Mr. Perales was elected four years ago. A former Beavercreek mayor and city council member, he is entrenched in activities in both Greene and Montgomery counties. In addition to his position on the commission, he has a full-time job with the University of Dayton managing its campus master plan.
Mr. Perales talks knowledgeably about Greene County issues. He understands that, going forward, delivering affordable, plentiful water is an issue that the commission has to keep its eye on. The county's problems in this area are partly due to the housing boom that prevailed until lately; and then there's also the fact that water infrastructure has to continually be updated.
He also says that county government is not customer-friendly enough. He wants county employees to be more sensitive to the fact that navigating the bureaucracy can be frustrating for people who have urgent, as well as mundane, problems.
Mr. Perales' opponent is Cedarville University education professor Eddie K. Baumann. He has not run for office before and makes no complaints against Mr. Perales or about how the county is operated. He laughingly says his friends in conservative Greene County tell him that he probably will be the only Democrat they will ever vote for.
Mr. Baumann is earnest, but he doesn't have the background of community service that Mr. Perales has. That experience matters in government when part of the job is knowing people and being familiar with public issues that are hot in particular communities and in the wider region.
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