President Barack Obama will be inaugurated for his second term in office on Monday and among those in attendance will be U.S. Rep. David Joyce.

A presidential inauguration is usually a historic event and this year it also falls on the holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Partisanship can be swept aside for a moment during an inauguration as the air is filled with pomp and circumstance and typically ushers in a spirit that better things are to come for the nation.

For Joyce, R-Russell Township, the event will be his first opportunity to witness a presidential inauguration as a sitting congressman. He plans to bring along his family and has invited someone whom you might not expect.

The new congressman set aside two tickets to attend the inauguration for his opponent Dale Virgil Blanchard, a Solon Democrat who was his party’s nominee Nov. 6 for Ohio’s 14th Congressional District.

Joyce said that when he began his campaign last August the two men agreed to keep things on high ground, and they have stayed in touch since the campaign concluded.

During this session of Congress, Joyce will serve as co-chairman to the U.S. House of Representatives Nursing Caucus.

The caucus meets on a regular basis to discuss issues related to the nursing profession and to help develop ideas and solutions to any challenges facing nursing professionals.

Joyce said it is a natural fit as his wife, Kelly, has been a registered nurse at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center for 22 years.

Filed petitions

John Trebets filed petitions Tuesday to seek re-election for Mentor Municipal Court judge. There would only be a need for a May 7 primary if two or more candidates from the same party file petitions by the Feb. 6 deadline to run for the position. If there is no primary, the position will only appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Painesville City Schools has filed petitions for a May 7 special election to seek a five-year, 6.06-mill renewal levy.

Picked up petitions

Recently taking out petitions with the Lake County Elections Board are Dennis Morley for Eastlake mayor, T.R. Hach for Painesville Township trustee, Nancy Fellows for Willoughby Hills at large Jan. 2, 2014, term, Steven Komarjanski for Willoughby-Eastlake School Board, David Anderson for Willoughby mayor, and Michael Zuren for Eastlake Council at large.

Potential fall primaries?

If three or more people file to run for certain offices in a few Lake County communities there will be nonpartisan primaries on Sept. 17 with the top two vote getters running against each other Nov. 5.

Those races involve Eastlake mayor and three city council at large seats; Mentor-on-the-Lake mayor; Wickliffe mayor, council president and wards 1, 2, 3, 4. Because of potential primaries, the filing deadlines for these races is July 19, rather than Aug. 7 for most other races this year.

Carson named Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association president

Geauga County Democratic Party Chairwoman Janet Carson was recently elected as president of the Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association.

The association’s goal is to work to increase the Democratic vote percentage in all of Ohio’s counties.

The newly elected officers will serve through the 2014 gubernatorial statewide election cycle, when all statewide offices will be on the ballot.

Power 100

Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy along with Lakeland Community College President Morris Beverage; Classic Auto Group owner and president Jim Brown; James Hambrick, chairman, president and CEO of Lubrizol; and Cynthia Moore-Hardy, president and CEO of Lake Health; were recently selected in the January Power 100 issue of Inside Business Magazine as among the region’s most influential leaders.

Fundies

n Troy hosts his annual Mardi Gras Party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at Holiday Inn Express LaMalfa Centre in Mentor. See Kip Molenaar.

n Concord Township Trustees Paul Malchesky and Christopher Galloway re-election fundraiser is 5 to 7 p.m. March 4 at Harry Buffalo in Painesville Township. See Malchesky, Galloway or Connie Luhta.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah