Commissioner Bill Frankart acknowledged past false claims in deposition, report says

Seneca County Commissioner Bill Frankart acknowledged under oath that some of his past public statements about a local landfill and oversight of the regional solid waste district were inaccurate and were not corrected, according to a report published Monday by the Advertiser-Tribune.

The newspaper, citing a deposition transcript obtained through a public records request, reported that Frankart was questioned for several hours by attorneys for WIN Waste Innovations as part of ongoing litigation involving the Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management District.

During that testimony, Frankart said he had taken no steps to correct earlier claims he made publicly and in written testimony to state lawmakers, the Advertiser-Tribune reported.

Among the issues discussed was a statement Frankart previously gave suggesting Seneca County had been consistently outvoted by other counties on oversight matters. According to the report, he acknowledged during the deposition that the claim was not accurate during his time serving on the board.

The Advertiser-Tribune also reported that Frankart was unable to provide specific examples, under questioning, to support prior assertions that the landfill had a pattern of regulatory violations in recent years.

In addition, when asked whether he had evidence that landfill operations had caused health impacts or exceeded regulatory thresholds, Frankart indicated he did not have such information, according to the deposition excerpts cited in the report.

The deposition took place in May 2024 in connection with a lawsuit filed by WIN Waste in Sandusky County. That case was later dismissed, and a separate federal case involving related parties was resolved in 2025.

The Advertiser-Tribune said it sought comment from Frankart ahead of publication. A response provided on his behalf did not directly address the questions but indicated additional time was needed to review the information.

WIN Waste, in a statement to the newspaper, criticized Frankart’s past statements and pointed to inspection data it said showed no enforcement actions in recent years. The company did not provide underlying records but said they were available for review in person.

The report was published one day before the Republican primary election in which Frankart is seeking another term as county commissioner. Click here to read the full report on the Advertiser-Tribune’s website.