Ben Konop

Ben Konop
Lucas County Commissioner, Ohio
In office 2007–2011
Preceded by	Maggie Thurber
Personal details
Born	March 1, 1976(1976-03-01) Sylvania, Ohio
Political party	Democratic
Profession	Visiting Professor, University of Toledo Law School

Ben Konop is a former Lucas County Commissioner. He was a candidate for Mayor of Toledo, Ohio in 2009, as well as the Democratic Party candidate in Ohio's 4th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in 2004. He was a part-time law professor at Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law and the University of Toledo College of Law.

Early life

Konop was raised in Lucas County. He attended Whiteford Elementary School and Ottawa Hills High School, where he played varsity basketball and baseball. Konop's father is a Toledo lawyer. "We talked about politics around the kitchen table," Konop told The Blade. "Obviously, I had a strong Democratic upbringing." Konop has Democratic political roots that trace back to his volunteering on the then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992. Then at the age of 17, he was appointed by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur to serve as a page for the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Konop received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. During his time at Emory, Konop was a varsity letterwinning basketball player. He has also studied history and literature at Oxford University in England. In 2000, Konop received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. After graduating from law school, Konop moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP where he was an associate. He was also booed at one campaign press conference, which was cited by Slate as an example of how not to respond to a heckler [11].

Political career

Representative campaign

In 2004, Konop ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley (R., Findlay) in Ohio's heavily Republican Fourth Congressional District. Despite being outspent 10 to one, Konop garnered the highest vote total of any Congressional challenger in the state of Ohio. He was the first federal Democratic candidate since 1932 to carry Allen County.

Commissioner Campaign

After the 2004 election, Konop returned to Lucas County to teach at the University of Toledo College of Law. In 2006, he defeated two challengers in a Democratic primary for Lucas County Commissioner on May 2, 2006. Konop received 47 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. His opponents, Tim Wagener, the mayor of Maumee, and Phil Copeland, a Toledo City Councilman, received 27% and 26% respectively. Konop defeated Toledo City Councilman George Sarantou by a wide margin in the general election on November 7, 2006.

After his announcement for candidacy for Lucas County Commissioner, Konop created a written pledge that is located in his office at One Government Center which includes promises that he has kept such as, being open and accessible; donating his income from teaching at the University of Toledo to a scholarship, and implementing evening meetings so working people can attend.

Konop says he is proud of being a “change agent” as he has requested accountability from the Lucas County Improvement Corporation.

Commissioner Achievements

During his time in office, Commissioner Konop fought for change in Lucas County.

Rather than attend the traditional State of the County, Konop decided to instead have an honest dialogue with working-class members of the community. Asked why he opted not to attend the State of the County, Konop stated, "“I cannot, in good conscience, pontificate on the State of the County to campaign contributors, recipients of no-bid contracts, and assorted politicians.” During his meeting with community members at The Source, Konop answered questions from residents about job creation and training in the county while also listening to comments about the economy from those seeking jobs.

Konop helped to eliminate the use of no-bid contracts by introducing a resolution that ended the practice of awarding contracts worth more than $5,000 for professional services without a formal bid process. Konop called for all county commissioners' departments to seek three proposals or qualifications for professional services. Additionally, the resolution forced all departments to submit itemized documentation for the services that were provided during each billing period.

Believing that it was time for new voices from other racial, gender, and socioeconomic backgrounds to be heard on the Lucas County Planning Board, Konop voluntarily stepped down from his position on the Planning Board to allow community members to apply for the post. Konop wanted someone who represented the working-class and middle-class Lucas County to fill his spot on the Planning Board. Adding some diversity to the board, Mr. Jim Snodgrass, Jr., was chosen to replace Konop.

Konop pushed for the passage of an anti-discrimination resolution that included protections for county employees against discrimination for sexual orientation or gender identity. Konop believed that the resolution was not only the right thing to do from a moral perspective, but it was the right thing to do from a job-creating perspective as well. He cited social science research that has shown that a community that is more diverse is more successful economically and felt that passing the resolution would be "a small step toward making our community known nationally as one that is inclusive."

Konop instituted a microchip scanning for dogs to help return lost pets to their owners. About 8,000 dogs were scanned for microchips. Konop also fought for Toledo's Dog Warden, Tom Skeldon to resign, due to his questionable practices running the Dog Warden's office. Skeldon retired in January 2010. Since Skeldon’s exit, there have been 407 fewer dogs killed than in 2009 and 939 fewer than in 2008. In November 2009, Konop made a successful motion to adopt a moratorium that would ban the Dog Warden from killing puppies, including Pit Bull puppies, at least through 3 months of age.

Post Commissioner

After deciding not to run for reelection in 2010, Konop served the remainder of his term and then traveled to Southeast Asia to study Buddhism. Later, Konop was employed as a columnist for the Pulitzer Prize winning Toledo Blade newspaper where he covered the Detroit Tigers, Bob Dylan’s first ever concerts in China and Vietnam, and the first 2011 Republican Presidential debate in New Hampshire.

Controversy

Konop's campaign for County Commissioner was notable for two ethics pledges he has now broken, causing critics to question his character.^{[citation needed]} In a pledge he created and demanded his opponents sign, Konop stipulated that elected officials should "serve the full duration of their terms" and not seek higher office during that term.^{[citation needed]} Konop called this pledge his "contract with voters" and said "citizens deserve complete accountability from their public officials."^{[citation needed]} Since then, Konop has broken both of these pledges in an attempt to seek higher office.^{[citation needed]} Konop has refused to resign his commissioner seat or repay the tax dollars he continues to collect, as some critics have said he should do.^{[citation needed]}

During his tenure as commissioner, he was caught driving without auto insurance and was forced to settle out of pocket after causing an accident.^{[citation needed]} In addition, Konop cast a critical vote against permitting a large Baptist church from building a new facility in a rural township. The vote angered many members of the local religious community.^{[citation needed]} In January 2007, Konop voted to raise taxes on the lodging industry in Lucas County.^{[citation needed]}