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Sunday, December 05, 2004 - 05:37 PM
Future of HCRP juggles many jobs; makes it look easy
By Michael D. Altman
Beginning nearly 16 months before the election with State Sen. Mark Mallory’s declaration of his candidacy this past July, the 2005 mayoral race is turning out to be the first to generate the kind of enthusiasm commensurate with the newly expanded powers of the office.
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“Hey!” Hartmann warmly exclaims, introducing his friend who is in from out of town. The two have just come from a Bengals preseason thumping of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots after a week of having a microphone anchoring his lapel for a feature on the Today Show about the Bush campaign. Greg is chairing the Bush grassroots effort in Hamilton County, which alone is an exhausting idea, particularly as a Republican in Hamilton County.
Presidential campaign coordinator, Clerk of (the) Court of Common Pleas, father, husband, young leader in the Hamilton County Republican Party. This guy’s always on.
At the office he’s microphoned for national television. So it goes everywhere else, walking from and to appointments, at the Bengals game, every word on the record… and when he sits down for a drink, there’s a reporter over his shoulder. When all that is over, he has to actually coordinate the grassroots campaign for the president. Or, is it supposed to be the other way around? Nonetheless, Greg’s composure suggests that everything is in its right place.
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Before Greg was chosen, nobody had ever led an effort like a grassroots campaign for a national election in the organization obsessed Republican party.
“The grassroots thing (was) unprecedented,” his voice draws slowly, confidently, very lax. A hint of his Texas origin causes his words to, sort of, melt into the night air.
“We have 5,000 volunteers and want to make 5,000 phone calls per night. We have 600 neighborhood captains. We want to try to touch as many voters as possible. It’s a lot more like a local campaign,” he casually states.
Tara Kriss, executive director of the Hamilton County Republican Party (HCRP) believes that Greg is a unique talent in the party. “Greg embodies personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility. His stand on abortion and work ethic are a good face for the Republican Party, locally and nationally.” His youth and experience anchors the young and vital aspects of the HCRP to the established conservative forces of the party.
Greg, having been executive director of the HCRP until 2002, serves as a role model for the up and coming generation of the party while continuing to pull from the wisdom of his predecessor.
Kriss continued, “I still seek him for advice, we have a good working relationship…he’s in the private sector, he’s a lawyer, he knows the institutions. He’s volunteered for Chabot, done advance work for Bush, he knows what he’s doing and how to share that experience.”
James Cissell, who served as Hamilton County Clerk of Courts from 1992 to 2003 says that their relationship with Hartmann’s office is “very positive.”
“We’re very compatible. Alex [Triantifilio, Clerk of Courts administrator] will call over to see what kind of advise we have to offer. If we can help, we do,” said Cissell.
The Clerk of Courts is an elected position that is held in each county in Ohio. The first Hamilton County Clerk of Courts was William Henry Harrison who went on to be elected the ninth president of the United States. In fact, he was Clerk when he was elected president in 1840.
Greg’s position entails organizing and maintaining all documented records of the Court of Common Pleas and other appellate courts among other scattered responsibility which include administration over making arrests, issuing subpoenas, transporting prisoners and traffic and auto title divisions of the office.
Under Hartmann and Cissell’s direction, the office of Clerk of Court of Common Pleas has moved the record availability on-line. It has involved the process of converting all the records to computer form, resulting in an available repository for all court records.
Hartmann, a graduate of Washington and Lee University (BA) and Pepperdine law School, managed west coast operations for Airline Distribution, Inc. in between. Then in 1999, he came to Cincinnati, joining the Prosecutors office an assistant prosecuting attorney. He then became HCRP executive director before being appointed and then Clerk of Courts.
His experience, age and ability to work with the people and the party in unparallel ways are why Hartmann looks to be a key player in the future of the Republican Party in Hamilton County and beyond.
Links
· SmartVoter.com --- “Greg Hartmann answers questions”
· Cincinnati Enquirer --- “Experience, GOP dominance at issue in county clerk race”
· Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Website
Contact Information
· michaelda@queencityforum.com
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