Commissioner Bryan Davis Must Resign

Statement from the Scioto County Democratic Party

October 2, 2025

Commissioner Bryan Davis must resign.

On August 22, 2025, Commissioner Davis and his wife were indicted on 13 felony counts including theft in office, money laundering, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity connected to the Southern Ohio Aeronautical Regional Business Park scandal. These charges come after he and another commissioner reinstated former Economic Development Director Robert Horton against legal advice—a decision that has now been proven reckless.

Since the indictments, Commissioner Davis has failed to appear for at least six consecutive weekly Commission meetings. He continues to collect his $64,276 taxpayer-funded salary—more than double the median income in Scioto County—while neglecting his most basic duties. Each missed week costs the public roughly $1,236, totaling nearly $7,500 wasted so far on someone who refuses to do his job.

This is not only financial irresponsibility, but moral hypocrisy. Davis has long presented himself as a moral person, a pastor and a leader from the party of “fiscal responsibility.” Yet his conduct has betrayed the trust of Scioto County taxpayers, left his colleagues to shoulder his work, and damaged the county’s reputation at a time when we can least afford it.

Calls for his resignation have already come from both fellow commissioners, Portsmouth city leaders, and the Scioto County Republican Central Committee itself. The people of this county deserve leaders who are present, accountable, and beyond reproach—not absentee commissioners under indictment.

For the good of Scioto County, for the sake of taxpayers, and for the integrity of public office, Bryan Davis must resign immediately.

Scioto County Democratic Party