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Mercer County Commissioner Jerry Laffin, right, swears in his successor, Brian Miller.
CELINA - Mercer County Commissioner Jerry Laffin on Thursday afternoon administered the oath of office to his successor, Brian Miller, who will take over on Jan. 2, signaling a changing of the guard and a new era of leadership.
Laffin, a Republican and the longest-serving commissioner in Ohio, announced in January 2023 that he would not seek a 12th term in office. His 44-year reign as county commissioner will come to an end on Jan. 1.
Miller emerged from a three-way primary election in March as the Republican nominee for Laffin's seat. Miller then formally locked in the seat after running unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election.
Before a throng of supporters and the other two county commissioners, Rick Muhlenkamp and Dave Buschur, both Republicans, Miller said it's a great honor to follow in Laffin's footsteps.
"I'm very excited to come in and get started in my new role," Miller told The Daily Standard. "I've been privileged that Rick and Jerry and Dave have accepted me and allowed me to come in. I've been sitting in for over a month, probably … in their meetings."
Having served as a Franklin Township trustee and spent over 32 years in the public sector, mostly with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Miller said he understands a good deal about local government but noted there will be a learning curve.
Some of his top priorities are managing the county's roughly $80 million budget amid a time of slumping sales tax revenue, seeing that the newly former Mercer County Joint Ambulance District gets off to a good start and getting to know the county government's 100-plus employees and ensuring they have adequate support and resources to do their jobs.
"Three years ago I was providing leadership to 14 state parks in southwest Ohio, so I had about a $9 million budget and worked with a lot of different local officials across southwest Ohio," Miller said about his prior role as southwest district park manager for Ohio State Parks and Watercraft.
Miller has been a Montezuma Fire Department volunteer and hunters' education instructor. He's a former member of the Mercer County Ambulance Advisory Board, United Sportsmen of Mercer County and Governor's Cup Regatta Committee.
Additionally, he's a life member of Pheasants Forever and the National Rifle Association and member of the Mercer County Sportsmen's Association, Celina Moose Lodge, Celina American Legion, Lake Improvement Association and Grand Lake Rec Club.
Miller is a lifelong county resident. He and his wife, Michelle, have two children.
Mercer County Commissioner Rick Muhlenkamp is sworn into office for his fourth term.
Muhlenkamp, who also ran unopposed in the Nov. 5 general election, was sworn in for his fourth term in office by Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew Fox.
"Rick Muhlenkamp, actually as of Jan. 3 when he starts his next term, will be the second-longest serving commissioner. There hasn't been a commissioner in Mercer County other than Jerry to go into a fourth term," Buschur said. "He didn't even know that when I told him."
Muhlenkamp said he has learned much from working alongside Laffin the last 12 years.
"Jerry's a great mentor to everybody. His knowledge base is tremendous from those many years of service," Muhlenkamp said. "It's just been truly an honor to work with Jerry and serve with Jerry."
Muhlenkamp believes Miller will serve the county well, too.
"He's had experience not only as a township trustee but working with the state of Ohio for this many years," he said. "He's well-versed in county government as well (as) in that area."
Commissioners are the general administrative body of the county government. They are the county's primary taxing, appropriating and contracting authority.
They are also tasked with providing office space for county departments and agencies, creating and vacating roads, approving drainage improvements, and ruling on requests for annexations and tax abatements.
