The Brown County Conservative Republican Women’s Club hosted its Meet the Candidates forum on Wednesday, March 18 at Southern Hills Career and Technical Center in Georgetown, giving candidates a chance to speak publicly for three minutes each ahead of the May 5 Primary/Special Election.
Zachary Alan Corbin, who has served as the Brown County Prosecutor in recent years, is running for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (General Division) in Brown County this year. Corbin was the first to take the podium during the March 18 Meet the Candidates event.
“I am currently your elected prosecuting attorney. I have been at the prosecutor’s office since 2012. I’ve been your elected prosecutor here in Brown County since 2016. Actually, elected in ‘16 and took office in 2017. In that time, over the last 13 to 14 years in the prosecutor’s office, I have prosecuted thousands of cases.”
“I have tried more jury trials here in this county over the last 15 years than any other attorney,” said Corbin. “I’ve been in that courtroom, I know the courtroom forward and backwards. I’ve prosecuted cases, not only here in Brown County, (but) I’ve prosecuted cases in Clermont County, Adams County, Highland County; and in that time I’ve learned a lot,” said Corbin. “I’ve learned things that work, and things that don’t work. And I’ve had the opportunity to be in front of a lot of judges.”
“The integrity, the judgment, the temperament, the disposition that I brought to the prosecutor’s office is what I now hope to take to the bench,” said Corbin.
Also taking the podium were two Republican candidates (Frank Fussnecker and Paul Riley) who are vying for a chance to move on to the 2026 General Election in November in the race for one seat on the Brown County Board of Commissioners.
Riley was first of the two Republican commissioner candidates to take the podium for the March 18 Meet the Candidates event.
“I’ve gone from village to village talking to people and listening to people, and the thing that comes up over and over and over (it comes across both party lines, it’s not a Republican or a Democrat issue) is the simple lack of transparency throughout this county,” said Riley, who grew up in the Bethel area. “Now, I know a lot of people are not real fond of the methods that I have brought to the table to try and bring this to the attention of the masses, but sometimes (every once in awhile) you have to stir things up a little bit to get the light to actually see through to what’s going on within the county.”
Riley has not held a seat in public office, but did attempt a run for commissioner in Brown County around 10 years ago as an independent.
Fussnecker has served as a Franklin Township Trustee in recent years.
“I was born and raised in Brown County, lived on a farm on the south side of Ripley in my childhood and proud to be a graduate of Ripley-Union-Lewis High School. I have successfully run a family farm operation for many years now and I am currently on my seventh term as a township trustee in Franklin Township.”
“I believe that my skills that I have learned in leadership as a township trustee will help me to make a good commissioner,” said Fussnecker.
“As commissioner, one of my goals would be to try to bring strategic economic development into Brown County. We need better jobs,” said Fussnecker.
During his time as a township trustee, Fussnecker said he has had the opportunity to work with other elected officials in the county, experience he feels will help him in his duties if elected as a Brown County Commissioner.
“Our county needs good, common sense leadership, and I hope you will give me the opportunity to bring that to the board,” said Fussnecker.
Also among those taking the podium to speak was Val Lewis II, incumbent candidate for Judge of Brown County Court of Common Pleas (Probate Division).
Although he’s running unopposed in the upcoming election, Lewis felt there was no place he’d rather be than speaking to the residents of Brown County during the Meet the Candidates event.
“I thought about the people that were going to be here and I thought about my obligations to Brown County, and I realized there’s nowhere I would rather be than here tonight with you all,” said Lewis.
“I believe you should vote for people who aren’t just problem identifiers. There’s a lot of them out there. They stomp their feet, they go online, they text a lot of things, they complain in the paper; but they never have solutions. Solutions are what this job and these jobs are looking for. And I hope in my capacity as the judge, I’ve been able to come up with some solutions that help the people of Brown County.”
Early Voting Hours May 5, 2026 Primary Election Information
In Person Early Voting Hours
• Tuesday, April 7, 2026 – Friday, April 10, 2026 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Monday, April 13, 2026 – Friday, April 17, 2026 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Monday, April 20, 2026 – Friday, April 24, 2026 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
• Monday, April 27, 2026 7:30 am to 7:30 pm
• Tuesday, April 28, 2026 7:30 am to 8:30 pm
• Wednesday, April 29, 2026 – Friday, May 1, 2026 7:30 am to 7:30 pm
• Saturday, May 2, 2026 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
• Sunday, May 3, 2026 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
May 4 – Absentee Ballot U.S. Postmark Deadline
May 5 – Primary Election (Polls Open 6:30am-7:30pm)