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Meet the Commissioners
UNION COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Commissioner Steve Robinson, Commissioner Dave Burke, Commissioner Dave Lawrence
commissioners@unioncountyohio.gov
Commissioner Steve Robinson
President
strobinson@unioncountyohio.gov
Commissioner Steve Robinson was raised on a dairy farm in Union County, Ohio and started a family farm of his own after graduating high school at North Union. He has continued to farm throughout his adult life and currently manages approximately 900 acres of row-crops. He uses conservation techniques with the awareness of how critical it is to maintain these practices. He also owns and maintains a family excavation company he started in 1978 and now includes 3 employees. Much of his excavating business is for producers who wish to employ conservation practices on their land.
Steve has served at local, state, and national levels in various conservation leadership capacities. He began his lifetime dedication to volunteerism as a board member on the Union County Soil and Water District and went on to hold all state offices, all national offices, and eventually served as National President of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. He has always felt a duty to serve and to give back to the people and the land that have given so much to him, his family, and his professional life.
His background as well as the opportunities that he has had to serve on all levels of district management have given him the insight and skills to be an effective leader and active contributor to local government in Union County. No stranger to hard work, making the tough decisions, and being a consistent leader, Steve believes strongly in local grassroots decision-making. He understands that the role of the local government is crucial when considering state and national policy decisions.
Steve and his wife Ann recently celebrated 47 years of marriage. Together they have 3 children, Josiah (Amy), Matthew (Jennifer), and Rebecca (Jeremy Miller). They are blessed with 11 grandchildren. Josiah and Rebecca and their families live in the local area and attend North Union and St. John’s schools and Matthew and Jennifer live in Northern Kentucky with their 3 children. +
2024 President of the Board of Commissioners
American Farmland Trust Advisory Committee
Central Ohio Youth Center (COYC) Board of Trustees
County Risk Sharing Authority Board (CORSA)
Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission (LUC)
Budget Committee
Zoning and Subdivision Committee
Memorial Health Board Liaison
North Central Ohio Solid Waste District (NCOSWD) Board of Trustees
Union County Investment Advisory Board
Union County Soil and Water Conservation District Board Liaison
2019 American Farmland Trust Project Advisory Committee Upper Scioto River Watershed
2003 Recipient of the ODNR Cardinal Award for Conservation Achievement
2001 NACD Strategic Plan Writing Team
2001 NACD Core 4 Implementation Team
2001 NACD Pay to Play Task Force
2001 NACD Farm Bill Implementation Team
2014 – 2021 Church Trustee – Marysville First United Methodist Church
2014 – 2021 National Conservation Foundation Chair
2004 – 2008 Chair, NACD North Central Region
2001 – 2010 Board Member, NACD Board of Directors
2001 – 2003 Past President, OFSWCD
2001 – 2003 Chair, NACD District Operations Committee
1996 – 2000 Member, NACD District Operations Committee
1985 – Present Member, Ohio Farm Bureau
2011 – 2013 National Association of Conservation Districts Past President
2009 – 2011 22nd National Association of Conservation Districts President
1999 – 2001 President, OFSWCD
1997 – 2001 NACD Board of Directors
1988 – 2020 Supervisor, Union SWCD
1985 – 1988 Associate Supervisor, Union SWCD
Commissioner Dave Lawrence
Vice President
Commissioner Dave Lawrence has been a resident of Union County for over 30 years. Dave and his wife Judy have been married for 32 years with two grown children and five grandchildren. Dave was a Columbus police officer for 35 years. During this time, he worked Patrol, SWAT, and Narcotics. Dave served in SWAT for 14 years, 12 years as a sniper. He was a competitive shooter and traveled the United States and the world competing. While in Narcotics, Dave helped start the Bulk Cash Smuggling Unit which interdicted drugs and money from foreign countries. This unit quickly became the most successful unit in the United States.
Dave has a B.A. in Political Science from Capital University. He pursued his M.A. in Homeland Security with a concentration in crisis management, and also pursued a Ph.D. in public policy with a concentration in Homeland Security policy and administration. Dave is currently in the dissertation phase of a doctorate in Biblical Studies.
Dave considers it an honor to serve the citizens of Union County.
2024 Vice President of the Board of Commissioners
Council for Union County Families (CUCF) Board of Trustees
Executive Committee
Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
North Central Ohio Solid Waste District (NCOSWD) Board of Trustees
Policy Committee
NW33 Corridor Group
Union County Airport Authority Liaison
Union County Chamber of Commerce
Union County Community Improvement Corporation
Union County Health Department Board Liaison
Union County Joint Recreation District Board Liaison
Union County Land Reutilization Corporation Board
Union County Records Commission
Commissioner Dave Burke
Commissioner Dave Burke proudly represents the families and communities in Union County. Looking to help improve his community, Commissioner Burke was elected to Marysville City Council in 2002 and became Vice-President of the Council in 2005. In 2008, he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives and was re-elected again in 2010. While in the House, Burke pushed for legislation – now law – that addresses the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in Ohio and helps keep synthetic drugs out of the hands of young Ohioans.
Appointed in 2011 and twice elected (2012 and 2016) as a member of the Ohio Senate, Burke put his extensive knowledge and expertise of the healthcare industry to work as Chairman of the Medicaid Committee. He also served as a member of the Agriculture Committee, Finance Committee, Government Oversight and Reform Committee, Financial Institutions Committee, and Rules and Reference Committee.
Born in Cincinnati, he was adopted by his loving parents in Marion when he was 3 months old. As a child, he attended St. Mary’s elementary and later graduated from Marion Catholic High School. He then went on to graduate from Ohio Northern University with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and later obtained an MBA from Capital University. Commissioner Burke has been married to his wife Donna for 30 years and has two wonderful children, Alexandra and Adam.
President of the Board of Revision
Central Ohio Youth Center (COYC) Board of Trustees
Family Treatment Court Advisory Committee
Juvenile Treatment Court Advisory Committee
Mental Health and Recovery Board
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC)
Midwest US-Japan Association
North Central Ohio Solid Waste District (NCOSWD) Board of Trustees
Tri-County Regional Jail Board of Directors
Union County Council of Governments (UCCOG)
Union County Data Processing Board
Union County Developmental Disabilities Board Liaison
Union County Investment Advisory Board
Union County Land Reutilization Corporation Board
Yorii Friendship Committee
Commissioner Elect Tom McCarthy
Commissioner Elect Tom McCarthy previously served as a Union County Commissioner from 1997 to 2010, where he and his fellow commissioners and other elected officials took the lead in creating plans of action and policies improve services to its residents.
For more than 40 years, Commissioner Tom McCarthy has been a successful businessman and community leader in Union County. In 1999, he founded McCarthy & Cox Retirement and Estate Specialists, an institution that provides professional and independent advice helping its clients enjoy a life of financial independence. He also is founder and president of Second Chances of Union County, a Christian and community based thrift store that specializes in good quality home goods, furniture and clothing, with the purpose of serving those in need, helping create jobs for adults with disabilities and helping people integrating back into the community.
Additionally, Tom has served on a number of community boards and committees, including the board of directors of Care Train of Union County, Memorial Health Foundation, Union County Foundation, the Union County Chamber of Commerce and Marysville Schools.
Tom resides in Marysville with his wife Amy. They have three adult children, Michael, Megan, and Matthew, and five grandchildren, Ben, Elizabeth, Liam, Amelia and Walter. He looks forward to using his experiences to meet today’s challenges facing Union County.
