Orick, ‘Watchdog of City Hall,’ dead at 79
Accessible politician “genuinely cared about people,” son says.
Abner Orick, a longtime Dayton City Commissioner who served primarily in the 1980s, died on Thursday. He was 79.
His death came about nine weeks after suffering a brain aneurysm, his family said.
Orick served 14 years on the Dayton commission, usually as the only Republican member of the city’s elected leadership. He earned a reputation as a government watchdog, a stickler and a uniquely accessible politician.
Constituents phoned him at home and at his business, A-1 Trophy Co., at all hours of the day and night.
Orick, who once estimated that he took 65 calls each day, welcomed the feedback and conversations, because he believed government needed to be more responsive enough to its citizens.
“He genuinely cared about people,” said his son Mark Orick. “He always told it like it was and he related to the common person.”
Orick first joined the Dayton City Commission in 1979 and served through 1983. He rejoined the commission in 1985 and served until 1991. He also held office in 1996 and 1997.
He lost multiple city commission races and made an unsuccessful bid to become the city’s clerk of courts.
Orick, who born in Kentucky, moved to Dayton as a child and graduated from Belmont High School in 1958. He married his high-school sweetheart, Judith, in 1960.
Four years later, he opened the A-1 Trophy Co. in the Belmont neighborhood. He stepped away from the business about nine years ago, and his daughter-in-law now runs the business. Judith and Abner Orick had two sons, Mark and Greg, and five grandchildren.
Orick was a politician unlike most others, according to friends and loved ones. Many knew Orick
owned A-1 Trophy, and citizens would class the store or stop by to chat or share their concerns.
He published a private number in the phone book to give citizens a way to get in touch with him, Mark said.
“My dad always had an open door,” Mark said. “He loved this community.”
Orick won municipal elections as a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic city because he connected with citizens on a personal level, Mark said.
Years ago, Orick said one of his proudest accomplishments as city commissioner was to help successfully save the Victoria Theatre, Memorial Hall and the Old Post Office.
He was known for demanding more information from city staff before making decisions.
In 1996, when he was about to be sworn in to finish Richard Zimmer’s term, Orick promised to be several things: vocal, fun and the watchdog of City Hall.
Orick was a character, one-of-a-kind and loved Dayton, said Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Mary Wiseman, who defeated him in a 1997 race.
“He could be a rascal, but he also was a very kind gentleman,” Wiseman said.
“I loved his Abnerisms. He will be missed.”