The Crawford County Democratic Party is under new leadership. Former Crestline Village Councilman Allen D. Laferty has been elected to serve as the new party chair.

He succeeds Wanda Sharrock, who has been chair since 2019. Other officers are Vice Chair Pat Hargis, Secretary Seth Bennett and Treasurer Bob Guinther.

A graduate of Crestline High School and veteran of the U.S. Army, Laferty has been a home builder and renovator for 43 years. He served on Crestline Village Council from 2015-22 and has been on the Crawford County Central Committee since 2022. As a member of the Habitat for Humanity board for 10 years, he supervised the building of four homes in Crawford County.

Laferty is a member of the Crestline United Methodist Church, where he has been involved in local, district, and national conferences.

Hargis previously served as both vice chair and secretary. She is a retired science educator, teaching for a year at Cincinnati Woodward High School, 34 years at Crestline, and 10 years at Bucyrus High School. Working part-time at North Central State College for the past two years, Hargis explained her job as helping people navigate the processes of becoming a practical nurse or a registered nurse.

Hargis has been a lifelong Democrat who started to actively campaign for candidates in 2008.

Bennett said, “I’m a proud Ohioan, originally from Hilliard, grew up in Fredericktown, and have now been residing in Bucyrus since 2021. I’m an independent healthcare provider for my wonderful partner. She and I have been attending the Democratic meetings here for almost two years now, but this is my first year on the Central Committee. Hoping to make a difference for the betterment of Bucyrus and Ohio as a whole.”

Guinther, a retired teacher and farmer, said, “By definition, democracy only works if people are involved. Nearly 25 years ago, local political activist Maggie Barth told me that if I wanted to get involved, I should run for Central Committee. I took her advice and a few years later I was appointed treasurer.

“I choose to be a Democrat because of people like Presidents FDR, JFK, LBJ, Carter, Obama, and Biden, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, Ohio Senators John Glenn and Sherrod Brown, Congressman Tip O’Neil and John Lewis, and local politicians Burnell Shumaker and Barth. These people have stood and fought for that which I highly value, and I try to stand with them.”

The Crawford County Central Committee meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the county engineer’s office on Whetstone Street in Bucyrus.

Submitted by the Crawford County Democratic Party.