Jones seeks second term, touts business background and county savings

Kelly Jones is asking Adams County Republicans for a second term on the Board of Commissioners, arguing that a business owner’s eye for costs will matter most as the county confronts a jail project, paving work, equipment purchases and other bills that could shape daily life for years.

The May 5 Republican primary is the only contested county commission race in Adams County, with Jones facing Alex Schaffer. That gives the matchup unusual weight in a county of 28,550 people, where commissioners Barbara Moore Holt, Jones and Jason Hayslip will help steer the next round of spending decisions.

Jones said his case rests on more than four decades in the workforce, including three decades as a self-employed businessman who ran multiple businesses. He has cast county government as something that should be run with the same discipline as a small business, with close attention to costs, efficiency and practical problem-solving. That message fits a county government that says fiscal responsibility is part of its stated vision.

During his first term, Jones pointed to the new county dog pound as one of his clearest examples of that approach. County officials announced the new dog and kennel facility in February 2024 for a three-acre site near the Adams County Airport, and later reporting said dogs were moved into the new fully enclosed, climate-controlled shelter in late 2025 after nearly a year of construction. Jones said the project came in under budget, and he has used that result to argue that county spending can be restrained without shortchanging public services.

The dog pound matters beyond politics because it affects the Adams County Dog Warden’s office and the county’s handling of stray and surrendered animals across West Union, State Route 41 and the rest of the county. For Jones, it is evidence that careful bidding and construction oversight can produce a finished project and save money at the same time.

His fiscal pitch comes as commissioners face much larger numbers. Adams County has already been awarded $21,611,312 through the Ohio Jail Safety and Security Program for a new jail project, a major step for a county where the current jail sits in the Adams County Courthouse after a 1975 renovation added jail space. Jones has said that kind of project, along with road paving, equipment replacements and long-term snow removal needs, makes construction contacts and financial experience especially valuable.

Jones, who served as board president in 2026, is presenting himself as the incumbent who has already shown he can manage a project, keep spending in check and prepare the county for the expensive decisions still ahead.