Candidate Guide - Wayne Township Trustee - Diane E. Colvin

As you prepare to vote in this year's municipal elections, the Western Star compiled answers from candidates. Here are the responses as provided. All typos and grammar mistakes, if any, are in the original responses.

Headshot provided by candidate

Education: Bachelor of Science (Computer Science), Minor in Math

Current employment: Wayne Township

Office Sought: Wayne Township Trustee

Why are you the best suited for this position? (150 words)

I was elected to this Trustee position 4 years ago. I now have experience in what it takes to efficiently run our township goverment and know where all of our funding comes from and what it is spent on. Having continuity in our government officials is important to keeping operations running smoothly. Additionally, with my background in technology and Lean Six Sigma methodology, this has helped us move many of our township's outdated practices forward.

What are your top three areas of focus for your position?

1) Protect our Rural Character, 2) Ensure transparency, 3) Improve our township services

What specifically are you going to do for each of your top three topics? (200 words)

1) Vote on the best zoning code to protect our rural lifestyle, keeping the 2 acre minimum

2) Continue to openly and honestly answering citizen's questions.

3) Continue to evaluate/improve our services -(Fire/EMS, Roads & Zoning) by always questioning and challenging status quo

If you are an incumbent, what is your best accomplishment?

If you are a challenger, what do you think needs to change from the current situation?

NOTE: She is an incumbent.

Within the first few months of my term in 2022, I requested and we adopted a change to our zoning which eliminated a contentious section known as Village Transitional Planned Unit Development, which would have allowed much more housing units than our standard zoning.

What are your qualifications for this position? (150 words)

Besides my college education and 30 years of experience as a data modeler and data professional, I am a researcher at heart. Nothing challenges me more than people asking me questions that I am driven to find an answer to. I also have a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, which uses statistics to find the root cause of a problem and fix it.

Property tax is one of the top issues for local residents. What are your thoughts on the current property tax issues? (150 words)

Property tax is a hot button, for sure. Government services, such as road maintenance, snow removal and emergency services do not come free, unfortunately. The portion of money that our township receives from property taxes is very minimal. By law, townships are unable to have income taxes, so we rely on property taxes. School taxes account for 70-80% of property taxes. If Ohio would fix school funding, it would solve everything.

State laws often impact our county and the funding of local project depends on the state budget. What is your relationship with the local state representatives and senator? (100 words)

I am an active member of our state and Warren county Township Association. I am currently serving as the secretary of our Warren County chapter. As such, we have an annual meeting with our local elected officials, as well as our state representatives to exchange information, concerns and needs of our community. I also have directly asked them for help/information with no hesitation.

How have you been involved in the community outside of politics?

I am an active member of the Ohio Horseman's council and am a past treasurer of Warren county OHC. I volunteered many hours at Caesar's Creek and Caesar's Ford parks sawing trees and performing trail maintenance.

Are you running as a slate or as a team with any of the other candidates? (Not required)

Is there anything else you want the voters to know about you?

I have been a resident of Wayne Township for 34 years and my family roots are deep here. Being a livestock and farm owner, having open land for future generations to have and see are vital.