DELAWARE — Delaware County voters will choose a new county commissioner on Nov. 3, picking between Democrat Ryan Grissinger and Republican Renee Vaughan for the seat being vacated by Commissioner Barb Lewis, who is retiring at the end of her term.
The race pairs two very different resumes. Grissinger, 50, of Genoa Township, is making his first run for office after 30 years in business and technology, including a stint as chief technology officer at Roof Maxx; he now runs Polaris Pixels, a technology and AI consulting firm. Vaughan, 55, also of Genoa Township, has served as a township trustee since 2019, leads the Delaware County Township Association, sits on the Ohio Township Association board, and previously spent 15 years as a special education teacher.
Growth is the issue underneath every other issue in one of Ohio’s fastest-growing counties. Grissinger argues that residents feel growth in traffic, housing construction and property taxes, and that the county, cities, villages, townships and school districts too often plan separately even though their decisions affect one another. He says he has spent the year attending commissioner sessions and township meetings and meeting with local officials, and pledges to push for shared information and harder questions before votes are taken.
Vaughan makes the opposite experience argument: six and a half years as a trustee have already put her in the middle of roads, zoning, public safety and budget decisions. She says that hands-on local government work, and the relationships that come with it, would let her step into the commissioner’s job and get to work on day one rather than learning it from scratch.
Data centers produced the sharpest contrast between the candidates. Grissinger, who works in technology, put water first, saying any project seeking county support should publish projected and actual water use, pay for independent testing of nearby water, cover its own infrastructure costs, and accept tax breaks only with enforceable guarantees — with the real company name public from the start and no nondisclosure deals. Vaughan said zoning decisions are best made at the local level, and that a commissioner’s role is to support cities, villages and townships in those calls rather than override them.
On property taxes, both candidates acknowledged how little of the bill the county itself controls. Grissinger noted that most of each tax dollar goes to schools and the career center while the county general fund keeps a small share, and said he supports the developmental disabilities and mental health levies while arguing that growth should pay for itself. Vaughan said she would focus on controlling spending, eliminating waste and broadening the tax base through responsible commercial development so existing homeowners are not asked to carry more.
The winner will join a three-member board where every decision needs two votes. Early in-person voting is already underway at the Delaware County Board of Elections, 2079 U.S. 23 North, Suite 4, and polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.