The November 8 election brought Commissioner Bryan Davis another victory, after the defeat of Democratic opponent Josh Lawson.
Elected in 2014, Davis has continued a mission he says isn’t finished that has touched financial security for the county, outdoor recreation, economic development and more.
Prior to the election, Davis touched base on his reasoning with the Daily Times, explaining, “I’m seeking reelection, because the mission isn’t finished. I firmly believe that, in the first four years, the mission was to right the ship. The county had many years of fiscal woes, a lot of job losses and things like that. We needed to right the ship. When I came in, we literally had $100,000 in carryover. The previous commissioners, Mr. Coleman and Mr. Crabtree started that process. After my first year, we had over a million dollars in carryover and it has only gotten bigger since then. Because of that, we’ve been able to do a lot of projects in the county, but only because the first four years was righting the ship and building a foundation for growth in economic development, our different departments and our overall finances to make sure our house is in order. We had to make sure our expenses were at the lowest level, but, at the same time, making sure our essential services were handled.”
While Davis explained that a positive financial foundation was his first term’s success, development was his second term’s
“The second of the eight years is pretty evident in what we have been able to do in regards of building upon that foundation. We’ve been able to do development—community and economic development,” Davis said. “We’re working with a lot of partners to build out our economic apparatus and doing what we can to build the business parks, construction project, and broadband. We have a lot of projects going on in the county right now with our engineer.”
Davis said having that carry over is necessary for development, not only because it keeps the county in financial stability, but, because it allows them to be competitive when it comes to matching grants.
“Being very, very smart with our money, we’re now able to do a lot of work with our matching grants. If we didn’t have our reserves, we wouldn’t be able to do those things,” Davis said. “My mission now is simple; it is to build on our current successes. I’m not finished. I fully believe that brighter days are ahead of us and that isn’t just a cliché. They truly are.”
Davis said that he sees brighter days ahead because of new industry, new businesses and unprecedented cooperation between the City of Portsmouth and Scioto County.
When asked about his greatest accomplishment, Davis cited the carryover of funds and strong financial practices.
“We have had many headwinds against us, but we’ve remained financially strong. A major job of the Scioto County Commissioners is to oversee the fiscal health of the county. We’ve had the loss of the MCO pact, going through Covid and a pandemic, but still remaining focally healthy. Those have been great accomplishments in my book, because we had great potential for loss, and we still weathered those storms. If we don’t have that financial strength, then we cannot do what we plan for economic development, community development, and broadband access,” Davis said. “We have had surplus all eight strait years, we have had balanced budgets all eight straight years, we’ve had glowing state audits all eight straight years. We’ve had two improvements and upgrades on our credit ratings, we’ve refinanced bonds and saved millions in our fiscal house. We’ve done it right, and, because of that, we’re able to do a lot more.”
Davis said that one major goal he carries, going into his third term is to increase broadband access.
‘I am so honored to be re-elected to a third term as Scioto County Commissioner. Our positive campaign resonated with the voters and we have an exciting agenda for the next 4 years,” Davis said. “Our county is primed for growth and I will continue to do all I can do to propel our county into a bright future for all.”
Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
