Drewyor would keep politics out of county office

SANDUSKY — Democrat Randy Drewyor said he would keep partisan politics out of the mix if voters choose him as Erie County treasurer this Nov. 5. Drewyor is running against current county treasurer Caleb Stidham, a Republican. He shared his plans on his future for the office if elected on a segment of "Between the Lines" on Tuesday at the Register's Market Street Studio, a program sponsored by Serving Our Seniors and the Greater Sandusky Partnership. People can watch the full 27-minute interview on the Sandusky Register's YouTube channel and sanduskyregister.com. Drewyor's work background includes his current position as treasurer of Perrysburg Schools, located in Wood County southwest of Toledo. He was also formerly the treasurer of Huron Schools. He also has experience running for and securing a seat on an Ohio school board. "When you call someplace home, that means you have to make a commitment," Drewyor said. "I look at our county, we have a very good county that could be better and I feel like my skillset would help move the county ahead." Drewyor said the money in the county coffers is safe, but he does not see a plan in place for county investments. He said current investments span from a short term to four years out, which is a good standard practice. Between the Lines is brought to you by Serving Our Seniors. "You're laddering your investments. But the question is, what's the plan that goes with that?" Drewyor said. "If you got investments four years out, what's the plan?" When it comes to his beliefs on how to run the treasurer's office, Drewyor believes it is important to step away from the politics of Democrat versus Republican. There are different departments and elected officials who come together to make sure the county is running smoothly. Drewyor said to be effective, people must function independently and apolitically. "It doesn't matter if it's a 'D' or an 'R' in that office. Our job is to serve our community," Drewyor said. "The second piece of that is while we are independent, we need to be part of a team. He added: "It ends up being what is best for the community, not what is best for the party," Drewyor said. Drewyor said it was "silly" to engage in partisanship at the local political level and, instead, a person's qualifications should be more important. "The treasurer's office, the auditor's office, we don't set policy," Drewyor said. "We're there to serve the community and protect the finances of the county." Drewyor said there is a situation now where party leadership is heavily involved with county government, which he claimed looks like lines are being blurred. He referred specifically to his opponent, Stidham, who serves as chairman of the Erie County Republican Party alongside being county treasurer. "It's politics for him, not treasurer's office," Drewyor said. Our local Decision 2024 election coverage is sponsored by the Greater Sandusky Partnership.