In the on-going firearms debate regarding whether the gun laws of the United States are contributing to the rise in violent crime in Mexico, verbal shots are being fired on both sides of the boarder.

Here's the latest take from the National Rifle Association:

In another chapter in the ongoing attempt to blame the American gun community for Mexico's internal strife, CBS News reports that the Mexican government has retained the New York City-based law firm of Reid Collins & Tsai to examine its options for suing U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors.

This report describes Mexico's actions as a "novel approach," in reality, such lawsuits have been used for decades as a tactic by anti-gun groups and governments in their attempts to bankrupt gun manufacturers and circumvent the political process.

That's why Congress passed the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" in 2005.  This act protects firearms manufacturers, distributors, dealers and importers from suits brought about as a result of "the harm solely caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of firearm products or ammunition products by others when the product functioned as designed and intended." 

The outlook for a Mexican government suit looks dim; since the PLCAA was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Oct. 26, 2005, no federal court has allowed such a suit by a government plaintiff to go forward against a U.S. firearms manufacturer.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com

It’s been a little more than 100 days since statewide candidates were sworn in to office this year.

But already, the election cycle has started to heat up for the 2012 U.S. Senate election.

Among Republicans potentially considering a run are Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who was in Eastlake on Wednesday as the keynote speaker for the Lake County GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner.

Mandel, a former state representative and Lyndhurst councilman, has not announced a bid for U.S. Senate next year, but supporters are encouraging him enough that he has formed a committee with the Federal Elections Commission that allows him to raise money for federal office.

The Ohio Democratic Party has taken Mandel’s bid seriously enough that the party on Tuesday sent out a calender to media members that spoofs the state treasurer’s first 100 days in office. The document can be seen at ohiodems.org/mandel_calendar.pdf.

Former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls, has also shown interest in the Senate race and has formed a committee.

A relatively unknown GOP candidate named Russell P. “Rusty” Bliss Jr., an airline captain from Willoughby, has also filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission.

What about Cincinnati Republican Ken Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State?

A poll last month of 400 Ohio Republican voters conducted by Public Policy Polling based in North Carolina showed at the time that Blackwell would be the leading Republican candidate in a primary election.

“Blackwell is the favorite of 17 percent of Ohio’s usual Republican primary voters, ahead of Jon Husted’s 14 percent, unlikely candidate Drew Carey’s 12 percent, Mary Taylor’s 9 percent, Jim Jordan’s and Steve LaTourette’s 8 percent, Josh Mandel’s 6 percent, and state Senator Shannon Jones’ 1 percent,” the poll results summary stated.

Whoever wins the GOP primary is all but certain to face incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon who is finishing his first six-year term.

Brown was in Chester Township April 15 at Patterson Fruit Farm as part of a series of roundtable discussions to gather information as legislators begin to prepare the 2012 Farm Bill.

Although his Geauga County visit was not a campaign event, Brown is actively raising money for re-election and had Vice President Joe Biden join him Tuesday in Cleveland for a fundraiser at Progressive Field.

Redistricting

In an earlier column, I speculated that due to anticipated population growth in Lake County, Ohio’s 18th Senate district could change to include Ashtabula County and drop Geauga and eastern Cuyahoga counties from the district’s boundaries.

However, the 2010 U.S. Census showed that Lake County only grew by about 1.1 percent in the last decade. How might this affect redistricting to be completed in the near future? Perhaps, there won’t be much change after all.

But maybe Geauga County, which grew by 2.74 percent during the last 10 years, stays with Lake County in the Senate district and the eastern Cuyahoga County portion of the district gets bumped out and replaced with northern parts of Portage County? Stay tuned.

Fundies
n Concord Township Trustee Connie Luhta will host a fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hellriegel’s Inn in Painesville Township. See Chris Galloway, Paul Malchesky or Luhta.

n Willoughby Hills Council President Kevin Malecek: Annual Cinco De Mayo party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 5, Willoughby Hills Community Center. See Katherine Malecek or Nora Colburn.

n Kirtland Councilman Doug Davidson, a candidate for Kirtland mayor: Meet the Candidate Night from 7 to 9 p.m. May 11, Kirtlander Party Center. See Jim Yarborough or Gina Davidson.

n Geauga County Commissioner Mary Samide: Spring buffet fundraiser 4:30 to 7 p.m. May 12 at S.O.S. Inc. in Chardon. See Samide or Jacqueline Moskal.

To leave a comment on this column, visit northernohiolocalpolitics.blogspot.com.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

As the on-going debate over control/firearms owners' right continues, the Associated Press has a story that indicates how much Oklahoma believes in the constitutional right to own firearms.

 

The AP notes: Oklahoma now has an official "Second Amendment Day" in the state. Gov. Mary Fallin on Thursday signed a bill designating June 28 of each year as "Second Amendment Day" in Oklahoma.

 

Just how all of this plays out in Ohio is open for discussion as the state continues to ponder whether to allow  a licensed concealed carry permit holder the right to take a weapon inside an establishment where alcohol is severed so long as that person does not drink.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com

See how U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township; U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights; U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, voted in Congress in the week ending April 15, 2011:

Ohio in Congress, 20110415


Ohio in Congress, 20110415, 2


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

So what will term-limited state Rep. Lorraine M. Fende do with her final term set to expire next year?

The Willowick Democrat would seem to have a number of options should she seek to run for elected office.

She could choose not to run for anything, but some fans may like to see her run for Ohio Senate in Columbus because that seat will be up for grabs in 2012 as Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chester Township, cannot run again due to term limits.

Ohio Senate District 18 currently consists of Lake and Geauga counties, plus Gates Mills, Highland Heights and Mayfield Village and portions of Mayfield Heights in Cuyahoga County.

But that landscape may change as state officials work to draw new district boundaries now that the U.S. Census data for 2010 has been released. It’s possible that the Ohio Senate may have a new look and encompass just Lake and Ashtabula counties.

If that’s the case, there are many formidable Democrats from Ashtabula County who could emerge or show interest, including former state Rep. Deborah Newcomb, D-Conneaut, or Roaming Shores resident Robert Boggs, who was the state senator for Lake and Ashtabula counties in the 1990s and is a former county commissioner, state representative, and most recently state agriculture director.

If the Ohio Senate doesn’t suit her liking, as a former longtime mayor, Fende could file by Aug. 10 to run for her old Willowick mayor job — up for grabs this November.

Willowick Mayor Richard Bonde has not announced yet whether he will seek a new four-year term for the office. He did have a fundraiser last fall.

What if Fende won election as mayor (or even if she ran and lost) and then decided later to run for county commissioner or another county office in 2012?

The terms of Commissioners Raymond E. Sines, a Perry Village Republican, and Robert E. Aufuldish, a Wickliffe Democrat, expire at the end of 2012.

It seems like Aufuldish intends to run again for his position, and assuming he does and there isn’t a Democratic challenger for him, would Fende run against Sines?

But don’t forget about Willowick Council President Judy Moran, who ran against Sines in 2008 and made the race close in her first attempt at a countywide office. Note that all Willowick Council seats are on the ballot Nov. 8.

Candidates ranked by bar

Three Geauga County Republicans — Daniel E. Bond, Dennis Coyne and Matt Lynch — are vying to be their party’s candidate in November after a May 3 primary for Chardon Municipal Court judge. The winner takes on Democrat Terri Stupica during the Nov. 8 election.

The Geauga County Bar Association this week completed poll results by their members for the three Republican primary candidates.

Here are the results:

Bond: 15 Highly Recommended; 27 Recommended; 35 Not Recommended; seven No opinion

Coyne: 34 Highly Recommended; 35 Recommended; 11 Not Recommended; four No opinion

Lynch: one Highly Recommended; seven Recommended; 44 Not Recommended; 32 No opinion

Fundies

Concord Township Trustee Connie Luhta will host a fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 28 at Hellriegel’s Inn in Painesville Township. See Chris Galloway, Paul Malchesky or Luhta.

Willoughby Hills Council President Kevin Malecek: Annual Cinco De Mayo party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 5, Willoughby Hills Community Center. See Katherine Malecek or Nora Colburn.

Kirtland Councilman Doug Davidson, a candidate for Kirtland mayor: Meet the Candidate Night from 7 to 9 p.m. May 11, Kirtlander Party Center. See Jim Yarborough or Gina Davidson.

John Arthur Hutchison's column runs each Sunday in The News-Herald.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Josh Mandel

Sherrod Brown

The Democratic Party announced Monday that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown raised $1.3 million in the first quarter of this year to defend his seat in next year's November election (and, Brown has $2.5 million in cash on hand).

Then on Tuesday, Democrats criticized Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (a Republican) for announcing he would like to run against Brown for the spot in the U.S. Senate. Mandel was elected in November and has been serving in office for fewer than four months.

Election campaigning sure starts early. Not only does Brown already have a good amount of money for his re-election campaign, but it also seems that the Democrats are ready to come out swinging against a Republican who wants to unseat him.

Should Mandel stay in his seat or run for Senate? Vote in our poll at News-Herald.com/Opinion.

How long until the election?



-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

See how U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township; U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights; U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, voted in Congress in the week ending April 8, 2011:

Ohio in Congress, 20110408


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl

The controversial new state law that strips some collective bargaining rights for public workers in Ohio — known as Senate Bill 5 — has fired up Democrats.

In addition to drafting plans to gather at least 231,149 valid signatures to repeal the law this fall, the legislation has also galvanized some Democrats to propose legislation to allow voters to recall the governor and Ohio General Assembly members.

With the GOP controlling both chambers of the Legislature and Republican Gov. John Kasich in power, the measure has little chance to pass.

It would be interesting to hear the banter on this issue, but I’ll be surprised if the proposal has more than one committee hearing, if there is one at all.

But Democratic sponsors said Ohioans should have the opportunity. Republican leaders counter that regular elections are the proper way to remove unpopular elected officials from office.

Although the Democratic efforts might be inspired by him, Kasich told statehouse reporters this week that the proposal is simply politics at play and his focus is on fixing the state’s problems.

Recalls are neither new nor unprecedented across the country.

Other states have recall procedures in place, such as in Wisconsin, where 16 state senators are under scrutiny after a law to change collective bargaining was passed.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, was elected in 2003 after a recall of Democrat Gray Davis.

Ohio law does not recognize recall elections. Elected officials can only be removed if they do something illegal or conduct misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance.

That means state and county elected officials and judges are exempt from recalls.

However, chartered communities can utilize recall elections if they so choose.

For example, Eastlake voters in November overwhelmingly approved a charter amendment that clarified recall procedures for any elected official in the city.

Petitions need to be signed by at least 20 percent of the voters in a ward who cast ballots in the last municipal election for a ward councilman or 20 percent of voters citywide for the mayor or a councilman at large.

The city has some history with recalls as former Eastlake Councilwoman Lynn Moon Curtis was recalled during a special election in Dec. 2004.

Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik survived a recall election in July 2005 after petitions were submitted by a citizen action group, the Euclid Recall Awareness Committee.

Running in Geauga?

The latest people to have taken out candidacy petitions for the Nov. 8 election from the Geauga County Elections Board are:

Alan Preston for Cardinal Board of Education; David Fairbanks and Jack McCaskey for Chardon Board of Education; Kenneth Zwolinski for Troy Township trustee; Cindy Lausin for Thompson Township fiscal officer;  Irene McMullen for Munson Township trustee; Keith McClintock for Hambden Township trustee; Chuck Strazinsky for Chardon Township trustee; Joan Windnagel for Chardon Township fiscal officer; and Karen Austin for Chester Township fiscal officer.

Lake GOP Lincoln Day dinner

The Lake County Republican Party will host a Lincoln Day Dinner and Silent Auction April 20 starting at 6 p.m. at the American Croatian Lodge in Eastlake.

Keynote speaker is Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.

See Dale Fellows or call the county GOP headquarters.

Fundies

n Mayor Mark Tyler of Kirtland will host a Gathering of Friends, 5:30 to 7:30, Thursday at Dino’s Restaurant on Route 306. See Rick Blum or Sandy Tyler.

n Concord Township Trustee Connie Luhta will host a fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., April 28 at Hellriegel’s Inn in Painesville Township. See Chris Galloway, Paul Malchesky or Luhta.

n Willoughby Hills Council President Kevin Malecek: Annual Cinco De Mayo party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 5, Willoughby Hills Community Center. See Katherine Malecek or Nora Colburn

n Kirtland Councilman Doug Davidson, a candidate for Kirtland mayor: Meet the Candidate Night from 7 to 9 p.m. May 11, Kirtlander Party Center. See Jim Yarborough or Gina Davidson.

John Arthur Hutchison’s column appears Sundays in The News-Herald. View it online at www.northernohiolocalpolitics.blogspot.com.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

For years, officials in Lake County have talked about consolidating fire services among communities as a way to save money.

So far, no concrete proposal has arisen. However, the topic was recently brought up again by the Lake County Mayors and City Managers Association as officials are learning about cuts within the state budget proposal unveiled by Gov. John Kasich.

Part of the reason nothing has been done is because although people want to collaborate and already do so through mutual aid agreements and the like, most communities still want to keep their own operations in place and do what is best for their own interests.

Another stumbling block to consolidating services of any kind — not just fire services — is that people may lose jobs.

For example, Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy said the County Commissioners Association of Ohio has urged state legislators to change the law to allow for perhaps six to eight regional forensic examination centers rather than requiring one for each county, but the proposal continues to get resistance.

When it comes to fire and emergency medical services, a valid argument often made by safety officials is that fire stations and equipment need to be stationed within just a few minutes of residents’ homes so they can respond quickly when someone faces a life-threatening illness or event such as a heart attack or stroke.

Mentor-on-the-Lake Mayor John Rogers brought up an interesting point this week when he said officials should start looking at the county as a whole, rather than at each community, when it comes to the locations and number of fire stations.

“We could be the Lake County Fire Department, then you restructure the fire stations in a way where they respond to calls in a timely manner,” he said.

With Lake County as geographically small as it is, he says, there are plenty of fire stations in place so that each resident would be served in a timely manner and that it’s just a matter of figuring out how it could work on a countywide basis.

Communities are faced with large losses from the state’s Local Government Fund, which has traditionally provided revenue to help pay for vital services.

So one reason for the renewed discussion about consolidating operations such as fire services is because mayors, city managers, councils, township trustees and other government officials are looking for innovative ways to cut costs and try to sustain services without raising taxes.

Will Senate Bill 5 be moot?

The Ohio General Assembly narrowly passed sweeping legislation Wednesday night that is designed to weaken the power of unions and the collective bargaining process — something that Gov. John Kasich says is needed to help counties, municipalities and school districts cope with less revenue.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern immediately called on Ohioans to join the party’s effort to place a referendum of Senate Bill 5 on the November ballot. Redfern says the state is trying to balance its budget on the backs of the middle class.

Here are some referendum facts, according to ProgressOhio, an Ohio nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization:

*  231,149 — Signatures needed to place a referendum of the law on the ballot.

* 1,000 — Number of signatures needed for petition language to be approved by the Attorney General and Secretary of State, before additional petitions can be circulated.

* 44 — Minimum number of different counties where the petition signatures need to be collected.

* July 5 — Final date for signatures if Senate Bill 5 is signed and filed with the Secretary of State by April 6. Ninety days would be allowed to collect signatures.

*  July 26 — Final day by which the Secretary of State must determine if there are enough valid signatures to place the referendum on the ballot.

* 91 — If no referendum petition is filed, Senate Bill 5 goes into effect 91 days after it was signed and filed with the Secretary of State. If a referendum is filed, the law does not go into effect until and unless Ohioans vote to allow the bill to become law.

* 5 — Number of members on the Ohio Ballot Board who determine ballot language once the referendum petition is accepted. The Board includes the Secretary of State, plus one Republican and one Democrat from both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate.

Fundies
n Mayor Mark Tyler of Kirtland will host a Gathering of Friends, 5:30 to 7:30, April 14 at Dino’s Restaurant on Route 306. See Rick Blum or Sandy Tyler.

n Concord Township Trustee Connie Luhta will host a fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., April 28 at Hellriegel’s Inn in Painesville Township. See Chris Galloway, Paul Malchesky or Luhta.

John Arthur Hutchison’s column appears Sundays in The News-Herald. View it online: www.northernohiolocalpolitics.blogspot.com.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

See how U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township; U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights; U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio; and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, voted in Congress in the week ending April 1, 2011:

Ohio In Congress, 20110401

Ohio in Congress, 20110401, 2


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl