Commissioners Leslie Osche and Kevin Boozel were perhaps quieter than usual at their Wednesday, Feb. 26, public meeting, but a keen eye and some knowledge of the previous day’s social media sensation were needed to notice the fractures within the three-person board.

The day before, Boozel had posted to his Facebook page in an effort to let the public know about the divisive nature that he says exists within the board — comprising two Republicans and one Democrat — which is tasked with leading the county.

“It’s with a heavy heart I feel the public needs to know the decisive nature of my fellow Commissioner Leslie Osche has continued to promote slanderous behavior and divisive political radicalism,” Boozel said in the Tuesday Facebook post. “I would question her ability to serve you and would call for her resignation.”

Within that post, Boozel, the lone Democratic commissioner, then shared a “secret message” sent from Osche to a local business owner, Scott Docherty.

“I am responding on my private email because of what I am about to say,” Osche, a Republican, wrote in the email, sent from a Gmail account, addressing her involvement with two future events.

She first told Docherty she could not attend an Association for Iron & Steel Technology dinner, and then expressed concern about how Boozel was seen at a Feb. 20 fundraiser sporting a biker jacket and helmet to promote an upcoming motorcycle ride for Corey Comperatore, a Buffalo Township man who was killed when attending the July 13 rally for then-candidate President Donald Trump.

“I cannot stomach the hypocrisy of my colleague who wants to support a motorcycle ride for Corey, when he is directly responsible for the bullying of the Sheriff that led to the death and injury of our citizens,” Osche said. “I will quietly continue to work with him for the sake of our County. But prefer not to subject myself to his antics outside what is necessary.

“I will support your efforts with the ride in other ways and will continue to support AIST at future opportunities, but will have to sit this one out,” she continued. “I had people texting me last night about him walking around that event in a biker jacket and helmet,” Osche said. “If it was about simple political disagreement, it would be different. But knowing what I know. I just can't do it. I am so sorry.”

In a Thursday interview, she clarified that she needs to sit out the association’s dinner due to a conflicting meeting and intends to be involved in other events related to Comperatore.

The Eagle has requested the email via a right-to-know request, but confirmed its legitimacy through all relevant parties prior to publication.

Boozel said it was “disheartening,” but not surprising, to read Osche’s email, which was shared with him by the local business owner.

“It’s about the division that’s being created by her,” he said. “This is not the first, nor will it be the last (divisive statement from Osche), but I dealt with it for nine years, and I think that people need to realize it.”

He referenced a text from July 13 where Osche told him “you will burn in hell” following the assassination attempt. The interaction unfolded after an earlier disagreement about whether or not a contract should have been pursued by the county for providing seven sheriff’s office deputies for security at the rally. Boozel advocated for a contract, while Osche said no contract was needed. She said it was a mutual aid situation and the sheriff agreed; no contract was prepared.

“The first text messages, people were amazed that she did it,” Boozel said. “Well, she does that a lot. She does that stuff where she thinks no one can see. And it happened again.”

He said emails like Osche’s to leaders in business and the community are inappropriate and point fingers unjustly.

While his colleagues, Osche and Commissioner Kim Geyer, limit their digital presence, Boozel says he sees value in connecting with his constituents via social media platforms, but his Tuesday message caused a stir, prompting Osche and Geyer to believe he’d called for Osche’s resignation.

When asked Thursday, Boozel said, “That’s her choice. I really am not.”

He said that it would be on the community to call for her resignation.

When asked about the specific pieces of the social media post, Osche declined to comment, indicating that social media was not the platform for such discussions.

“I don’t do business or relationships in those forms,” she said. “If someone has a problem, I prefer they bring those things to me personally, face-to-face.

She called the platform divisive.

The other Republican commissioner, Geyer, used one of the same words used by Boozel about Osche’s email to describe Boozel’s post: disheartening.

“I was disappointed that Commissioner Boozel would make accusations and take things out of context like that,” said Geyer, who does not have any social media accounts of her own. “It's very disheartening, and just unfortunate.”

Geyer continued, saying she remains focused on serving Butler County.

“I don’t allow myself to get sucked up into the noise and drama elsewhere that occurs, whether it’s on social media or not,” she said. “I’m just too busy. I’m laser-focused on things at task and doing the work that’s necessary here in Butler County.”

Her approach and ask for others? Respect.

“I treat people with respect and work in a respectful manner,” she said. “And it doesn’t mean that … the three of us agree, but we work together.

“And most times people don’t even realize there’s anything wrong because we continue to carry out the mission of the county.”

Within her email to Docherty, Osche said Boozel “is directly responsible for the bullying of the Sheriff that led to the death and injury of our citizens,” but when asked about this Thursday, she cast a wider net over that responsibility.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t think I fought hard enough to make sure there was enough security to keep people safe,” she said. “We all failed.”

She said she doesn’t blame Boozel, but rather feels his actions leading up to and after the July 13 rally exhibit “hypocrisy.”

Asked if she attributed any blame to Boozel, Geyer responded in a similar fashion:

“I think we all share in it,” she said.

“I'm sure, if you’d ask anybody who was there that day … they wish things would have gone differently, and we could have all done something differently to ensure that public safety was at the top priority.”

Boozel said he’s felt that Osche has been deflecting blame onto him and the Democratic Party, but he said he isn’t to blame and did not pressure anyone while expressing his differing opinion.

Sheriff Mike Slupe, who is mentioned within Osche’s email, said Thursday that he was not intimidated leading up the July 13 rally and that his department did its job at the event “above and beyond,” referencing a July 16 Facebook post about his deputies’ work.

“At the end of the day, the decision about how my deputies were going to be used for this rally was made based on need,” he said Thursday.

His department had 13 deputies at the Butler County rally held in October 2020 for Trump, who was president at the time, but only seven at the July 13 rally, according to documents acquired via right-to-know requests.

“They didn’t need 13,” Slupe said Thursday.

In past interviews with the commissioners, Osche criticized Boozel’s request for a contract, indicating the only limiting factor on the sheriff providing “mutual aid” for the rally was the department’s budget. She said, otherwise, the commissioners should have no say there.

“As an elected official, I absolutely try to work within the budget I’m given,” Slupe said. “I try to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars.”

But budget was not a factor in the support he provided on July 13 or Oct. 5 rallies for Trump, he said.

He noted that he has a “very good” board of commissioners at this time.

According to Boozel, Trump wasn’t the only presidential candidate slated to speak in Butler County this election season. The Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential election was also expected to stop in Butler County.

Boozel said he was advocating for a contract related to rally security regardless of party, explaining that a contract would offer transparency for taxpayers.

There was no contract in 2020, but he noted that this time around, Trump was coming as a political candidate, not the current president.

“I only believe that if you’re a campaign candidate, you are responsible for the venues and paying and doing all the things,” Boozel said. “I wouldn’t expect my taxpayers to pay for my campaign events.”

He said he expressed his concerns through “very cordial conversation” in a phone call with the sheriff and when no contract was prepared, he simply expressed his disapproval through text to the sheriff and fellow commissioners.

“My truest intention, out of all of it, was to protect the board of commissioners and the taxpayers. That was my full 100% intent,” Boozel said, noting that he like Geyer and Osche regrets the loss of life at the event.

The July 13 rally for Trump ended abruptly when a gunman attempted to assassinate the now-president. Comperatore died, Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet and two others were injured from the gunfire before the gunman was killed.

Trump then returned on Oct. 5 to the same Butler County venue, one month prior to the November election.

Boozel advocated for a contract on both occasions, while Osche and Geyer called the support mutual aid and fought against having a contract.

“We pay for prevention, or we pay for it on the back end, and because we didn't pay enough in the prevention piece, we’re paying on the back end,” Geyer said.

In separate Thursday interviews, both Geyer and Boozel spoke of what they saw as an “unspoken” agreement between the commissioners.

“I was disheartened because we had a pact … It was a very informal sort of a thing, but from Day One, we chose not to attack personally,” Boozel said.

He said when reading Osche’s email, he felt betrayed. He felt the agreement was broken during the July 13 text exchange, but afterward, he said they had agreed to move on and keep doing the county’s business.

The pact, freshly patched up, was once again broken, he said.

Geyer recalled working for a former commissioner prior to the 2016 election when Osche, Geyer and Boozel were all elected to the board at the same time.

“I was here when there was a lot of acrimony,” Geyer said. “I knew coming into the job that I didn’t want to serve in a capacity that had that kind of working environment, it wasn’t good for the county.”

Former Butler County Commissioners Jim Eckstein, a Democrat, and Dale Pinkerton, a Republican, continued to battle even after leaving office in 2016. Two 2012 lawsuits — one filed by Pinkerton and the other filed by the county personnel director Lori Altman and her husband, Scott — accused Eckstein of defamation. The case ended in 2016, when Eckstein paid Pinkerton and Altman $3,000 each.

Eckstein then filed a suit against the county for reimbursement of legal fees, which was settled in 2020.

“It didn’t serve the taxpayers in their best interest, and it really hurt our county,” Geyer said.

“So much for your professionalism,” Boozel said in a text to Osche following the assassination attempt on July 13. The comment came after Osche told him he “will burn in hell.”

Osche then replied, “You don’t deserve professionalism.”

The exchange ended with Boozel saying, “You’re a piece of work. Grow up.”

When asked Thursday how the commissioners could continue working together, Boozel’s answer was to be professional.

“I will continue to be professional in my workplace. I will work with her. It does not mean that we have to be buddies on the outside,” he said. “I can work with anybody professionally.”

He, Osche and Geyer all pointed to the Wednesday meeting. It happened. They worked together without a fuss.

“Well, we just had a public meeting. That’s the professionalism we have. It’s important to me, and it looks like it’s important to them, too,” Boozel said.

“I'm going to keep moving forward,” Geyer said. “I'm going to continue to work with both Leslie and Kevin and do the best job I can.”

Osche, in addition to speaking about the meeting, drew from her parents’ advice: “Do what you are supposed to do” and “be patient.”

“The path forward is to continue to do good work,” she said. “We are conducting normal business, and normal meetings all of the time. We are moving forward, and we are getting things done.

“We are doing the job we were elected to do.”

But the three won’t come to a consensus on how social media is used in their jobs. Geyer said she doesn’t need validation from social media for her work as a commissioner; Osche said she’s not participating in social media spats; and Boozel said he’ll continue to “ring the public bell” — sparingly, but when he feels county residents need to know what’s happening behind the scenes.

“When it hits you in the face as hard as she did, I think the public has a right to know. And whether it impacts me and her working together, it definitely shows the public that there is a divisive nature — and it is not mine,” Boozel said.

Docherty, who seemingly always has plenty to say when it comes to championing various causes around Butler County, had few words on Thursday.

“The hate has to stop,” he said, otherwise declining to comment on the email he received from Osche or Boozel’s social media post.