BELMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS URGE 'NO' VOTE ON OHIO ISSUE 1

The Belmont County commissioners on Wednesday passed a resolution opposing
Ohio Issue 1, and they urge county voters to vote against the measure.

If passed, the measure would mandate treatment for first and second time
non-violent drug offenses in lieu of incarceration, and it excludes
offenders caught dealing drugs or with a violent criminal history. "Seeing
state Issue 1 as a misguided effort in a state that is leading the nation
in innovative programming to rehabilitate persons afflicted with a drug
addiction, the Belmont County commissioners have passed a resolution
opposing state Issue 1 and urging Belmont County citizens to vote 'no' on
election day," the commissioners said in a released statement.

"Being opposed to Issue 1 doesn't mean the commissioners don't want to see
drug offenders receive treatment, or that we want to see them in jail,"
Commissioner Ryan E. "Rick" Olexo said. "It mean that we support what we
are currently doing in Ohio because it has been proven to work. The facts
also show that very few of the individuals the proponents of Issue 1 claim
would be kept out of jail if Issue 1 passed actually spend time in jail today."

Belmont County Common Pleas Court Judge John Solovan stressed this fact
when he addressed residents at a candidates forum in St. Clairsville this
week. Solovan told the crowd most first-time offenders in Belmont County
are sentenced to the county's drug court program, and that the sentencing
judge oversees the offender's progress in the program.

"Every major Ohio newspaper has written an editorial opposing Issue 1,"
Commissioner Chuck Probst added.

"From the professionals who specialize in this area, to the law enforcement
community and judges, the opposition to this ill-conceived proposal comes
from all corners and is overwhelming. If Issue 1 passes, Ohio's highly
successful drug courts will be destroyed."

Commission President Mark Thomas, also an attorney, said Issue 1 "is
inappropriate for inclusion in Ohio's constitution" and this "is enough
reason to oppose it.

"To legislate through Constitutional fiat is poor public policy," he said.
"Additionally, Ohio law already provides for judges to sentence drug
offenders to treatment programs."

Commissioners fear passage of Issue 1 would weaken the role of judges to
effectively manage drug offenders through drug treatment programs. Issue 1
also would negatively impact the progress that has been made through Ohio's
nationally recognized program of drug courts, they said.