Just how much money is involved in a Marion County Commissioner primary? Well, here’s the campaign finance figures from the last Republican commissioner primary race, which was held back on 03/19/2024. I’d show the numbers for the Dems, but they didn’t run a candidate that year (or this year). The top three contributors for each […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Although it hasn’t come up yet, if history is a guide, depending on who wins the upcoming Republican primary for Marion County Commissioner on May 5th and becomes your next member of the three-person board, taxpayers may soon find themselves paying more in taxes to continue funding excessive spending by county government. Current Marion County […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Back in March 2024, there were two seats open on the Marion County Board of Commissioners. longtime Republican incumbent Andy Appelfeller was challenged by Tim Mooney, while incumbent Kerr Murray was challenged by Kevin Davidson and Jason Schaber. As you can see from the results, Appelfeller retained his seat on the board, defeating Mooney by […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Forget about Flock! Marion area law enforcement has been using high tech spy drones since 2023! With all the recent discussion about Marion’s use of Flock surveillance cameras, let’s not forget that around the same time that both Marion County Sheriff Matt Bayles and Marion Police Chief Jay McDonald were installing 34 cameras throughout the […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
On the 3rd of May 2022, challenger Mark Davis defeated three-term incumbent Ken Stiverson, as well as another challenger, Jason Schaber, in the Republican primary for Marion County Commissioner. It was an extremely close election with Davis beating out Stiverson by only 56 votes. Schaber, who was at the time serving on Marion City Council, […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
If you’re going to rebuke someone, go ahead and identify them when you do it. I mean, what’s the point in an anonymous rebuke? Honestly, it’s kind of a tease. As you can see, someone over at the Marion County Republican Party is madder than a fox cornered by hounds on a hot summer day […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Perhaps it’s a sign of the times in Marion County, but both the Republican and Democratic parties are really having a difficult time recruiting people to run for elected office. Just take a look at their central committee rosters. There’s a lot of vacancies. A political party’s county central committee plays an important role in […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Marion County currently has 34 Flock surveillance cameras, with approximately 20, according to a 2023 report, located within the city of Marion. Here’s a map of Marion County that shows the known locations of half of the fixed situs Flock cameras located in the county. Every time a vehicle passes by one of these cameras, […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Three days ago, the ole Swamp Fox drafted up ten questions to be posed to the four Republican primary candidates for Marion County Commissioner: Jason Schaber, Tim Mooney, Christy Neff and Ken Stiverson. Mr. Schaber is the first and only candidate to respond, so far. These folks are facing off in the Republican primary, which […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Following Monday night’s contentious city council committee meeting, Major B.J. Gruber, the Operations Commander for the Marion Police Department, issued the attached statement in which he denied the allegation that the city’s Flock surveillance cameras were used to track protestors attending the “No Kings” rallies held in downtown Marion on June 14th and October 18th, […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
During last night’s Marion City Council committee meetings, the guest speaker was a representative of Flock Safety, the company that supplies the city and county’s 34 license plate surveillance cameras that have been in place since 2023. The contract with Flock will be expiring this year and with both the city and county facing substantial […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
By special request from a few loyal followers, the Swamp Fox started digging into the financials of Marion City Schools. Man… why is it that EVERY SINGLE GOVERNMENT ENTITY is being fiscally irresponsible and spending beyond it means!? The Swamp Fox is wearing himself out, folks. He can’t keep this up. There’s way too much […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Remember the good old days when schools were filled with a bunch of students, a good number of teachers, and a few administrators? Nowadays, it seems most schools are filled with fewer students, about the same number of teachers, and an exorbitant number of administrators. Education in 21st century America is less about teaching and […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
You asked for it, so the Swamp Fox delivered it! Here’s a breakdown of the contributions received by the campaign committees of Marion and Morrow county’s state legislators. Keep in mind that both OH state senators and OH state representatives are currently paid an annual salary of $73,609.00. Reineke, as the president pro tempore of […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
In addition to putting the pressure on State Senator Bill Reineke (R-26th District), who represents both Morrow and Marion counties, and State Representatives Riordan McClain (R-87th District) and Tracy Richardson (86th District), be sure to put some sustained political pressure on the commissioners of Morrow and Marion counties between now and October to get them […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
For all of you living in southwestern Morrow County and southeastern Marion County, who are at risk of losing your homes and your way of life as a result of this highway, here’s your current and future Ohio State Representatives: Riordan McClain and his daddy, Jeff McClain. Father and son McClain both reside in Wyandot […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
By now, most of you have probably heard about the state of Ohio’s plan to construct a new highway that connects I-71 at Marengo in Morrow County with US-23 north of Waldo in Marion County. This whole scheme, which will likely result in the state using eminent domain to confiscate the homes and land of […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The Swamp Fox’s pointy little fur covered ears were burning tonight, as he heard his name brought up during budget discussions at the regular session of Marion City Council. A courageous citizen addressed council and asked why the city’s proposed expense budget for 2026 actually increases expenditures over 2025 instead of cutting them by the […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The Swamp Fox wants to apologize for using such similar headlines for these budget articles, but it’s literally the same story over and over again with each city department it seems. Or at least with the costly ones who are represented by powerful unions (FOP/OLC, IAFF, AFSCME, and USW). The whole goal of this fiscal […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Here’s a rundown of the property tax levies that will appear on the ballot in Marion County on May 5th. If you live in Marion Township, Waldo Township, Richland Township, or Pleasant Township, your respective fire departments all want more money. It’s like the Notorious B.I.G. said, “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” Well, that’s true for […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The ole Swamp Fox has been digging deep into the budgets for each of the city of Marion’s departments, so don’t think that he’s picking on the police or doesn’t “Back the Blue.” Underneath that furry coat of red and white, he’s got a blue stripe tattoo to show his support for those who protect […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Here’s a breakdown of actual expenses for Marion Area Transit (MAT) between 2023 and 2025, alongside the projected expenses for the first 2026 budget that was proposed on 11/17/2025 and the most recent revised 2026 budget (version #4 if you’re keeping track) that is up for consideration by council. As you can see, despite the […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Following the recent resignation of the city’s Director of Public Service, Mike Bodine, and in an effort to save money and increase efficiency during this period of fiscal distress, the city’s Director of Public Safety, Rob Cowell, has been suggested for the appointment of the newly reconsolidated position of Director of Public Safety & Service. […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The Elephant and the Jackass have taken their turns controlling Marion City Council over the past century, as you can see from this chart that I created showing the political affiliation of the nine elected Marion City council members from 1926 to 2026. Back in Marion’s heyday at the turn of the prior century and […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Allow me to preface this headline by pointing out that the actual budget expense figures for 2025 come from the most recent budget worksheet that has been published on the city’s website. I assume that those figures have been finalized but given the city’s situation with reconciliation and overall accounting, it may not be safe […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
At this point, the city of Marion has proposed three budgets for 2026–with another one being proposed in Finance Committee at tonight’s meeting. There has been a lot of talk about cuts and fee increases, given the city’s present status of fiscal distress, but has the budget really been reduced compared to 2025 as has […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
I’m sure that there’s a reasonable explanation for this, but several years’ worth of recorded minutes for the various committees of Marion City Council have suddenly disappeared from the city of Marion’s website. Until recently, committee minutes (summary of proceedings) going back all the way to 2023 were posted on the city’s website and publicly […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The ole Swamp Fox has heard some folks complaining about the staffing and budget increases of the Marion Police Department in recent years, so he decided to pull some figures to see if there’s any merit to the complaints. As you can see from the attached image, staffing levels in the MPD jumped from 55 […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
There’s been some folks who have been commenting about the pay of city workers, so the Ole Swamp Fox decided to do some digging into the salary and benefits data of the city of Marion over the past few years. According to the Federal Reserve, the national average increase in employment cost (salaries & benefits) […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
If it isn’t clear to you by now that the state of Ohio has been targeted by powerful interests to turn our state into one big resource-draining, environment-polluting industrial hellscape, then you’re probably beyond hope. Consider this, for example. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has proposed granting a 5-year permit to data centers so that […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Finding itself in fiscal distress, the city of Marion is faced with some difficult choices, being pressured by the Ohio Auditor of State to either fix the financial mess on their own or else the state of Ohio will take over management of the city. Among the city’s fiscal challenges is an $8.9 million dollar […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
With the city of Marion currently considering the elimination of the 100% income tax credit provided to city residents who work elsewhere and pay income taxes to another municipality, now is a good time to share the story of how Marion came to have an income tax. Prior to the 1st of June 1959, if […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Marion’s own “Dr. Dolittle,” Commissioner Mark Davis, officially endorsed Ben Weber for the 86th District State Rep race. Dr. Dolittle, as you may or may not know, serves on the Marion County Republican Central Committee. He’s actually the guy who helped announce Weber’s campaign on July 2nd–less than two months after Weber graduated law school. […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
It was a big day for announcements in Marion city politics. Two Marion city councilmembers vacated their seats: Twila Laing (R-4th Ward) and Ron Prater (R-6th Ward). Laing, who currently chairs the critically important Finance Committee, has been appointed by the Marion County Republican Central Committee as the city of Marion’s new treasurer. Laing will […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
He wants to make it clear: The Swamp Fox doesn’t have some axe to grind with any individual politician in Ohio–with the exception of Mike DeWine. That being said, when he researches campaign contributions, he can’t help but get a little fired up. Take, for example, our very own 86th district State Rep race. Can […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
A little political satire never harmed anyone. Average Ohioans don’t want Big Money buying off its politicians. Average Ohioans don’t want Big Business building behemoth data centers that have an unquenchable thirst for energy and water, all the while getting tax breaks from their stooges in Big Government. They get tax breaks, water and energy […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
The Swamp Fox has broken it all down for y’all, after analyzing the campaign finance reports filed with the Ohio Secretary of State, so be sure to check out those charts for all the potentially swampy details! This position will represent all of Union County as well as Prospect, Pleasant and Marion Townships–including the city […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Pending petition validation and certification by the Marion County Board of Elections on February 17th, here are your Republican candidates for Marion County Commissioner. One of these four individuals will be elected to replace current commissioner Mark Davis, who did not file to run for re-election, and will serve alongside commissioners Andy Appelfeller and Kevin […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Takeaways from tonight’s Marion City Council meeting: 1) The enhanced cybersecurity ordinance passed unanimously. Among other things, the City’s IT manager is supposed to be implementing a new ticketing system for all work orders. Amazingly this wasn’t being done. 2) Ordinance authorizing the Auditor or the Budget Director to contract with a third party to […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
WHO’S TO BLAME? Following a well-publicized, scandalous two-year legal ordeal, the people of the city of Marion are engaged in the usual finger pointing that follows in the wake of such incidents. Despite losing his job and suffering a severe loss of reputation in the community, former Democratic City Councilman Ayers Ratliff was found not […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Kent Halloran, who has resided in the city of Marion since 2022 and recently ran an unsuccessful campaign as a write-in candidate for one of the at-large positions on Marion City Council, has announced that he is running in the Democratic primary for the 86th District State Representative position currently held by Republican Tracy Richardson. […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
Within a year of the disappearance and murder of 17-year-old Catherine Conley in 1979, Marion was shocked by the disappearance and probable murder of 15-year-old Lori Ann Robinson. As with the murder of Conley, the late-Dana Slane, who was recently indicted by a Grand Jury in Morrow County for her murder, had a close connection […]
Written by Swamp.Fox
On the 1st of June 1979, 17-year-old Catherine Louise Conley went missing. Around 8:45 pm that evening, the resident of 217 Windsor Street departed her family home and walked to the Kroger grocery store formerly located on S Main Street near the intersection with Columbia Street, in order to purchase formula for her six-month-old baby […]