New Butler County District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger is engaged in an exercise similar to what new county Commissioners Dale Pinkerton and James Lokhaiser are experiencing. All are trying to get up to speed quickly regarding their new responsibilities.

To ease their transition into county leadership, Pinkerton and Lokhaiser attended numerous commissioners meetings, despite not having any official input. Those meetings enabled them to gain an understanding of important issues, realizing that they might have to adjust some of their thinking once they assumed office.

Regarding the 2008 budget, which was adopted by the previous board of commissioners, the new board on Monday appointed a nine-man volunteer committee to review the budget and make suggestions.

At least some taxpayers are hoping the committee's recommendations and ideas will help avert the 2.5-mill property tax increase that the previous board approved last month.

To their credit, outgoing Commissioners Glenn Anderson and Scott Lowe offered to assist Pinkerton and Lokhaiser in the transition process and opted not to pass off any potentially controversial votes to the new commissioners.

The situation is different regarding the District Attorney's Office.

Prior to being elected, Goldinger, a private attorney specializing in criminal and family law, was familiar with the DA's role in the courtroom while he served in a defense capacity. But he had no direct experience regarding the day-to-day operation of that office and no prosecutorial experience. And his transition into his new job might have been inhibited by his attendance at only a few meetings dealing with his upcoming responsibilities.

It was reasonable to assume that outgoing District Attorney Randa Clark, between the November election and last Friday, when Goldinger was sworn in, would have met with the new DA to review the office's operation, important pending cases, and other matters needing attention.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and Goldinger and Clark offer differing viewpoints about why it didn't happen.

In an article in Sunday's Butler Eagle, Goldinger, acknowledging that he would be engaged in a crash course in on-the-job training over the next few weeks, said a smooth transition would occur in spite of Clark.

"She's offered no help; it would have been nice," Goldinger said. "We haven't talked since June."

But Clark, contacted in Florida on Monday, said she was not to blame for the lack of transition meetings.

"Mr. Goldinger wanted absolutely nothing to do with me in his transition into office," Clark said. "I offered to do whatever he would have liked to have done.

"I offered to help him. I offered to talk to him about personnel. I offered just about anything you can imagine. He was not interested.

"He had no time for me. And in fact, he called not once after the election. . . . As far as I know, he didn't want my assistance."

Goldinger's transition challenge is eased somewhat by his decision to retain Patricia McLean as first assistant district attorney. McLean has served in the DA's office since 1992 and held the first assistant DA position during Clark's two years as DA.

Regardless of whether Clark or Goldinger is the most responsible for the absence of transition contacts, it is now Goldinger's responsibility to meet the challenges of the office. County residents expect it.

"It's not that I have to learn the process, just familiarize myself with it," Goldinger said.

That's the task in which Pinkerton and Lokhaiser also are engaged. Over the years, their community involvement put them in touch with county leaders. Observing government from their own vantage points became the basis for their interest in running for public office.

For Goldinger, prosecutorial deadlines for particular cases demand that his on-the-job training regarding the DA's office caseload be completed as quickly as possible. But, clearly, the transition could have, and should have, been handled better.