A story by Connie O'Connor on Julie Tolliver. This article is also featured in the September 6, 2024, issue of The Ripple.
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The concept of “home” really matters to Julie Tolliver. She believes a home should be safe, cozy, and uniquely one’s own. Julie studied building sciences and founded her business, Energy Fitness for Homes, to help people improve energy efficiency, safety, and comfort in their homes. She consults on ventilation, air sealing, insulation, crawlspace encapsulation, and more. She didn’t start her business to address climate change, although her work certainly has a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. Likewise, Julie’s involvement with civic life didn’t start with concern for nature. Like many people, Julie loves nature, but she had higher priorities. Different motivations led her to the same outcome—civic engagement and energy efficiency. As you read about her journey, consider how your values and motivations might lead you to get more involved in civic life.
The year was 2006. Julie and her teenage girls had just lost their home in Greater Cincinnati. Like many borrowers, in the late 1990’s Julie obtained an adjustable-rate mortgage with low initial rates, and having qualified for a Mortgage Credit Certificate, the payments were affordable. The mortgage was sold several times and when the interest rate adjusted, it was well beyond the increases allowed in the loan documents, resulting in an unmanageable payment and default. Despite a protracted court battle, including several significant victories, for lack of resources to maintain proper legal representation Julie lost the home on a court technicality.
Often the decision to step into civic engagement is the result of a call to action that can no longer be ignored. For Julie, it was the loss of her home that started her thinking that she should pay more attention to the political and economic systems that weren’t working. Within several years, Julie watched as the “housing bubble” burst, and many followed her similar path to lose their homes. Adding her to her interest in civic engagement was a newfound habit of watching Jon Stewart's Daily Show with friends. She says, “It was the humor that made politics palatable, and then we just started looking stuff up, including how mortgages are issued and how the housing market works.” Social support can be really important when the right thing to do isn’t easy.
Julie moved to the small town of Owensville, Ohio where a 1% income tax had just been levied. Rather than just complain or wonder why the Village needed to assess this tax, she ran for a position on the Owensville village council and won. At the time, she said the only qualification was that a person must live in the village. There wasn’t much competition, and Julie learned a lot in that role. One lesson was that money is always scarce. Nonetheless, she was able to find an affordable way for the community to offer its first-ever recycling program for residents. “It turned out to be affordable,” she explained, “but nobody ever bothered to look into it before.” Julie expressed her frustration with how local governments work, especially in small villages. “There are two ways to manage a budget,” Julie explained. “The first is to take your sack of money and spend until it’s gone. The second is to think long-term, develop a strategic plan for what you want your village to be and how you plan to get there.” But strategic planning expertise can be pricey. “We took proposals, but it never went anywhere because nobody wanted to spend the money,” Julie sighed. “If you wonder why we don’t have better-planned communities, that’s why. It takes time, money, energy and vision.”
In 2019, Julie moved to Batavia. Each election cycle, she took the time to look up each candidate that was nominated for election in her precinct. She says, “I couldn't easily figure out who was running for what office, or what their positions were. There was no good way to vet the candidates, and I got pretty good at looking up people's records. I was really frustrated by the lack of information.” As an independent voter, aligning with some conservative and some liberal views, Julie was never one to vote “along party lines”. In 2020, Julie felt compelled to do her part to support a safe and honest election process and signed up as a poll observer. In this role she saw behind-the-scenes processes that make our elections accurate, such as how election disputes are resolved through teamwork between Republicans and Democrats. She also helped ensure that all advocates honored the rules, recounting an incident where a candidate surrogate was caught giving gift cards to voters in exchange for their vote, and how she and other volunteers worked with the Board of Elections to address the issue.
As Julie’s confidence and knowledge of local political systems grew, her identity as a civically engaged community member prompted her to take another step, this time as a precinct captain for the democratic party. In this role, Julie serves as liaison between the voters and the people in her party running for positions in Clermont County. She makes herself available to provide information to people who want it. There are 14 precincts in Batavia Township, but only seven precinct captain seats are filled. Julie says this is the kind of civic engagement opportunity available to people in their communities. It’s a great way to meet people both during monthly planning meetings and also when reaching out to people in new neighborhoods to answer questions about candidates.
Julie is aware that most people in Clermont County are not registered Republicans nor Democrats: they are undeclared. In fact, Julie sees herself as a conservative Democrat. “But if you run as an independent, there’s no support, structure, or resources to help you get elected,” she explains. “When you align with one of the two parties, you can ask for volunteers to help knock on doors and campaign for you. As an independent you just don't have that support”.
And there is definitely a sense of support and camaraderie in civic engagement. Julie says, “Although I'm an introvert,I'm also a pretty social person. I enjoy making friends and talking to people. So, this gives me a purpose to connect and have a social life. I see it as kind of a hobby. And it's measurable. You can see changes in things and that's really rewarding. Like the fact that we have Democratic candidates on this year’s ballot, presenting alternatives to the Republican candidates. People like options and choices. And it makes for a better democracy.”
