By a dozen votes, Bias hangs on to Dem chair spot

The Athens County Democratic Party central committee elected Athens City Council President Bill Bias as party chair Tuesday night over Alan Trout by a vote of 38-26.

The vote had been framed as a referendum on the party establishment versus a reform group, and the establishment won.

Sixty-four members of the 70-member committee attended the party's first central committee meeting after the May 4 primary election, when Democratic Party central committee seats were up for grabs in all of the party's Athens County precincts.

A reform group, A Party for All, had 31 of its endorsed candidates win seats on the committee in the election. A Party for All had endorsed Trout for party chair; however, Trout had requested not to be endorsed, and said he was running as a compromise, one-term candidate.

Bias thanked the committee members for coming out to the meeting.

"We've got a lot of work to do,"� he said. "There's a lot we have to pull together, and I look to all of you to do it. I'm looking to be a chair to everyone. So again, thank you."�

For his part, Trout encouraged the party to now come together.

"To all of the people who supported me, this is your chair,"� Trout said referring to Bias. "Back him. Work for him. Help him."�

Bias had been serving as interim chair following the resignation of former chair Susan Gwinn after her conviction earlier this year on two misdemeanor charges related to campaign finances. Gwinn is appealing her conviction in an effort to have it overturned.

Leaders of A Party for All have based their efforts on opposition to Gwinn and her hardnosed style of running the party, and have characterized Bias as a Gwinn supporter or ally. They have also criticized him for conflicts of interest while serving as Athens City Council president.

Bias has insisted that he is independent and has denied any conflicts of interest relating to his role as administrator of a retirement facility developer operating locally.

In the primary election, A Party for All got 31 of its 53 endorsed candidates elected to the party's 70-seat Central Committee, winning 19 of 44 contested races. In 26 committee races, candidates ran unopposed, some endorsed by the Party for All and others not. Central committee members vote on party business, including the election of a party chair.

Before the vote, each candidate was given an opportunity to address the committee members.

Bias said that the number of new people taking an interest and participating in the local Democratic Party is a good thing.

"I would offer that I feel that I am the best prepared to help Democratic candidates going forward,"� he said. "I have a lot of years of experience running for election myself, helping other Democratic candidates and raising money for them. There is a lot to lose this fall."�

For his part, Trout acknowledged his lack of political experience, but said he would restore respectability to the party.

"Some of the things I want to do are bring honesty back to the Athens County Democratic Party,"� he said. "I want to restore people's faith in the party."�

Trout said he wanted to see financial transparency in the party and the creation of a number of committees to facilitate the conduct of party business.

Committee members also had the opportunity to speak in favor of their preferred candidate for chair.

Alan Swank, a newly elected committee member supported by A Party for All, said that the local Democratic Party needed Trout for these trying times.

"This party has had a turbulent two years, and it's time we restore respect for the party,"� Swank said. "As long as we have party members asking for your vote for leader who are not under indictment, but under suspicion, we have a cloud over this party. And we need to remove it."�

When speaking of suspicion, Swank was referring to the ethical questions that have arisen relating to Bias' dual roles as City Council president and as an administrator for the firm developing a retirement facility on Columbus Road.

Committee member Janet Polzer also spoke on behalf of Trout.

"I believe that the worker bees of the party need to fly under the radar,"� she said. "And I believe that the ears and the eyes and the press and the ink need to be focused on our slate and our platform. And that's why I support Alan Trout."�

Meanwhile, committee member Roxanne Groff, who nominated Bias, rose to speak in support of him.

"I nominated Bill Bias because Bill Bias represents the hardest-working part of the Democrats that have ever existed in Athens County, and that's who the central committee is,"� she said. "I believe that steadfast, forward-leading, hardworking, fundraising abilities are something that needs to be in our chair."�

Committee member Lynn Last Rothstein also spoke in favor of Bias, saying that it isn't fair to equate Bias with Gwinn.

"He has not been implicated in anything, other than journalistic stuff,"� she said. "And we're talking as if the Democrats haven't been successful in Athens. We've been enormously successful."�

After Bias had won the chairmanship, when asked if he would consider some of the proposals for change in the party put forth by A Party for All, he responded, "Sure."�

David Sturbois, who has been involved in A Party for All's efforts, said Wednesday that this has been democracy at work.

"I know that we had more participation in that election than Athens has ever seen before,"� he said. "The people that were there made a choice. We support their choice. And we support the Democratic Party."�

When asked about the discrepancy between 31 Party for All-endorsed candidates on the central committee and only 26 votes for Trout, Sturbois said that several A Party for All committee members were unable to attend, and said that with voting done by secret ballot, nobody knows exactly which side people supported.

Also on Tuesday night, Athens County Commissioner Lenny Eliason was re-elected to his position as treasurer for the party, and committee member George Bain was selected to act as secretary.