Ohio county sees three treasurers in one month

LOGAN, Ohio (WCMH) -- The top of the Hocking County government's website awards Pat Hartman the role of county treasurer. A drop-down menu of officials on the same site lists Diane Sargent as the treasurer. The Ohio Board of Elections lists Janie Harris.

None is correct.

The Hocking County Treasurer is -- as of publication -- Blaine Davidson. With 65.5% of the vote, Davidson defeated Democrat incumbent Harris for the position. Soon after, Harris resigned as county treasurer, effective Dec. 6. Her unexpired term was set to end Aug. 31, 2025, and her resignation opened the doors for a political merry-go-round to fill the position.

Under Ohio law, if a county treasurer resigns, the county branch of the political party they represent is able to appoint a new treasurer. If the treasurer was an independent, the county board of commissioners can select the replacement.

On Nov. 27, the Hocking County Commissioners voted to approve Harris' resignation and to appoint Treasurer-elect Davidson to serve as interim Hocking County treasurer until his term began. However, county Democrats used their right to replace the treasurer, booting Davidson out in favor of Democrat Patricia Hartman.

All but one treasurer employee quit, and then Hartman resigned, effective Dec. 22. In tandem with a series of emergency commissioners meetings, the treasurer's office was closed for several days. The last remaining employee spoke out and thanked the commissioners for protecting her and closing the department.

During these meetings, Davidson was once more appointed interim treasurer, with the knowledge the Democratic Party could appoint a new prospect. On Dec. 30, Davidson accepted the appointment and was sworn in, acknowledging he could lose the appointment again but saying he wanted to bring stability to the office. At a Jan. 3 commissioners meeting, commissioners implored the Hocking County Democrats to keep him in the role.

"Hopefully all parties, whether it's a D or an R, agree on the importance of having a treasurer's office that's open and functioning," Commissioner Michael Linton said.

As part of the concerns, commissioners discussed the struggle to get payroll done for that meeting because there had not been a working treasurer to certify payroll with the county auditor.

According to Commissioner Jason D'Onofrio, the employees who had resigned returned to their positions once Davidson accepted the appointment. Commissioners also said they were unsure if the resignations were ever completed, as there was no one in the seat of treasurer to accept them.

"Current employees of the treasurer's office have said if Blaine (Davidson) is not retained, they probably will not stay in the office," Linton said. "That can not happen. We need the treasurer's office to be open and functioning, period."

The third commissioner, Andrew Davidson, was sworn in on Jan. 3 before the meeting. Andrew and Blaine Davidson are brothers, although the commissioner was not sworn in for any meetings before the Jan. 3 gathering and was not part of the appointments to the treasury.

"This is not a political thing," Linton said. "It's not Democrats vs. Republicans. One of those employees whose appealed to the Democratic party is a Democrat."

A representative for the Hocking County Democratic Party declined to comment.