LEBANON, OH ‒ A developer whose company builds government-owned projects took a special interest in this year’s Warren County commissioner race.
How much interest? $64,000 worth.
It’s the largest donation to a Warren County commissioner candidate in at least 10 years. The Enquirer examined campaign finance reports for all commissioner candidates in the county from 2016 to 2026.
The donation amount does not violate any election rules because under Ohio law, there are no contribution limits for county commissioner candidates.
Post-primary campaign finance reports, submitted to the Warren County Board of Elections on June 12, revealed the full campaign donation amounts.
Who donated?
Justin Conger, president and CEO of Conger Construction Group, made two donations to Lebanon Mayor Mark Messer: one for $40,000 on March 1 and another for $24,000 on April 22.
Messer ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary race for county commissioner against Commissioner Tom Grossmann. The $64,000 made up the vast majority of donations he received.
Campaign finance records show Conger has supported Messer for years, though in smaller amounts. He donated $500 to Messer in 2023, when he was running for Lebanon City Council, and $500 toward Messer’s council race in 2019.
Conger: Donations were because of Messer’s good ‘leadership’
Conger, who lives a couple of miles away from Grossmann in Mason, told The Enquirer his donations were because he admired Messer as a person and leader, not because he wanted anything from government.
“Over the years, I have had the opportunity to get to know Mark and observe his commitment to public service, his willingness to listen, and his desire to make decisions that benefit the community as a whole,” Conger wrote in an email. He also liked that Messer is a small business owner and entrepreneur.
“My contribution was not made with the expectation of any personal or business benefit,” he said. “My contribution reflected the confidence I have in his leadership and the importance I place on the future direction of our county.”
Conger said he appreciated Messer’s campaign message focusing on responsible budgeting and smart growth, all while preserving Warren County’s character.
His company has won government contracts through transparent bidding processes, he said.
“Political contributions do not and should not influence those processes,” Conger wrote.
Mayor says donor is a long-time supporter: ‘We believe in the same things’
Messer said Conger has been a close friend and supporter for over 15 years. Conger has worked out at Messer’s Lebanon gym, and Messer knows Conger’s family, the mayor said.
“He’s always been a massive supporter of mine. He’s a good friend of mine,” Messer said.
Messer, who’s served as Lebanon mayor since 2021, said Conger’s contributions were “instrumental” to his commissioner campaign.
“It was big, and I’m not going to say it wasn’t big,” he said, adding that Conger is “a guy that people go to when money needs to be raised.”
Messer said he offered no favors or promises to Conger in exchange for the donations.
“That would be unethical and I would never do that, and nor would Justin ever even broach that line,” he said.
Disagreements over party leadership, endorsements and campaign spending have created tension within the Warren County GOP for months. Grossmann previously chaired the party. His wife, Kathy Grossmann, currently serves as vice chair.
“There’s nothing more than we believe in the same things and he wanted to support a change,” Messer said about Conger’s support.
Conger does public projects in Lebanon, Warren County
Based in Lebanon, the family-owned Conger Construction Group has developed public and private sites across Southwest Ohio for over 30 years. Conger became president in 2016, according to his company bio.
Conger Construction’s website shows its past and current construction projects. Several of those developments are public projects, like schools, parks and government-owned centers.
Warren County contracted with Conger Construction for an $8 million law enforcement building in Lebanon, which is currently under construction. Conger Construction built the Lebanon Warren County Sports Park in 2018, a privately funded project owned by the nonprofit Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The land the park is on is owned by the county port authority.
In 2020, Conger Construction built the $3.4 million event center at the county fairgrounds, which is owned by the county. Commissioners chose not to sell the fairgrounds to the city of Lebanon after the two parties failed to reach a lease agreement. Lebanon had plans to redevelop part of the 94-acre grounds.
Some of Conger Construction’s other public projects in the county include:
Conger Construction is not involved in the Renaissance Pointe event center, an upcoming indoor hockey and concert venue that’s part of a $200 million development alongside Interstate-75 in Middletown. The 161,000-square-foot arena is owned by the Warren County Port Authority.
Justin Conger questioned commissioners about the breakdown of proposed private and public investment in the arena ‒ and “the best interest of our taxpayers” ‒ at a February commissioner meeting. Commissioners Grossmann and Shannon Jones offered to meet with Conger to answer his questions about the project after the meeting.
Months later, the arena received mixed support from the county’s three Republican commissioners, one of whom thought the project wasn’t worth the financial risk.
Conger in talks to develop land owned by Lebanon
In August 2025, Lebanon City Council entered into a preliminary development agreement with Conger Construction for a 3.4-acre parcel of land at the corner of Neil Armstrong Way and Harmon Avenue. Conger Construction, doing business as Real Development, LLC, proposed a sale price of $172,400, according to council meeting minutes.
Lebanon’s council will have to decide whether to sell the land to Conger Construction and negotiate a price before the agreement expires in August, said city manager Scott Brunka. A conceptual plan for the site includes three manufacturing buildings for small businesses, Brunka said.
‘Unprecedented’ donation fueled attack ads
It’s not unusual for developers to donate to county commissioner candidates, campaign finance records show. But Conger’s whopping contribution immediately drew attention.
Grossmann pointed out Conger’s first donation of $40,000 in campaign ads when he ran against Messer.
One campaign ad included photos of Messer’s pre-primary campaign finance reports showing the donation.
“In Warren County, it’s unprecedented for a candidate to take $40,000 from a contractor that does business with the county and the City of Lebanon and will likely compete for more pubic contracts,” another ad read. “County Commissioners must perform honest services.”
Messer said there was nothing unethical about the donations, and called the ads “ridiculous campaign fodder.”
A schism within the Warren County GOP was revealed in campaign contributions. Messer raised more than $75,000 in total for the Republican primary, most of that coming from Conger. Grossmann, a commissioner since 2015, raised more than $21,000, with support coming his fellow commissioners and county party members.
What are the rules about campaign donations?
There are no contribution limits for county commissioner candidates set by the state, Ben Kindel, spokesperson for the Ohio secretary of state, said in an email.
Any limits on contributions to commissioner candidates would be set by a local ordinance, Kindel said. Warren County does not have any local ordinances that set a contribution limit for county commissioner candidates.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Developer spent ‘unprecedented’ amount on suburban Ohio election
Reporting by Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
