Just two candidates are competing for Union mayor in the 2022 General Election: incumbent candidate Larry Solomon and current city commissioner Eric Dulaney.
This would be Solomon’s third, and possibly final, term as mayor. He was first elected in 2014 and hopes to see millions of dollars in development completed. In the last year, he and the city commission have approved plans and/or broken ground on multi-million dollar mixed-use developments, like the Grammas Center, Union Promenade, which will include a Cincinnati Children’s Hospital location, and the Union Town Center.
In city commission meetings and at events, Solomon has talked about his plans for retirement. Though, he has not announced when he plans to officially retire. His campaign page encourages voters to select him for “one more term.”
He is a self-described “conservative businessman.” He believes in running the city like a business “with responsible management and solid long-term planning.” He also holds master’s degrees in business and public administration.
Before running for office, he was president of the Hampshire Home Owners Association. He also “worked 30 years in marketing research at Ashland/Valvoline, Procter & Gamble, and Kimberly Clark, as well as seven years for the State of Ohio. A solid mixture of business and public sector service,” according to his campaign page.
Union has grown significantly in the last decade and is on track to have more than 10,000 “within the next four years or sooner,” Solomon reported. The growth in projects and population is why Solomon wants to see another term, to see the projects through.
“I had planned to just serve one or two terms. However, the city is on the cusp [of] truly becoming the larger city we have laid the groundwork for over the past eight years … I would like one more term to complete the job this administration started under my leadership eight years ago,” Solomon said.
Meanwhile, challenger Commissioner Dulaney is a relative newcomer to Union who has served on the commission for almost as long as he’s lived in the city.
A resident of Union since 2014, and a commissioner since 2016, Dulaney was born and raised in Fort Mitchell. There, he served on the public safety committee from 2010 to 2012, then on the code enforcement board from 2012 to 2014. While on the Union City Commission, Dulaney has been involved in efforts to combat the opioid and heroin epidemic.
He is a member of Seven Hills Church and holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Western Kentucky University. He currently works as a shipper/loader for TMK Ipsco in Wilder, a steel pipe manufacturer. He is also a member of the United Steel Workers Union Local 1870.
Dulaney feels the city’s growth is a good thing, but he’s worried it’s happening too quickly.
“The growth has been too rapid. The community needs to pause, take a breath, and absorb the development we currently have in progress,” Dulaney said. “The economic and residential growth certainly can’t be stopped, but we need to take our time and ensure we develop in the way the community expects us to manage it.”
He focused on the Union Town Center, where the city is hoping to create a new city building, community center, and city-wide gathering place. The Town Center will essentially establish a downtown for Union, when it’s completed. The city is in conversations with MKSK, a consulting firm, and Dulaney said this property and other properties targeted for future growth need to be developed carefully.
“There are more areas that can and will be developed in the future, for example the Collett property at the mouth of Mt. Zion Road and U.S. 42. The city does have plenty of space left for development and we need to ensure it’s developed properly in order to serve the residents of Union,” he said.
He said he feels the city needs to take its time in the planning and development of these areas, “which includes ensuring we receive and listen to the feedback from the community. I don’t think it would be beneficial to rush the process and develop the remaining areas precipitously.”
Union will make its decision on whether it’s ready for a change in leadership on Election Day, Nov. 8.