As each day passes, the potential for Ohio to have two primary elections next year moves closer.

State Republicans and Democrats each blame each other for the mess that, as of now, has forced a March 6 primary election for all partisan candidates, except for U.S. House of Representatives and president. That primary would be held June 12.

Essentially, candidates for county, state and local races along with U.S. Senate would be on the ballot in March with a candidacy petition filing deadline of Dec. 7 because candidates must file at least 90 days before an election.

Here’s a short version of how this happened:

House Bill 194 changed many state election laws, and one of them was to move the primary from March to May.

Democrats threatened a potential referendum of the measure and their efforts seem poised to make the November ballot, which means the bill does not go into effect until voters have their say.

Then came the fight to draw new congressional boundaries to shrink Ohio from 18 to 16 congressional districts because of slow population growth.

Democrats again threatened referendum as they were upset that Republicans drew boundaries that Democrats say favor the GOP 12 to 4.

So that meant that the new congressional district boundaries might not be in place in time for candidates to file by Dec. 7. How could a candidate file to run for a district that doesn’t exist?

The Ohio General Assembly then approved House Bill 318 that created two primaries to address the problem.

It doesn’t seem like many people are happy with that solution as the added cost to the state for two primaries is estimated at $15 million. In a state that continues to scrape for every dollar, will this really happen?

Celebrating Democracy

Former Lake County Elections Board Director Janet F. Clair (just typing former there seemed pretty weird) will be recognized by the Elections Board at a retirement party starting at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at the Croatian Lodge Party Center in Eastlake. U.S. Rep. Steven. C. LaTourette will be master of ceremonies.

Clair has always championed democracy and the election process and strived to share her knowledge with anyone who asked, regardless of political party.

I thank Clair for her help to learn more about the local, state and even federal election process.

Often our banter was conversational, but sometimes I had to ask a tough question or find out answers about complicated subjects maybe only political junkies would care about.

She always made sure I understood the details, which I truly appreciated.

Candidate filings

Jason Wuliger, a Kirtland Republican, filed with the Elections Board for Lake County recorder.

Fundies

n Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. campaign kickoff from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Terry Gerred-Ditchcreek.

n Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene A. Lucci fundraiser 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Walt McNamara.

n Geauga County Republican Party Christmas Party begins at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, Bainbridge Township. See Frank or Bernadette Gliha.

n Wuliger’s campaign kickoff will be 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at Cork’s Wine Bar in Willoughby. See Susan Culotta.

n Judy Moran, candidate for Lake County commissioner, campaign kickoff from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at Capelli’s in Mentor. See Kathy Russo.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: newsheraldjah

The National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Council both are reporting that Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Bainbridge Township) voted "yea" on Wed., Nov. 16, to help pass H.R. 822, the "National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act."  The bill - which faces an uphill battle in the Senate and an almost certain veto by President Obama - would allow any law-abiding concealed carry permit holder to legally carry a concealed firearm while visiting any state that does not prohibit concealed carry.  Jeffrey L. Frischkorn JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com Twitter: @Fieldkorn

Races for Lake County offices are beginning to heat up as the Elections Board saw a number of people turn in candidacy petitions this past week.

So far, nearly every elected county office on the ballot next year has had at least one candidate file for the position.

For the county commissioner seat currently held by Raymond E. Sines, it’s possible there could be a Democratic primary.

Willowick Council President Judy Moran filed for commissioner to run for this seat, but will Eastlake Mayor Ted Andrzejewski also file to create a contested primary?

Sines has yet to officially announce what he plans to do.

Commissioner Robert E. Aufuldish has filed for re-election. 

Will Leroy Township Trustee Linda Burhenne, a Republican, file to run against him? Any other Republicans or Democrats?

Mentor Councilman at large Scott Marn says he won’t run for county commissioner, but will he run for county treasurer?

We’re still waiting to see if Commissioner Daniel P. Troy will run for state representative as many fans want him to do. He’s not up for re-election next year, by the way.

 

A new Geauga

With Geauga County soon to be divided during the next election due to reapportionment, there will be two Ohio Senate and two Ohio House districts within the county.

The new Ohio Senate 25th District will include all of Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, plus Aquilla, Chardon, Claridon Township, Hambden Township, Huntsburg Township, Montville Township, Thompson Township in Geauga County.

That district is represented by Ohio Senate Minority Leader Capri S. Cafaro, a Hubbard Democrat, who is up for re-election next year.

With the inclusion of part of Geauga, which is traditionally Republican, will a potential Republican candidate from Geauga emerge to run against Cafaro in 2012?

Candidate filings

Other people who have recently filed candidacy petitions with the Lake County Elections Board include state Rep. Lorraine M. Fende for Lake County treasurer; 11th District Court of Appeals Court Judge Mary Jane Trapp for re-election; 11th District Court of Appeals Court Judge Diane V. Grendell for re-election; Lake County Coroner Lynn A. Smith for re-election; Lake County Engineer James R. Gills for re-election; and state Rep. Ron Young filed for Ohio House of Representatives 61st District.

Deadline

The deadline to submit information for this column is 5 p.m. each Wednesday. Email and faxes are preferred.

Fundies

n Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent A. Culotta will host a cocktail and buffet reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Holiday Inn Express Hotel Suites LaMalfa in Mentor. See Catherine Garner or I. James Hackenberg.

n Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard L. Collins Jr. campaign kickoff from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29, at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Terry Gerred-Ditchcreek.

n Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Eugene A. Lucci fundraiser 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Walt McNamara.

n Geauga County Republican Party Christmas Party begins at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, Bainbridge Township. See Frank or Bernadette Gliha.

n Jason Wuliger, candidate for Lake County recorder, campaign kickoff 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Dec. 6 at Cork’s Wine Bar in Willoughby. See Susan Culotta.

n Moran, candidate for Lake County commissioner, campaign kickoff from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 at Capelli’s in Mentor. See Kathy Russo.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: newsheraldjah

Now that Tuesday’s election is over, the next local political cycle will be short and involves people who want to run next year for office.

Potential candidates have until Dec. 7 to file candidacy petitions for county, Ohio General Assembly and other various offices in 2012 including U.S. Senate. During the next few weeks, there is likely to be a flurry of activity at county elections boards.

The only exceptions are for U.S. House of Representatives primary races held June 12 with the presidential primary. The filing deadline for congressional candidates is March 14 unless the Ohio General Assembly changes the election date.

As people decide what they want to do, quite a few observers eyed the appointment of a new Republican state senator to represent Ohio’s 18th Senate District.

That domino fell as Munson Township resident John Eklund got the nod. Many people, including me, thought the appointment would go to state Rep. Ron Young, former state Rep. Jamie Callender or Concord Township Trustee Christopher Galloway.

Instead, it’s congratulations to Eklund, who plans to run to retain the seat.

Who might run against Eklund? Perhaps it will be state Rep. Kathleen Clyde, D-Kent, who has taken out petitions from the Portage County Elections Board.

Callender and Galloway had previously announced each would run for Ohio Senate, but will either run against Eklund in a Republican primary?

What if Galloway and/or Callender runs for something else, like Lake County commissioner or another county office? Perhaps neither runs for anything.

The terms of Commissioners Robert E. Aufuldish (Jan. 3) and Raymond E. Sines (Jan. 2) expire in 2013 and the positions will be on the ballot next year. No one has filed for these two positions yet, but many have taken out petitions.

Among them is Eastlake Mayor Ted Andrzejewski. What are his plans after voters decided not to approve a citywide levy?

State Rep. Lorraine M. Fende, a Democrat, has announced she’s running for Lake County treasurer, but has yet to file.

How about Mentor Councilman Scott Marn? Might he run for county commissioner or treasurer? Republicans seem to throw his name out there quite a bit.

Many are also waiting to see if Commissioner Daniel P. Troy, a Willowick Democrat, files to run for Ohio House of Representatives District 60.

Election recap

In case you’re following along, last week I made predictions for 12 candidate and issue races. I was correct on 10 of 12, or 83 percent, including the pick of Terri Stupica for Chardon Municipal Court.

My incorrect picks were the defeat of state Issue 1, as I thought it would pass, and Mentor Council Ward 4, where I thought incumbent Ron Micchia would win.

I wasn’t surprised by the repeal of state Issue 2 as polls had previously indicated it would go down and because of the zeal and money spent on the campaign. Voters also approved state Issue 3 by an extraordinary margin. I expected that issue to pass, but perhaps not by 30-plus percentage points.

Got out the vote

At 56.1 percent, Geauga County ranked first in the state after Tuesday’s unofficial results for the number of registered voters who cast ballots.

Candidate filings

Geauga County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Tim Grendell has filed to run for the bench’s unexpired term that ends Feb. 8, 2015.

Lake County Sheriff Daniel A. Dunlap has filed petitions for re-election.

Deadline

Those who would like to submit information for this column, the deadline is 5 p.m. each Wednesday. Email and faxes are preferred.

Fundies

Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent A. Culotta will host a cocktail and buffet reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at Holiday Inn Express Hotel Suites LaMalfa in Mentor.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: newsheraldjah

In case you missed it, last week the U.S. House passed a concurrent resolution reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the U.S.

H. Con. Res. 13 is a resolution "Reaffirming 'In God We Trust' as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions." If you're interested in reading the entire resolution (it's very short), you can see it as a PDF, an XML file or the printer-friendly version.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, a Republican from Virginia's Fourth District. It was introduced in the House back in January (and gained 64 cosponsors), and on Nov. 1 was passed in the House by a 396-9 vote (two members of the House voted "present," while 26 did not vote). On Nov. 2, it was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Check out the Final Vote Results for Roll Call 816 to see how all the members of the House voted. Republican Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio's 14th District and Democrat Marcia Fudge of Ohio's 11th District both voted in favor of the resolution.

You can also read the text of the dialogue from when H. Con. Res. 13 was brought to the floor.

According to Voterama in Congress, critics said time would be better spend on a jobs bill. The Washington Post quoted President Barack Obama sharing the same sentiment:

"In the House of Representatives, what have you guys been doing, John?" Obama said, calling out House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
"You've been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You've had legislation reaffirming that 'In God We Trust' is our motto. That's not putting people back to work," Obama said. "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work."

Read more from the Washington Post's story on the resolution.

The House is in recess this week.


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

Not surprisingly, the three state issues on Tuesday’s ballot are already piquing voter interest for Tuesday’s election.

With that in mind, here are my predictions (not meant to imply endorsement) for some, but not all, of the races and issues in Ohio as well as Lake, Geauga and eastern Cuyahoga counties.

State Issue 1: Proposed Constitutional Amendment to increase the maximum age at which a person may be elected or appointed judge, to eliminate the authority of the General Assembly to establish courts of conciliation, and to eliminate the authority of the governor to appoint a Supreme Court Commission.

Comment: All indications point to voters giving this a stamp of approval.

Prediction: Approved

State Issue 2: A referendum to repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5 relative to government union contracts and other government employment contracts and policies. Essentially, a new law that seeks to make changes to Ohio’s collective bargaining laws.

Comment: Doubtful the law gets the support Gov. John Kasich had hoped.

Prediction: Repealed

State Issue 3: Proposed Constitutional Amendment to preserve the freedom of Ohioans to choose their health care and health care coverage.

Comment: Not sure if this amendment means anything legally since federal law trumps state law but voters want to have a say anyway. I think the margin will be pretty close.

Prediction: Approved

Willoughby Municipal Court Judge

Candidates are Democrat Harry Field, Republican Karen Lutz Kowall, and independents Tammy Georgian Gibson and Katica Markulin.

Comment: In a traditionally Democratic-leaning jurisdiction, it’s hard to pick against one, but it should be close.

Prediction: Field

Chardon Municipal Court Judge

Candidates are Democrat Terri Stupica, Republican Matt Lynch and independent Tim Snyder.

Comment: It’s difficult to think a Democrat can win in such a heavily Republican-leaning county, but I’ll pick against the grain.

Prediction: Stupica

Mentor Council:

For Ward 1, it’s Sean P. Blake, Becky Lynch, Robert M. Shiner and Nicholas Valeri. In Ward 2, it’s Carolyn P. Bucey vs Brian Mark Wollet. In Ward 3, it’s Bruce Landeg vs Edward R. Walsh. And in Ward 4 it’s John Krueger vs Ronald L. Micchia.

Comment: I think each race will be fairly close and I could be wrong on all four.

Predictions: Shiner, Bucey, Landeg, Micchia

Euclid mayor: Candidates are Bill Cervenik, Jack Johnson, Christopher Michael Litwinowicz and Charlene Mancuso

Comment: Will three challengers split the vote to allow the incumbent to win?

Prediction: Cervenik

Riverside Schools: 5-year, $6,098,000 (est. 5.97 mills) additional emergency levy.

Prediction: Defeat

Lakeland Community College: 10-year, 1.5 mill renewal levy for building and construction or improvements

Prediction: Approval

Possible candidates

Kirtland Republican Jason Wuliger picked up petitions for Lake County recorder. Perry Township Democrat Christine J. Page picked up petitions for Lake County treasurer.

Candidate filings

Willowick Democrat James Helmink filed for the Ohio 60th House District. Will Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy, also a Willowick Democrat, file to create a Democratic primary?

Candidate event

Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent Culotta campaign kick-off Nov. 22 at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Catherine Garner or I. James Hackenberg.

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah