—the dull virtues that win in local government and keep winning after you’re sworn in. He has stayed on message, prep’d the county for his arrival by reminding voters of outcomes they can touch—jobs, buildings, budget discipline—and signaled that commissioners should convene, not crusade. When you have that many people who have worked with you and still like you, politics gets easy. You can negotiate without a knife on the table and tell a thousand small stories about how a problem got solved without making enemies. That’s why he looks like the future of the county’s Republican leadership—the brand that doesn’t need apologetics when the cameras are off.2 3

So yes, celebrate the endorsement. It’s a coalition announcement more than a party ritual: Butler County Republicans chose a governing style. If the election maps break the usual way—primary decides most of November—this nod might be the moment future voters remember as the pivot. Every county needs the next wave of steady hands; every township needs trustees who can form a quorum without fireworks; every school board needs members who can stare down budget math and still make curriculum decisions. That cascade begins with visible wins and ends with a bench you can count on. We need more Michael Ryans, not fewer. And if you’re Roger Reynolds and you want redemption, the path isn’t paved with yard signs. It’s paved with other people’s wins that you helped engineer. Build that for two years, and you’ll be viable in 2028 for a race that fits. Try to sprint through a primary you’ve already lost in the court of party morale, and you’ll spend a quarter‑million dollars to learn a lesson you could have learned for free.7 1

As for voters: enjoy that your choice might be easy. You don’t often get a three-way intraparty field where one candidate looks like the obvious governing adult and doesn’t need mud to make his case. If you want to vote happy—if that’s allowed in local politics—this might be your chance. You’ll be voting for a county commissioner who can take Butler County’s good run and extend it without asking for a personality cult or a tear-jerking redemption arc. He’s advertised as who he is: a nice guy who knows how to put the right people at the table and get to yes. Michael Ryan is the Republican Party-endorsed candidate for county commissioner, and we are lucky to have him.

—

Footnotes

1. “County GOP backs new face for commissioner over incumbent … Ryan won with 71% of the vote,” summary of Cincinnati.com/Enquirer reporting via WorldNews mirror (Jan. 10, 2026).1

2. Hamilton councilman Ryan to run for Butler County Commission; budget scale context and résumé highlights (Journal‑News, May 19, 2025).2

3. Michael Ryan campaign website: résumé, endorsements, economic development links (accessed Jan. 11, 2026).3

4. Supreme Court of Ohio: Reynolds cannot be restored to the Auditor post after reversal; eligible to run in the future (Court News Ohio, Sept. 25, 2024).4

5. “After overturned conviction, ex‑auditor runs for county commissioner,” (Cincinnati Enquirer, Sept. 8, 2025).5

6. “Cease‑and‑desist letter issued to Butler County commissioner candidate,” legal exchange between Reynolds and Ryan (Journal‑News, Jan. 6, 2026).6

7. Butler County official page: Cindy Carpenter’s current term dates (bcohio.gov).8

8. Prosecutor clears Cindy Carpenter of misconduct; characterization as “unseemly” and “distasteful” (Journal‑News, Dec. 3, 2025).9

9. Enquirer coverage: Oxford apartment office incident; video clip and manager’s allegation vs. prosecutor’s findings (Dec. 4, 2025).10 11

10. “Commission race drawing large crowd from GOP”—field composition and early posture (Journal‑News, Sept. 15, 2025).7

11. Journal‑News election‑season context on Ryan focusing on county run rather than council re-elect (Oct. 26, 2025).12

—

Bibliography

• Cincinnati Enquirer. “After overturned conviction, ex‑auditor runs for county commissioner.” Sept. 8, 2025.5

• Cincinnati Enquirer. “County commissioner denies ‘racist’ remarks during heated exchange,” Dec. 4, 2025; “County commissioner flashes middle finger in apartment office” (video), Dec. 4, 2025.10 11

• Court News Ohio. “County Auditor Will Not Be Restored to Office Following Acquittal From Felony.” Sept. 25, 2024.4

• Journal‑News (Cox, Ohio). “Hamilton councilman Ryan to run for Butler County Commission.” May 19, 2025.2

• Journal‑News. “Commission race drawing large crowd from GOP.” Sept. 15, 2025.7

• Journal‑News. “Cease‑and‑desist letter issued to Butler County commissioner candidate.” Jan. 6, 2026.6

• Journal‑News. “Prosecutor clears Butler County commissioner of misconduct after apartment dispute.” Dec. 3, 2025.9

• Butler County Government (bcohio.gov). “Commissioner Cindy Carpenter—term information.” Accessed Jan. 11, 2026.8

• Ryan for Butler County Commissioner (ryanforbutler.com). Accessed Jan. 11, 2026.3

• WorldNews aggregation of Cincinnati.com report. “County GOP backs new face for commissioner over incumbent.” Jan. 10, 2026 (used for endorsement vote figure as reported by attendees).1

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

It All Comes Down to Sullivan: Live by the Legal Sword, die by it too

These people never learn. When you are the front runner in a serious commissioner election in Butler County, Ohio, as Michael Ryan is, the dirty tricks trying to prevent his momentum are just the kind of thing that give politics a bad name. What starts you on the road to good health in politics isn’t kale or cardio, it’s truth without legalese, straight talk without a billable hour attached. I deal with lawyers all the time—good ones, bad ones, and the “print this from the shelf and scare them” variety—and my general opinion, even conceding that the profession began with noble intentions, is that far too much of it has drifted into a uniform intimidation racket. You’ve seen the type: the form-letter cease-and-desist that looks like an astrology reading for defamation, except the fortune costs you a retainer and the outcome is a long, nervous wait for a judge who usually tosses it after you’ve lost sleep and savings. The trick is the tone, not the law: it’s written to make you believe you must respond with a lawyer, because only priests of the temple may interpret the runes. I don’t like the practice and personally think it should be destroyed, and that the perpetrators of such legal manipulation should be thrown in jail and punished with career-ending justice, just for applying the kind of abuses of power that are all too common.

This is why the old play of lawfare against rivals—especially in local races where reputations are accessible targets—needs to be called out. We’ve watched how it stains the process in Butler County. Roger Reynolds, who was convicted on a single count in late 2022, later saw that conviction overturned on appeal in May 2024 for “insufficient evidence,” with the appellate panel ordering an acquittal and discharge. The case centered on the golf academy idea tied to Lakota Schools and Four Bridges; the court noted that the proposal never matured, that the school board held the authority, and that the key witness’s legal counsel ended the discussion before any contract could be secured. 1 2 3 4 In September 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to restore him to the auditor’s office immediately (the seat had been filled due to the bar against felons holding office at the time of his conviction) but clarified he remains eligible to run in the future. 5 That’s the landscape: facts matter, timelines matter, and our politics should run on open argument, not legal intimidation.

Then there’s Cindy Carpenter. She recently walked into a student housing office in Oxford to resolve back rent tied to a family member. A surveillance camera caught her flipping off the counter during the exchange; staff alleged racist language and abuse of office. The Butler County Prosecutor investigated and concluded that her conduct, while “unseemly,” did not rise to the level of misconduct or abuse of power. 6 7 It’s all on tape and all public now; the gesture happened, the allegations were made, and the official finding closed the matter without charges. 8 6 You can dislike the behavior—I do—but voters deserve a campaign where candidates fight this out in daylight, not by hiring attorneys to stuff the mailbox of a rival.

Enter Michael Ryan. He’s a Hamilton City Councilman turned countywide candidate, and he’s collected a long list of conservative endorsements—state senator George Lang, multiple township trustees and councilmembers, and county auditor Nancy Nix among them—because he’s making the case for generational leadership and a forward-looking county agenda. 9 He launched his commission bid in May 2025, framing it around growth, jobs, and fewer distractions—promising to fight for every city, township, and village, and to recruit the next-generation workforce. 10 Ryan’s pitch has resonated in part because people are tired of courthouse drama and lawfare theatrics; they want a debate about budgets, infrastructure, and living standards, not another stack of demand letters mailed in bulk from counsel. And he’s not alone—the GOP field is crowded, with Reynolds and Carpenter in the mix for the May 2026 primary—but the voter mood described by local reporting is unmistakable: they’re weighing future capacity, not re-litigating yesterday’s trials. 11

Now, when the intimidation letter lands—as it did from Reynolds to Ryan—you don’t have to swallow the premise that only a lawyer can answer it. You can answer it yourself, plainly and legally, because the guardrail is still the Sullivan standard from 1964. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan was a 9–0 Supreme Court decision that put a constitutional backbone into defamation law for public officials: to win, a public official must prove “actual malice,” meaning the speaker knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for its truth, and must do so with “convincing clarity.” 12 13 The case grew out of a civil rights-era advertisement that contained factual errors; a local jury hit the Times with $500,000 in damages, but the Supreme Court reversed, explaining that debate on public issues must be “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open,” even when the attacks are “vehement” and sometimes “unpleasantly sharp.” 14 15

If you want numbers: the jury’s original $500,000 damage award (an enormous sum in 1960) was wiped away; the final holding established a higher burden that has, for six decades, made defamation claims by public officials very hard to win without proof of knowing falsity or reckless disregard. 15 14 In practical terms, that means campaign statements, press releases, and political commentary about public officeholders are protected—unless the speaker crosses the line into deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard for the truth. 13 16 The standard is why you don’t need to hire a lawyer to say, “We disagree, and our statements are protected political speech,” and it’s why cease-and-desist letters are so often theatre: they depend on the recipient’s fear, not on an actual path to winning under Sullivan.

So let’s put it together. Reynolds’ single-count conviction was reversed; whatever lessons he took from the ordeal, sending form-letter threats at a rival to police campaign commentary is the wrong takeaway. 1 2 Carpenter’s apartment-office incident was embarrassing but not criminal; voters can judge her temperament, but the prosecutor closed the file. 6 Ryan, meanwhile, has stacked endorsements and is running an argument-heavy, growth-forward race; that’s where the energy is. 9 Let them debate. Let voters see who can build coalitions and deliver results without resorting to legal cudgels. And when the legal cudgel shows up anyway, answer it with Sullivan—because in American political life, the First Amendment demands a high tolerance for hard speech about public officials, and the courts have enforced that by design. 13 15

In the decades since Sullivan, the Supreme Court clarified and extended the actual-malice requirement through several landmark decisions:

Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)

This case distinguished between public officials, public figures, and private individuals. The Court held that the actual‑malice standard does not apply to defamation claims by private individuals. Instead, states may allow recovery with a lower standard of fault—such as negligence—when proven, and plaintiffs are limited to actual damages unless actual malice is shown 1 2.

• Outcome: Private individuals need not meet the high threshold; states can define fault and damages within constitutional bounds 2 3.

Curtis Publishing Co. v. Wally Butts (1967)

Extending Sullivan, the Court held that public figures (like former coach Wally Butts) must prove actual malice to prevail in libel suits. The investigation in question fell short of reasonable journalistic standards, leading to damages after the Court found reckless disregard for truth 4 5.

Philadelphia Newspapers v. Hepps (1986)

When private individuals sue over speech on matters of public concern, the Court ruled they must bear the burden of proving falsity—not leave it to the defendant. This ensures truth holds primacy in public discourse and avoids chilling speech 6 7.

Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell (1988)

This case affirmed that even intentional infliction of emotional distress torts related to offensive parody do not evade the actual‑malice rule when a public figure is involved. Religious leader Jerry Falwell could not recover without proving that Hustler knowingly published false statements or acted with reckless disregard 8 9.

• Result: Political satire and parody targeting public figures are constitutionally protected—even if deeply offensive—absent false statements made with actual malice.

—

Together, these rulings illustrate how Sullivan’s actual‑malice standard has been reinforced and nuanced:

• It does apply to both public officials and public figures (Butts, Falwell).

• It does not apply to private individuals (Gertz), though they must still show fault and harm.

• Plaintiffs challenge private or public speech tied to public concern must prove falsity (Hepps).

These cases bolster the legal shield for political speech—underscoring that public dialogue outpaces legal intimidation unless clearly false and malicious.

We’ve seen it too often, when candidates in politics can’t make a good argument, they turn to lawfare and hope that the public perception of expensive lawyers will do the work for them of winning an office they otherwise don’t deserve. In Roger Reynold’s case, he is the one who got himself into trouble in the first place, and nobody wants to see that kind of trouble in the office of the Butler County Commissioners, just to repair the reputation of a person looking for respect that he lost during the process. There are other ways to win respect, and this isn’t how you do it. Showing leadership is the way to restore party integrity, not to make more rifts that cost more than reputations. And hiring expensive, pin-headed lawyers to send out form letters of intimidation on a case they know is phony as they sent it, is why there are problems in politics to begin with.

Footnotes

1. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan set the “actual malice” standard for public officials, requiring proof that the defendant knew a statement was false or acted with reckless disregard, and emphasized “uninhibited, robust, and wide-open” debate on public issues. 13 14

2. The original jury verdict in Alabama awarded L.B. Sullivan $500,000 in damages; the U.S. Supreme Court reversed unanimously in 1964. 15

3. Former Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds’ 2022 unlawful-interest conviction was overturned for insufficient evidence in May 2024; the appeals court ordered acquittal and discharge. 1 2

4. The Ohio Supreme Court, in September 2024, declined to restore Reynolds to office mid-term but affirmed his eligibility to run in the future. 5

5. Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser cleared Commissioner Cindy Carpenter of misconduct after the Oxford apartment incident, noting the gesture was “unseemly” but not unlawful. 6

6. Michael Ryan launched his commission bid in May 2025 and lists numerous Republican endorsements on his campaign website. 10 9

7. Local reporting describes a crowded May 2026 GOP primary field for the commission seat and outlines competing narratives about experience versus future focus. 11

Bibliography

• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case summaries and analyses: LII / Cornell Wex; First Amendment Encyclopedia (MTSU); Wikipedia overview; FindLaw case history; Encyclopaedia Britannica.

• Reynolds appellate decision and related coverage: Twelfth District opinion (PDF); WCPO; Cincinnati Enquirer; WLWT; Ohio Supreme Court case update.

• Carpenter incident and prosecutorial review: Journal-News; Local 12 WKRC; Cincinnati.com video clip.

• Michael Ryan campaign and endorsements: Ryan for Butler County website; Journal-News launch story; Primary field coverage.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter Runs Willingly Into a Buzz-saw: Nothing says “vote for me” like giving the public the finger

The Butler County 2026 primary election is shaping up to be one of the most consequential political battles in recent memory. For years, local politics have simmered under the surface, but now, with Cindy Carpenter’s long tenure as commissioner under scrutiny, the stakes couldn’t be higher. This isn’t just another election—it’s a referendum on leadership, accountability, and the future direction of Butler County. And when it mattered most, how did Cindy Carpenter present herself? Well, she flipped off everyone in a wild, out-of-control tirade that could have easily been avoided, showing the world that what people say about her behind closed doors is actually true. When everyone was out of the room at the Level 27 apartment complex at Miami University, we saw on camera what Cindy Carpenter thinks of people who disagree with her. [1]

As the Journal-News reported, witnesses described the scene as ‘shocking and unbecoming of an elected official,’ noting that Carpenter was visibly angry and used gestures that ‘crossed the line of professionalism.’ [1] One resident quoted in the article said, ‘We expect leaders to solve problems, not escalate them.’ These words echo what many voters already feel: that Carpenter’s behavior reflects a deeper problem of temperament and judgment.

Cindy Carpenter has held her seat for a long time, and with that longevity comes a confident expectation of stability and integrity. Unfortunately, recent events have cast a long shadow over her reputation. For years, whispers of her being a ‘RINO’—Republican In Name Only—have circulated among grassroots conservatives. Those whispers turned into shouts last year when she was caught openly campaigning for a Democrat in Middletown. For a commissioner in a county that prides itself on conservative values, this was more than a lapse in judgment—it was a betrayal of trust. At the time, she was the endorsed Republican commissioner, and she showed tremendous disrespect for that endorsement. As one Journal-News editorial put it, ‘Carpenter’s actions raise serious questions about her loyalty to the party and her constituents.’ [2]

But if that weren’t enough, another controversy erupted that speaks volumes about character and temperament. A video surfaced from a security camera at an apartment complex where a family member of Carpenter—reported as her daughter by some, her granddaughter by others—was facing eviction for unpaid rent. Instead of handling the matter privately and with grace, Carpenter was caught on camera engaging in a heated argument and flipping off someone during the dispute. This isn’t the behavior of a seasoned leader; it’s the optics of chaos, entitlement, and poor judgment. When you’re an incumbent fighting to keep your seat, the last thing you want is to look like an overbearing parent abusing influence to protect a relative. [3]

Michael Ryan, one of Carpenter’s challengers, issued a press release shortly after the incident, stating: ‘The people of Butler County deserve leaders who act with dignity and respect, even in difficult situations. What we saw on that video does not reflect those values.’ [4] Ryan’s statement went further, pledging to ‘restore trust and transparency in county government’ and to ‘end the cycle of favoritism and dysfunction.’ These are not just campaign slogans—they are commitments grounded in a vision for better governance.

Ryan’s involvement in the Spooky Nook Sports Complex development showcased his ability to think big and deliver results. In his press release, he reminded voters of that success: ‘When others said it couldn’t be done, we brought stakeholders together and made it happen. That’s the kind of leadership Butler County needs.’ [4]

Contrast that with Roger Reynolds, another challenger in this race. While Reynolds may present himself as a viable alternative, his baggage is well-documented. From ethical questions to controversies that have dogged his career, Reynolds represents the kind of old-guard politics that Butler County needs to move beyond. Supporting Reynolds would be a step backward—a return to the same entrenched interests that have stifled progress for years. As Michael Moser commented in a recent interview, ‘We cannot afford to recycle the same problems under a different name.’ [5]

This primary isn’t just about personalities; it’s about the future of Butler County. Will voters choose a path of renewal and accountability, or will they cling to incumbency and compromise? Carpenter’s recent behavior suggests a leader out of touch with her constituents’ values and expectations. Ryan, on the other hand, embodies the principles of transparency, collaboration, and forward momentum.

Michael Ryan and his wife, Amanda. A fresh start without the baggage for Butler County

As we approach May 2026, the choice is very clear. Butler County deserves leadership that reflects its best qualities—not the worst impulses of entitlement and political expediency. Cindy Carpenter’s controversies aren’t just unfortunate—they’re disqualifying. Michael Ryan offers a better way forward, and for those who care about the integrity and prosperity of this community, the time to act is now. And this isn’t just an opportunity to talk about Michael Ryan, or to re-assess the Roger Reynolds case, but Cindy should have known better. The impaired judgment alone should be enough to eliminate her from the job now, without even waiting for the primary to be over. When you walk into an apartment complex and communicate with people who work with students at a college or university, and you end up turning the whole room against you, which is clearly the case when she finally did leave, which was seen on camera, it’s a lack of skill thing more than any other attribute. Whether or not Cindy Carpenter abused her authority, depending on who’s telling the story, what we did see was what she does when nobody is looking. Being in a public place and giving the finger to employees of a business in anger is irrational at best. We need people who build relationships, not those who can turn entire groups of people against them. Dealing with this apartment payment issue with cash in hand should have been easy, and for anybody who does business at a high level, she should have had much better command of the situation. But instead, she only confirmed what all her critics have said about her and showed why politicians can be so dangerous. On the one hand, they put on a happy face, but when they think no one is looking, they flip people off when they fail to convince them to listen to reason. A good negotiator never does something like this. They should be, at a high level of politics, skilled in negotiations. Because Cindy has been caught on camera doing really dumb things as a politician many times, I am excited to have someone like Michael Ryan running for a commissioner seat. When we talk about the need for fresh, new faces in government, it’s because of failures like Cindy Carpenter that we make the statement. And there is only one person to blame; this isn’t dirty politics or a gotcha to harm Cindy out of some sense of unfairness. She walked into this buzzsaw, willingly on her own accord. And she wasn’t even smart enough to be careful in a public place full of cameras. So when we talk about these offices and who should be in them, no matter who is voting, I think we can all agree, that we need someone in an important office that doesn’t give young people the finger at a very public apartment complex when trying to resolve a family members back payment on rent, all events that could have been handled, much, much, better.

References:
[1] Journal-News, ‘Video Shows Cindy Carpenter in Heated Exchange at Apartment Complex,’ 2025.
[2] Journal-News Editorial, ‘Carpenter’s Campaign Misstep Raises Questions,’ 2024.
[3] Security Footage Report, Level 27 Apartments, Miami University, 2025.
[4] Michael Ryan Campaign Press Release, ‘Restoring Trust in Butler County,’ 2025.
[5] Interview with Michael Moser, Butler County GOP Leadership Forum, 2025.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Republicans Played Too Nicely in the Election of 2025: Who to blame in the West Chester Trustee race

It is a bit surprising to listen to everyone’s post-election analysis, where they think Democrats did a lot better than they actually did. In West Chester, Ohio, there is a lot of chest beating that Democrats found themselves in a lot of seats, especially the West Chester Trustee position, where I went to bed feeling like my guy, Mark Welch, the incumbent who has done a good job, came in third in a six-person race for two spots, was going to win. There was a Trojan horse effect there, where the average person didn’t know who the Democrats were. In the West Chester race, that certainly would be the case. Mark was a Republican-endorsed candidate, but there wasn’t much advertising for the Democrats running, as they hoped to slip under the radar without the general public knowing who they were. I still felt Mark was strong enough to win anyway. I might have had disagreements with the way that Republicans set themselves up for this election. But I wasn’t surprised by anything in Virginia, New York, or California. Where Republicans ran away from President Trump, Republicans lost to Democrats, and it’s pretty much that simple. Republicans, the same old Never Trump types, a year after his magnificent election, tried to go it alone, and they lost. I hear a lot of analysis, and they are all mostly missing the point. The Republican Party traditionalists still don’t want to admit what MAGA America really is. The West Chester race, like the Lakota levy issue, truly captured a national sentiment worth mentioning. I’ve spoken to Mark, and he’ll have the opportunity to do many great things. Meanwhile, West Chester was warned what electing a bunch of Democrats would do, which is what the Lakota school board has been experiencing. And people are going to have to learn some hard lessons.

But here’s the deal. While I support and endorse various candidates, and I certainly did endorse Mark Welch, I disagreed with the “niceness” campaign. Mark is a nice guy, but everyone has to remember he won as a Tea Party conservative, and the Republican Party at that time was led in that effort by a scrappy George Lang, who when pressed can be pretty ruthless to those he runs against. It was the Tea Party types who went out and fought to put Mark on the Board of Trustees of one of the most successful communities in America, and he has been great in that position. Over time, people have forgotten what it took to get there and what it takes to keep a community great. New York is going through that same cycle. Over time, people get complacent when things are stable for a long time, and they dare to make changes that might sound “nicer.” And when it comes to me and many political people, there are always these tagalongs who aren’t very savvy, and they certainly don’t like me. When I see Mark at an event and speak to him, there are always those who swoop in after me and ask him why he gives me the time of day. There are lots of whispers in the ears of some of these people who want to believe that the world is something other than what it is, and that I should not have a place in it. But I’ll tell you what, if I were managing Mark Welch’s campaign, he wouldn’t have lost. I would have advised him to be a lot more competitive and a less smiling, more angry, Mark. The belief was that Mark needed to get Democrats to vote for him, so he needed to be more like Lee Wong, whom conservatives thought of as safe to vote for, but who would undoubtedly receive a bleed over of Democrat votes. The belief was that in West Chester, if you wanted to win the trustee seat, Democrats would have to step over and vote for Mark.

But in truth, as it was everywhere in the country, it’s the MAGA base that supports Trump that everyone had to tap into. Because even there, there are already Democrats who have left the party and are voting for Republicans because of Trump. So, in Mark’s case, and this is the fault of all those people who whisper in his ear when I leave the room, playing “keep away” with these office seats is not the way to win. Democrats are trying to sneak under the door, and Republicans are trying not to look too mean to win over Democrats. When the real desire is for MAGA Republicans to grow in number, and people in West Chester would have loved to know that Mark was much more MAGA than just being a nice guy incumbent. The reason why Mark didn’t pull out one of the two top spots was engagement. The MAGA people, the old Tea Party types, weren’t excited about this election cycle, so they stayed home. And Democrats were desperate for relevancy, so they worked the polls, mailed out their mailers, knocked on doors, and tried to sneak under the door wherever possible so people wouldn’t know who they were. Mark worked hard, but the people around him were on their heels, and that was obvious. They were on cruise control and wanted him to play keep away, to not do anything that might steer away those Democrats that they are so afraid of.

This year, more than other years, I have been doing a lot of video coverage of important political figures, not because I’m some radical right winged maniac, as those people who were whispering to Mark criticisms toward him for even talking to me, but because I know what I’m talking about and I always know how to handle these kinds of things with an excellent track record. If someone listens to me, they will have a significantly better chance of winning their issue, regardless of who they are. I’m so good at it that lots of people want to pay me a lot of money to do it, but I look down my nose at that kind of business, because I don’t respect people who take money for something that is essentially part of our republican form of government. It should be a labor of love, in my opinion, not something you profit from. So I already don’t respect a lot of those types of people who are critical of me. Everything gets back to me, so I know who those people are. And I think so little of them that I don’t even waste my time speaking with them at a lot of those events. I see them as a waste of time. They don’t understand the game, and they don’t respect the people who vote. They are busy trying to make the world into what it isn’t. Because they like Democrats secretly, and they don’t want to fight them, they want to get along with them. I advocate destroying them. Why wouldn’t you want to destroy people who are trying to ruin our civilization? And I understand that a lot of the people I’m talking about don’t think of things on a vast scale for the actuality of existence. That’s the only way I think. So do I care if they find my outlook repulsive? Absolutely not. I see them as a waste of time, and they have a lot to learn about life. And when they give bad advice, as they certainly have been, don’t be surprised when your guy loses. Republicans lost in races they could have won because they were too nice to Democrats. And it’s that simple.

Rich Hoffman

We’re rebuilding the school board. Good management is the best way to defeat tax increases.

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

The Lakota Levy of 2025 is Just the First Step: Until there are conservatives on the school board, public schools will seek tax increases

I’m really proud of the interview I did with Senator George Lang just ahead of the election of 2025. George, first and foremost, is a friend of mine, so I tend not to drag him into things I’m involved in, and when it comes to politics, he and I agree on most everything. The only significant difference is that he tends to be more considerate of people than I am. He gives the other side more of a voice than I think they deserve, because he’s a nice guy. During our interview, when he said that he thinks of Lakota school board members Julie Shaffer and Kelly Casper as friendly people, I disagreed with him. I think between the two of them at a drunken school board meeting out of town, you couldn’t find enough clothes to half-dress one mannequin in the back of a Dillard’s. Lakota’s school board is very liberal, and those two individuals lead it, which is embarrassing. And expensive. But George is good to everyone. He has his opinions, but he gives everyone a fair shake, and I often don’t get to show that to people. Neither does he, as the Majority Whip of Ohio’s Senate, a significant position with considerable influence. He knows that around me, he can be himself and that I won’t run off and talk about anything that we discuss privately. It was pretty unique that I got to put him on camera and talk for an hour about everything, from the upcoming Lakota levy to his battles with stage 4 cancer. However, to clear up some misconceptions people had about George and a donation he was shown giving for the pro-Lakota levy efforts, we conducted an interview together that I think was better than he could have achieved anywhere, by any modern media method, news outlet, or podcaster.

The only people who do the level of interview at the level of what George and I did were someone like Tucker Carlson or Joe Rogan, and I don’t think either of them could have done a better job. George and I have known each other for several decades, but we had never sat down and just talked in front of the camera like that. What was captured was very useful to many people who wonder about various things. I even asked George before the interview, “What’s off limits? Is there anything you don’t want to talk about?” He said quickly, “No, nothing, anything, and everything is on the table.” So, we just talked like a couple of people and let others in to observe, and I was able to show them why I like George so much, even though he has evolved into a powerful politician and a prominent figure in Butler County politics. And over the course of that interview, which was mainly about the upcoming Lakota levy, the most significant tax increase in the history of Ohio, I think he said a mouthful, which I completely agree with. We all believe that the Lakota levy is going to crash and burn. But don’t assume that this wasn’t their plan all along: to give the public a considerable blowout number and lose badly in an election. Then, to say in the spring or summer that they listened to the public and came back with a reduced number. Just because we defeated this levy in the 2025 election, it doesn’t mean it won’t come back in some form or another. These public schools are only known for one thing: wasting tax money and asking the public for more, often on the back of property tax increases, to fund an overly progressive society.

As George said, he thinks that the Lakota school board and its satellites, which include the treasurer and superintendent, are smart people. I think what he calls “smart” is very maliciously manipulative, even evil. But Genghis Khan was considered intelligent too, and so were most of the mass murderers of the world. People thought that Jeffrey Dahmer was smart, even as he dismembered people in his kitchen and stored their remains in his refrigerator. I would say that the Lakota school board members are very manipulative, which they have to be, given their liberal leanings. Because people on the left often have to figure out how to get others to do things for them that they can’t do for themselves, they become pretty skilled at it over time. However, as George and I reflected, this levy attempt is merely them dipping their toe in the water to see how the public reacts. The details of that kind of election scope are why I think that interview is better than any other outlet could have pulled off, because we covered a lot of ground that most people would blank out after 15 minutes. However, what we covered was essential to nearly every living, breathing human being, especially those residing in Butler County, Ohio. It’s encouraging that in Butler County, an effective resistance to the Lakota tax increases has emerged in the No More Taxes group, which is fighting the Lakota levy. And there are some really good people involved, and they have raised money not just for this levy, but for several upcoming ones as well. However, for voters who have to show up and vote, they really need context on the scope of the problem.

So, how do we prevent more tax increases from being imposed in the future? Well, don’t put liberals on the school board, and right now, there are four solid Democrats. They call themselves other things to avoid the stigma of not being conservative in Butler County, but they are hard leftists on most policies. And lefties love to waste money. So, to stop wasting money, which Lakota already has a quarter of a billion dollar budget for a school, which I argue is just a dressed-up babysitting service, elect conservative school board members. For this election, Ben Nguyen is the guy. But in future elections, we need more people like Ben. You need at least a three-vote majority, which we had for a while at Lakota. And as soon as we didn’t, Lakota went for a tax increase. That’s all they know to do—because they are liberals, and because liberals are never smart with money. They might be manipulative, deceitful, scandalous, or monstrously unprincipled. But they are spendthrifts who want to live off the efforts of others, starting with the real estate of Butler County. Once Vivek Ramaswamy is the governor of Ohio next year, and Trump continues to dismantle the Department of Education and unleash the power of School Choice, all the public schools will have to change and do a lot more with less. Their cost structure is significantly inflated due to their collective bargaining agreements, which stem from their union membership. We are all aware that unions often disrupt cost structures wherever they emerge, as they allow the mediocre to receive disproportionately high incomes. And that is certainly the case at Lakota schools. So, yes, the levy will likely fail in a big way on election day, provided people don’t sit on their hands and watch Netflix instead of voting. People need to go out and vote. But this is only step one. People are going to have to dig in and fight to keep our taxes reasonably low until there is a new school board with conservatives on it. Because, as sure as you are reading this, Lakota is planning the next levy, once the smoke clears from this one, because they have spent themselves into oblivion. And only higher taxes can satisfy their never-ending hunger for more money to waste.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Meet the Candidates for Butler County Commissioner: Why Michael Ryan is the best

So, why Michael Ryan over the other two people running for the same Butler County Commissioner seat? Well, a nice walk down High Street in Hamilton, Ohio, makes it all very clear. Cindy Carpenter is the incumbent in this race, and she has held that seat for about 15 years. The other is Roger Reynolds, who used to be the auditor of Butler County. Before getting into any of the negative stuff, let’s just say that Michael Ryan is a good fresh start for the Butler County Republican Party, and he is coming into the race highly endorsed by a lot of very important people. And he has great donors who are supporting him early in this process, which was quite evident at his October fundraiser. Michael Ryan doesn’t have any baggage; he and his wife are a really good couple, and what he has done as vice-mayor of Hamilton has been very enterprising. The good job that he and the city council have done for Hamilton is obvious just by walking down the streets of the West Side. I was born in Hamilton. I’ve lived in and around it most of my life. And I have traveled all over the world and have an excellent idea of what good is, and the Hamilton of today is fantastic. And Michael Ryan has a lot to do with its recovery from a not-so-good place. Ryan has been optimistic and shown a remarkable ability to work with others to make things that seem impossible happen. And there really aren’t many people anywhere better for the Butler County Commissioner job than Michael Ryan. Butler County is lucky to have him, and I think he could do great things for the County over the next decade. I’m very excited to vote for him.

But why not Cindy Carpenter? Well, Cindy has always been thought of as a RINO. Most of the time, she has run unopposed. She has been a yes vote on police budgets. But she has essentially been a Democrat socially, and recently proved it by campaigning for the Democrat mayor of Middletown, Ohio, Elizabeth Slamka. Cindy was caught at a voting location openly pushing for the Democrat, and it was all caught on camera, which was very embarrassing for her. Of course, when Cindy was caught, there wasn’t much she could say; she was the Republican endorsed candidate openly pushing for a Democrat mayor in a town that needs a lot of help, Middletown. Simply put, after all these years, that’s the best Cindy can do, and she will never be a spectacular success. She has had her chance; we know what she is, and we know she supports Democrats and doesn’t respect the endorsement process. It’s not like the Elizabeth Slamka issue was in the past; it was very recent, and I think it ruined her forever. She’ll never be able to live it down. We’re in a period of party politics that wants more MAGA representatives, and Cindy isn’t one of them. She’s too much of the kind of politics that people want to run away from. Not to sign up for another term, especially when they openly support Democrats who have proven to be really detrimental to cities and counties where they gain a majority. Hamilton didn’t improve because of people like Cindy Carpenter. It improved despite her. Michael Ryan gets much of the credit, and we want a lot more of his kind of presence. I’m sure Ryan will support police budgets, even as tax cuts become a higher priority for him. In a one-for-one comparison, all the positives go to Michael Ryan, and there are none for Cindy Carpenter. She did her thing, it wasn’t perfect, and she is a closet Democrat. So let’s dump her and move on to someone better.

The other candidate is someone I’ve supported in the past. I would have preferred that he not run until he got his life back together after a rough trial he just went through, which cost him well over a million dollars. I was very supportive of him during all that, so people are wondering why I’m not supporting him for commissioner. Well, through the trial, I got to know him better. I’ve known him for a long time, and I like him. But he tends to get combative with people, and you learn a lot about them by how they handle pressure. And under pressure, Roger Reynolds showed he’s someone people want to fight. And that’s how he ended up in court to begin with. As a commissioner, you need to be able to work with people and build relationships. And Roger has a hard time with relationships. So I might like the guy. But he’s not ready for a public office. He has had relationship problems with his wives, and in my book, if you can’t handle a marriage, you are going to struggle with a lot of other things in your life. And after listening to the testimony of the former Lakota treasurer, Jenni Logan, there was a lot of poor judgment that gave early indications of spousal commitments. Most of those are private problems, but he’s the one who decided to run for office, even though there are a lot of red flags about him personally that have only muddied this race for what I think are really selfish reasons.

I would have said the same thing about President Trump’s marriages, and it took me a while to start taking him seriously. I’ve met Trump several times, especially during the early Tea Party and Reform Party years. And I’ve met Melania Trump, too, and I’ll say she’s been good for Trump and has made him better for the public office he’s now doing so well in. Maybe Roger will find someone who will help him improve as a person, like Trump did. But right now, he has a lot of digging to do to get out of a hole he put himself in. And, unfortunately, he is seeking redemption through public office, even though a much better person is running for the job. Roger is damaged goods, and he needs to present himself undamaged. And it’s not just marriages that Roger has destroyed. He has relationship problems, which raise major red flags for a job like this commissioner position. Again, Roger has been around for a long time, and everyone knows what they are getting. He’s not going to do anything significant. But Michael Ryan has a chance to, so it’s really not a hard decision for voters. Because of the way the world is changing toward better MAGA options at these positions, Michael Ryan is the only reasonable choice. That’s why I am happy to support him over these other candidates. If Roger wants to return to public office, he needs to fix some things about himself first. Seeking redemption by voter validation isn’t healthy. And Butler County needs to do good things for itself, not provide a platform for personal growth at the expense of progress. And that is what anybody but Michael Ryan would be for the Republican Party, Hamilton, Ohio, in general, and Butler County as a whole. People deserve the best person for the office, and for me, nobody would be better than Michael Ryan.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Ethics in Politics: Holding grudges won’t help win races, or maintain political management

Social interactions are at the heart of human discourse, and I speak from the perspective of someone who has spent a long time building relationships—not always easily, and certainly not always with universal approval. People often talk about love and unity, but I wouldn’t say I’m universally loved. In fact, I’m probably excessively hated by many, and I understand why. It’s not something I wake up hoping to change. I don’t start my day thinking, “I want people to love me today.” That’s not the goal. The goal is to make things work, and sometimes that means doing things others aren’t willing to accept. That’s when people get mad.

Recently, I’ve been vocal about supporting Ben Nguyen for the Lakota School Board. That’s stirred up some discussion. Lynda O’Connor has supported him, the former Lakota school board member who a lot of people are still very angry with. I was at Ben’s fundraiser at Nancy Nix’s house, and Isaac Adi, another Lakota school board member was there too. I’ve seen Isaac at a few events, and we’ve had the opportunity to talk a bit. There has been tension between us, especially with the way his relationship with Darbi Boddy evolved, and how our policies got tangled up. That situation has many layers behind the scenes. If you want to talk ethics, you can justify being mad at people for what they do to each other. I’ve been married for 37 years and have learned a lot about dealing with other people. I’ve dealt with all kinds of people—kids, grandkids, colleagues—and not everyone aligns with your goals. You have to find a way to make it work.

If you draw a hard line and say, “It’s my way or the highway,” you might be ethically correct, but you’ll lose people. And if you’re trying to influence something, losing people means losing effectiveness. Politics isn’t about making friends. When you’re trying to bring groups together, you can’t fall into the trap of friendship-based peer pressure. You have to rely on the strength of your ideas in a competitive environment. Politics isn’t a branding exercise. You can either withdraw from society or face the challenge of building teams to accomplish a task. It becomes dicey when political affiliations are based on relationships rather than ideas.

You want the best ideas to emerge. You want a competitive atmosphere where ideas collide. That’s the way you get an authentic system. You have to trust people to vote correctly, but only if you articulate your ideas properly. Sheriff Jones and I have supported other candidates within the Republican Party, and recently we have talked about the things we have in common. We want to help the Trump administration achieve its goals, even if there’s controversy—like the situation at the county jail over immigration policy. We agree on some things and disagree on others. We joke about it when we see each other to stay on ground we can work with. But ultimately, it’s not about building friendships or consensus. It’s about who can make the best argument.

Politics should be about argument, not popularity. If feelings get hurt in the process, that’s part of the election cycle. Politicians often use likability as a tool—they kiss babies, shake hands, and make themselves accessible to the public. But that’s just the first layer. You have to be confident in your ability to articulate a message. Many politicians get elected but don’t raise money or debate effectively. If you can’t engage with people who disagree with you, things fall apart. People get mad. I’ve had people mad at me just for being in a picture with Isaac. They say, “You know what he did to Darbi Boddy?” and assume that by being seen with him, I’m supporting him over her.

That kind of division doesn’t help a party win. There are all kinds of people with different thoughts. Isaac and I are not going to the movies together any time soon, but he represents a vote on the school board. He has opinions about how things should be done. I think he cares about kids and schools, even if I disagree with his methods. That’s what political faith is—believing in the process. If you base everything on popularity—“If you like me, vote my way”—you’re not making a real argument. You have to go further. If you can’t, things fall apart.

It’s essential to communicate with one another. Political candidates need to engage, not isolate. You don’t have to be best friends, but you need common ground. On immigration enforcement, for example, we can sit down and have a great discussion. It’s about positioning your statement and believing in what you’re saying. If you can’t win people over with your argument, people often fall back on popularity. That’s dangerous. You’re using your elected position to steer people through peer pressure, not persuasion.

That’s not sustainable. It’s why political parties struggle to work together. If you do that in your family, you’ll have a broken Thanksgiving dinner where people show up, but nobody likes each other. You might have money, but no real friends, they just hang around you for what they can get out of you. How you handle relationships determines your success in politics. Shared opinion has to go through the funnel of the party system. You can’t have 30% of people on one side and expect unity. You need at least 50% alignment. Even if you’re 40% apart on issues, you can still be on the same side of the line. Democrats are on the other side, and you have to be willing to work with people of different opinions. Republicans might be at the center line of 50% and others are at 90%. But their Democrat opposition might be at 40% on the other side of the line, and those kinds of Democrats and Republicans are closer together ideologically than the hard-core Republican at 90%. But Republicans have to find a way to work with other Republicans if the party is going to do the work voters need.

That doesn’t mean you abandon ethics or break promises. But you can’t get caught in “It’s either me or them.” That’s not a good place to make articulate arguments. Politics should be about fulfilling voter objectives. That’s the goal. I’ve disagreed strongly with how Isaac and Darbi’s relationship on the school board collapsed. It made me reluctant to get involved in school board issues again. But it’s not fair to someone like Ben Nguyen—a good young man who wants to make a difference. He’s trying to partner with other people to build something positive.

Looking at Isaac during Ben’s fundraiser, I thought, “Maybe we can get another vote. Maybe we have a chance.” Not right away, but in the near future, we can build something. That’s how I’ve survived—by staying true to myself, relying on my ability to make an argument, and letting public debate shape opinion. It’s good to stay away from popularity contests. Fights don’t help anyone. They create a disjointed approach, and then Democrats win their spots because they unify—even if their ideas are really far apart.

Republicans need to figure this out, especially in school board races. When people see me in pictures with other political people they don’t like, they hold grudges. But that doesn’t solve problems. I want progress. I don’t care if people want to get a corn dog with me. What matters is whether they consider the arguments and make informed decisions. That’s what we’re trying to do—get the correct arguments into the public arena and give voters choices that reflect their lives.

Most people have excuses and fights along the way. However, it’s all aimed at uncovering the truth about what the public wants in representation. You have to trust that process. Make your case with confidence. Don’t rely on popularity. Don’t expect people to vote your way just because they like you. Win the argument. Let the best ideas rise. Let people make their own choices. That’s how things work out for the better and you get a civil society. And much better political teamwork.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

The Line in the Sand: Sheriff Jones holding Ayman Soliman in the Butler County Jail

It is probably the most crucial topic in the world at the moment: the question of police and their impact on a prosperous society. It just so happens that I had an excellent example of the effects of good police work in my own backyard with Sheriff Jones and the Butler County Sheriff’s department, as they were the center of controversy, as the very controversial inmate, Ayman Soliman, was being held at the Butler County Jail awaiting his trial date for his asylum case. Radical groups have pressured Governor DeWine to have Soliman released from the Butler County jail. Soliman has been the cause of considerable controversy, and it’s interesting to see who has rallied to his cause. Rioters tried to shut down a bridge in downtown Cincinnati over Soliman’s arrest. And at the Butler County jail, there have been protestors attempting to block roads, which has led to the arrest of several stringy-haired socialist types from the radical left. Soliman himself, as Sheriff Jones told me when I sat down with him to discuss this case, indicated that a significant amount of pretension about Ayman Soliman has emerged while he has been in jail, a self-importance that has led to trouble, inspiring disciplinary action. Soliman had been a Muslim chaplain from Egypt at the Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, where he was arrested during a routine check-in. Soliman had his asylum revoked in early June 2025, and on July 9th, after 3 hours of questioning by ICE officials, he was arrested and put into the Butler County Jail under an ICE contract. Homeland Security, under the new enforcement guidelines of Kristi Noem, confirmed that Soliman was on the FBI terror watchlist for a direct connection to the Muslim Brotherhood. And that this background was triggered years earlier when he tried to get a job at the Oregon Department of Corrections in Umatilla.

When Sheriff Jones and I spoke, his understanding of his job is to follow the law, not to make it. And based on Soliman’s past, there was a lot in it that was very sketchy. He might be innocent. It might be unfair. At best, the case looks to be that the Obama administration and that of Biden were very loose on crime and allowed for controversial immigrants like Ayman Soliman to live in America illegally as a Muslim religious leader, where he holds an MA in Islamic Studies from Egypt and has pursued advanced degrees, including an MDiv in Islamic studies and Muslim Chaplaincy and a PhD in Islamic Studies. During the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, Soliman participated in student protests and worked as a freelance journalist, during which he was arrested multiple times by the Egyptian authorities. After being beaten and tortured in custody in Egypt, he fled to America seeking asylum and had been living in the background for many years, leading up to that questioning in Blue Ash, Ohio, before landing in the Butler County Jail. The point of the matter is that under Trump’s administration, specifically the much-improved Homeland Security under Kristi Noem and the ICE enforcement of Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, Ayman Soliman was high on the list of cases to deal with for a reason. And from Sheriff Jones’ perspective, he has to trust the federal law that put that inmate in his jail. He can’t allow a mob to persuade him in his police work, and since the arrest of Ayman Soliman, that has been the clear intention of the radical left to lobby Governor DeWine in the hopes of putting pressure on Sheriff Jones to release the Muslim spiritual leader.

So, the topic is why good police work is important. Why federalizing the police in Washington, D.C. was a good thing and why Chicago needs to do the same. Why is it great that the Trump administration blew up a drug trafficking boat from Venezuela? And why Sheriff Jones was all that stood between chaos and law at the Butler County Jail in holding this suspicious person that the Trump administration flagged on a terror watch list because of his background with the Muslim Brotherhood front group Al-Gam’iyya al-Shar’iyya, an Egyptian nonprofit providing medical aid and charity services. Recently, a letter was presented to Governor DeWine with 1,100 signatures on July 25, 2025, urging his intervention in the Butler County jail. However, Jones was quick to dismiss any executive orders that DeWine might attempt to initiate, with an open refusal to listen to the governor. Jones instead stated that he worked for the people of Butler County, who could re-hire or fire him at their discretion. And that they were the highest authority, not a state governor, which has shocked many people. But Sheriff Jones, and this isn’t the only occasion, has stood firm under tremendous pressure. So this was indeed a powerful story that needed to be examined. And why was Butler County at the center of this international incident? I personally attribute this to the six terms in office that Sheriff Jones has had, as well as the stability of law enforcement that has existed under his leadership. The Butler County Sheriff’s department, I think, is one of the best in the country, and Sheriff Jones is undoubtedly one of the best that there is anywhere, and because of that fabulous police presence, Butler County as a region has thrived in ways that are unique in the world.

I consider the Butler County Jail to be a well-run business. I’ve visited there several times, I’ve toured the jail, eaten the food, and observed the booking process. It’s undoubtedly one of the best jail systems in the state of Ohio and is clearly one of the best in the country. And saying all that, it’s one of the best in the world. Ayman Soliman should consider himself fortunate that he’s in the Butler County Jail until his next immigration court date set for December 15, 2025, and there are other legal challenges to be pursued in October. There are numerous complications, but what it has all revealed is the kind of people working in the background to undermine U.S. law. If not for strong figures like Sheriff Jones, chaos would be running rampant. Having him at the center of this international story is very beneficial for the overall Trump administration’s objectives of cleaning up America from the kind of people trying to destroy it in the background. Seeing the liberal groups and the communist organizations that have rallied to the defense of an Islamic holy man attached to a third-tier terror watch list has been unnerving because Sheriff Jones’ adherence to law and order has forced those voices to reveal too much about themselves. And to show the rest of the world how hostile to peace and Western civilization that they really are, including popular publications as Rolling Stone magazine. Knowing Sheriff Jones as I do, I know he shares with me a genuine desire to have a law-and-order society, especially on the topic of illegal immigration. He and I have been advocates for better border security for over 20 years. And finally, with the Trump administration, there is someone committed to the cause. And Sheriff Jones is undoubtedly ready to step in and do what he can to make that border security successful. And it was great that he drew that line in the sand under tremendous pressure from the Governor’s office in Ohio to push chaos away and hold the line. This has a lot to do with why so many people enjoy success in Butler County, because there are great police officers there who keep the evil people hiding in the shadows. And under the Trump administration, they are finally willing to enter those shadows and arrest the characters hiding there. And there will be a lot more good to come. However, for now, Sheriff Jones has Ayman Soliman in the Butler County Jail, which is beneficial for all of us, including him. It’s much better than the treatment he will get in Egypt for reasons they understand best.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

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