Seneca County Commissioner Bill Frankart is touting a seven-hour deposition as one of the defining accomplishments of his first term, months after an investigation of his sworn testimony revealed that he had made false public statements about a local landfill and failed to correct them.

In an October 24 candidate questionnaire published by the Advertiser-Tribune, Frankart was asked to identify his biggest achievement since taking office. He pointed to his efforts involving the WIN Waste landfill, including his testimony before state lawmakers, meetings with legislators and the deposition conducted by attorneys representing the landfill operator.

Frankart said he “sat through a seven-hour deposition” and repeated his earlier declaration that he would “take that hit for our constituents every day.”

What Frankart omitted was what he acknowledged during those seven hours of questioning.

What Frankart admitted under oath

In May, the Advertiser-Tribune published an investigation based on the deposition transcript, obtained through a public records request to the Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management District.

The newspaper reported that Frankart acknowledged making false public statements about the landfill and the regional waste district, including claims contained in signed testimony submitted to the Ohio Senate. He also admitted that he had taken no action to correct those statements.

Among the inaccuracies was Frankart’s assertion that Seneca County had been consistently outvoted by the other two counties on matters involving the solid waste district. Under questioning, he acknowledged that the claim was not accurate during his tenure on the district’s board.

Frankart also could not identify specific examples supporting his previous assertions about a recent pattern of regulatory violations at the landfill. When questioned about evidence of health impacts or operations exceeding regulatory thresholds, he indicated that he had no such evidence, according to the newspaper’s reporting.

The deposition took place May 28, 2024, in connection with litigation filed by WIN Waste involving the regional solid waste district. The findings were also reported by TiffinOhio.net ahead of the May 2026 Republican primary.

Now, Frankart is presenting that same deposition as evidence of his commitment to Seneca County residents, without acknowledging the false statements exposed during his testimony.

County portrayed deposition as a heroic battle

Frankart’s latest account repeats a narrative his own county government published immediately after the deposition.

On May 29, 2024, then-Seneca County Media Relations Coordinator Sheri Trusty published an article on the county’s official website titled “Resilient in Battle: Commissioner Bill Frankart endures seven-hour WIN Waste deposition.”

The county-funded communications contractor described Frankart as having been pushed onto a battlefield by the company’s legal team and praised his handling of the questioning as displaying his “typical wisdom and strength.”

It featured Frankart’s declaration: “I took a hit for the constituents, and I’ll do it every day.”

The county’s account celebrated Frankart’s endurance without describing the substance of his sworn testimony. The Advertiser-Tribune’s subsequent examination of the transcript exposed the admissions that had been absent from that portrayal.

More than two years after the deposition, and less than two weeks before voters decide whether to give him another term, Frankart is again citing the experience as one of his greatest accomplishments.

Legislation changed landfill oversight, not landfill operations

Frankart also cited the passage of Senate Bill 147, sponsored by state Sen. Bill Reineke, as evidence of his work on the landfill issue.

Signed into law in July 2025, the legislation allows counties to withdraw from joint solid waste management districts without requiring approval from the other participating counties. It also authorizes additional fees on construction and demolition debris, giving Seneca County a path toward greater local control over waste-management revenue.

The legislation did not close the WIN Waste landfill, stop waste shipments from other states or establish that Frankart’s earlier claims about the landfill were accurate.

In the questionnaire, Frankart credited Reineke, state Rep. Gary Click, county health officials and his fellow commissioners for helping secure the legislation. He said Seneca County was developing its own solid waste management district and plan.

But the legislative victory is separate from the false public statements Frankart acknowledged making and leaving uncorrected.

In another answer in the same October 24 questionnaire, Frankart described the lessons he had learned during his first term as commissioner.

“And I’ve learned that accountability matters,” he wrote.

The deposition he now celebrates was the same proceeding in which he acknowledged failing to correct his own false statements.

Frankart faces independent challenger David Ziegler, a three-term Eden Township trustee, in the November general election.