Van Buren defends his business practices
Van Buren, who operates South Forty Homes, is named as the defendant in 16 judgment dockets recorded in Licking County Common Pleas Court. The 16 judgments, from 1993 to 2006, total $267,979. Van Buren said he knows of only one judgment that has not been paid in full yet.

Van Buren defends his business practices
Commissioner candidate ordered to pay clients 16 times over the years
By KENT MALLETT
Advocate Reporter

Van Buren, a Harrison Township trustee, faces Republican incumbent Doug Smith in the general election for county commissioner. Van Buren lost commissioner races in 2000 and 2004. The other commissioners on the board are Republican Tim Bubb and Democrat Marcia Phelps.

The Advocate has not printed letters critical of Van Buren from Gerald Duffie, of St. Louisville, Sharon Hendren, of Johnstown, and Saundra Hewitt, of Newark, because their claims were being investigated.

Van Buren said some of the letters are part of a Republican campaign to damage his credibility.

"They can say I've been sued, but there's two sides to everything," Van Buren said. "It's nothing to do with what I've done in public office. It's the Republican Party. Because (Smith) can't win on his own, they resort to this."

Smith became commissioner in July 2005, when the Republican Party appointed him to replace the late Jay Baird, who resigned for health reasons. Smith and Van Buren worked together for eight years as Harrison Township trustees.

"I don't know of any organized Republican effort to get Mark," Smith said. "If that were the case, I think I would have (known). I was aware of (the court cases), but it's not something I had chosen to raise, nor will I."

Richard Salvage, chairman of the Licking County Republican Party, said, "We have not solicited any letter and neither has Doug Smith."

Duffie, who is director at a camp in Licking County, criticized the job done by South Forty Homes in building a lodge for the camp. The differences did not result in a lawsuit, however.

"Mark gave us a 180-day contract, and over two years later, the work wasn't done," Duffie said. "We completed it after we had him leave the job. With my experience, I don't believe he has the honesty and integrity to be in public office."

Van Buren said several changes were made during construction, including commercial flooring, a maintenance-free exterior, removal of trees and a fireplace. The additions were not paid for, Van Buren says.

"They decided they didn't like it and weren't going to pay me," Van Buren said. "They still owe me $22,000."

The letters from Hendren and Hewitt point out Van Buren's legal issues, which Van Buren said are an unfortunate part of the business.

"You get homeowners that don't want to pay, and they say either do this or we're going to sue," Van Buren said. "That's how it works. It's a tough business."

Van Buren said it sometimes takes him years to pay after a judgment has been filed against him because he's working to get the money.

"I'm not saying I'm perfect," Van Buren said. "But, I worked it out. I'm paying them. I'm not filing bankruptcy, and we're still in business. I never took the government for a penny. I worked to pay these things off. It takes time to get them paid off."

In recent years, Van Buren said his company has owned the property where homes were built, reducing the lawsuits.

"Before, homeowners owned the property and we had to be paid from their construction loans, and they had to OK the construction loans," Van Buren said. "The last bunch of houses we've been doing, we've been buying land, building houses and selling it back."

Eleven of the judgments occurred before 2001, and only one was in the past four years.

Van Buren was ordered Jan. 25, 2002, to pay $110,066 to Darrach and Delores Taylor, who claimed Van Buren owed them on a promissory note dated June 4, 1996. Records show Van Buren paid the judgment Jan. 25, 2002.

Contractor's Warehouse, a division of Jeld-Wen Inc., of Dayton, claimed in a May 2, 2000, complaint that South Forty Homes ordered and received $17,383 in building materials and refused to pay. On July 12, 2000, the court ordered Van Buren to pay, and payment was made Sept. 18, 2002.

Van Buren acknowledges the one debt outstanding is to Sally O'Donnell, of Newark. O'Donnell claims she entered into an agreement May 22, 1996, with South Forty Homes, for construction of a home, but the company failed to complete the work and the work was unsatisfactory, according to court records.

On Oct. 13, 2000, the parties reached a settlement for $15,000. Van Buren said part of the debt has been paid.

In the mid-1990s, a man who owed Van Buren $95,000 died. Van Buren only received $5,000. He said it took a long time to recover from the loss.

"In the last 20 years, I probably built well over 200 homes. It's very easy for attorneys to say 'give us this, or we'll sue you.'"

Van Buren said he does not do much of the work himself but uses subcontractors to do the construction. He is the only full-time employee of South Forty Homes.

If elected, Van Buren said he would put the home-building business on hold and concentrate on the county's business.

"I'll be a full-time commissioner and help Dad on farm," Van Buren said. "I'll be in that office almost every day."

Kent Mallett can be reached at (740) 328-8545 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .