Committee members selected Uible from nine other candidates who also expressed interest in joining Bob Proud and Ed Humphrey on the board of county commissioners.
Uible earned 52 percent of 157 committee members votes, and the majority vote also signified the party’s endorsement of Uible for the general election.
“The whole thing was just surreal,” Uible said about earning the appointment.
Uible, who was defeated by Barbara Wiedenbein in the primary election for Clermont County Clerk of Common Pleas, said he did not seriously seek the commissioner position until after the primary election was over.
Uible said at that point, he started receiving an increasing number of phone calls from members of the central committee urging him to consider expressing his interest in the appointment.
“I thought, ‘Maybe there is something here,’” Uible said. “I had a discussion with my wife, and Monday morning, I notified the chairman.”
While other candidates had already introduced themselves to committee members, Uible had only a few days before the meeting to appoint a new commissioner.
“This was truly a grassroots effort,” he said. “I made no calls. The people who contacted me said if I were to run they would make the calls.”
At the March 14 meeting, committee members heard from each of the 10 candidates, who were given three minutes to introduce themselves and re-iterate their interest and qualifications for the position of commissioner.
Candidates for the position included Doug Auxier of Batavia Township, Dave Bednar of Loveland, George Brown of Jackson Township, John Donohoo of Miami Township, Allen Freeman of Pierce Township, Gary Knepp of Milford, Jack Kuntz of Goshen Township, Doug Thompson of Pierce Township, Ken Tracy of Miami Township and Uible of Ohio Township.
After hearing from each candidate, committee members cast their votes and totals were calculated for each candidate. Three rounds of ballots were passed out before Uible obtained the majority vote, however, he received 61 votes after the first round of votes were counted.
Ken Tracy received the next highest number of votes and Doug Thompson received the third highest number of votes.
“I couldn’t believe that first round of voting,” Uible said. “I didn’t know I would be up three-to-one.”
Uible received several more votes after the second ballot was passed out and received the majority of votes after the third ballot.
Uible said he was flattered and humbled not only by the decision of the central committee to appoint him, but also by the actions of Jack Kuntz, who asked committee members to vote for Uible instead of him during his time to speak.
“I couldn’t believe that,” Uible said. “That is probably the highest compliment anyone has ever paid me.”
Uible said he has both financial planning and strategic planning experience, and he owns a business that specializes in helping other companies reduce debt and improve services. He graduated from Purdue University and did graduate work at both Xavier University and University of Cincinnati.
He also owns and operates a buffalo farm in Ohio Township.
Uible said his primary focus for the county will be confronting budget issues, managing services in the county and also developing new ways to find revenue.
He said his first priority, however, is to learn as much as he can about the position when he takes office so he can make the best decisions moving forward.
“I just want to be a big sponge,” Uible said. “There is a learning curve and I want to soak up as much information as possible and try to be productive.”