A new era began in Lake County after Judy Moran was sworn-in Tuesday as the first Democratic female commissioner in the county’s 172 years of history.

Moran, formerly Willowick Council’s president, now is the second woman to serve as a Lake County commissioner. Republican Mildred M. Teuscher was the first woman to serve as a commissioner before retiring in January 2003.

Democratic Party women in Lake County also have fared well in recent elections including winning four positions at the county level on Nov. 6.

Lorraine M. Fende won election as treasurer, Ann M. Radcliffe was elected recorder, and Maureen G. Kelly was re-elected to her second term as clerk of courts.

When Kelly was first elected in 2008, she became the first Democrat in 40 years to be elected to the position and the first Democratic woman to serve as clerk.

As for other candidates who will appear on the ballot this year, only one race in the county is eligible to have a partisan primary in May — Mentor Municipal Court judge.

Judge John Trebets has served as the court’s judge after he was first elected to a six-year term in 2001 and then re-elected in 2007.

The filing deadline to run as a candidate for Mentor Municipal Court judge is Feb. 6 and if there was a primary it would be held May 7 along with any special election involving issues such as school levies.

Nonpartisan races for the Nov. 5 General Election have until Aug. 7 to file nominating petitions with the county Elections Board. Some candidates have already taken out petitions.

Strickland nearing decision?

Look for some development in the next few weeks on who could be the Democratic Party’s 2014 candidate for Ohio governor.

Democrat sources say that former Gov. Ted Strickland is being vetted for a potential position in President Barack Obama’s administration, especially after Strickland played a vital role as an Obama surrogate during the presidential campaign.

If that doesn’t happen, it’s quite possible that Strickland may throw his hat into the ring to challenge incumbent Gov. John Kasich, setting up a possible rematch.

The race between Strickland and Kasich in 2010 was fairly close, so it might be interesting to see the two battle once again.

If Strickland declines to run, many think that Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald will decide to seek the party nomination.

Coming from Ohio’s largest county, FitzGerald likely would do well in Northeast Ohio, but it’s not certain how he would fare in other areas of the state where his name is not as well-known as someone like Kasich or Strickland.

Other names often tossed around as potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates are U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles; and Richard Cordray, former Ohio Attorney General and treasurer, who now serves as director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

To the brink

Once again, the country was led down the path of brinkmanship when Congress passed legislation by a vote of 257-167 Tuesday night to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

All five House Democrats from Ohio voted in favor and Ohio’s House Republicans split, six voting in favor and seven against.

Those voting in favor were Democrats Marcia Fudge, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan and Betty Sutton, and Republicans John Boehner, Bill Johnson, Steve LaTourette, Robert Latta, Steve Stivers, and Pat Tiberi.

Members who voted against the legislation were Republicans Steve Austria, Steve Chabot, Bob Gibbs, Jim Jordan, Jim Renacci, Jean Schmidt and Michael Turner.

As for LaTourette, he leaves his post during an unusually busy final few days of his term. Now U.S. Rep. David P. Joyce, R-Russell Township, who was sworn-in Thursday, will represent Ohio’s 14th Congressional District.

A Sutton move?

There has been some rumblings that Sutton, D-Copley, who is now a former U.S. Rep. who lost a bitter battle on Nov. 6 against Renacci, R-Wadsworth, might consider a move to Ohio’s 14th Congressional District to potentially run again for Congress in 2014. However, local sources say it appears that’s not likely to happen.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

As the year 2012 comes to a close it’s time to take a look back at the career of a retiring Lake County official.

For Commissioner Raymond E. Sines, his last official meeting after 10 years on the board was Thursday.

Sines has served since he was appointed by the Lake County Republican Party in 2003, and then won two elections to four-year terms.

During his time in office, he was the lone Republican on the three-member Board of Commissioners.

Sometimes Sines didn’t agree with his Democratic colleagues on the board, but what I think made him effective was that he choose his battles carefully.

He was the kind of commissioner who could sternly make his point during an open session and even staunchly disagree with a colleague, then crack a joke about the situation when the meeting was over.

Sines occasionally would say it takes two votes to get something passed by commissioners, which is certainly true. With that in mind, he had the understanding that no matter his opinion, there were two other commissioners who might not agree with him. So he had to work together with his fellow colleagues.

Even though he disagreed on some issues, including building a high-level bridge over Vrooman Road in Leroy and Perry townships or the creation of the Lake County Stormwater Management Department, Sines’ influence was noticeable.

I think his ability to be reasonable when it came to making decisions and his work ethic also made him effective.

When it came time earlier this year for the commissioners to announce a plan to increase the countywide sales tax rate by 0.5 percent to deal with budgetary concerns, Commissioner Daniel P. Troy frequently said that he wanted bipartisan support before he would agree to raise the sales tax. What that really meant was Sines needed to support it too.

Sines told me many times that he did not want to raise the rate, but he felt the county’s finances had gotten to a point where major cuts would have been needed and there was no certainty that services could be maintained to a level that residents expected.

When Sines recently reflected back on his tenure, he said the sales tax issue was one of his toughest decisions as a commissioner.

Part of what went into that decision was Sines also felt that the county Stormwater Management Department had more funding than was necessary and that if the other two commissioners would support cutting the user fees to property owners by 50 percent as part of an overall package, then he would support the sales tax increase.

So what ensued was the proposal spearheaded by Troy and agreed to by Commissioner Robert E. Aufuldish and Sines to raise the sales tax by 0.5 and decrease the stormwater user fees by 50 percent, plus reduce the rate property taxpayers pay to the county’s General Fund by 1.1 mills.

Because the sales tax package was a unanimous decision that made it much easier to implement and the issue did not have to be put on the countywide ballot.

Only a referendum could have defeated the package and there was never much hint of that developing. Meanwhile, the county’s budgetary situation appears to have stabilized.

At his last meeting Thursday, Aufuldish said Sines and the other two commissioners were able to put politics aside to get things done.

Troy said that Sines would be missed and he was able to work together with Sines not only as a commissioner but when the two served together as state representatives years ago in the Ohio General Assembly.

Sines noted at the meeting that the key to his life has been the support of his family who allowed him to do what he wanted to do.

He added that if a script were to have been written about how he wanted to live his life, it had contained everything he always wanted.

When Sines concluded his remarks about his retirement at the meeting, Troy and Aufuldish — in a show of class — gave Sines a standing ovation.

Swearing in ceremony

The Lake County Democratic Party will swear in Aufuldish and Commissioner Judy Moran, state Rep. John M. Rogers, Clerk of Courts Maureen G. Kelly, Recorder Ann M. Radcliffe, and Treasurer Lorraine M. Fende at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Performing Arts Center Theater at Lakeland Community College.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

The three-member Lake County Board of Commissioners will definitely have a western Lake County feel next year.

It also will be an all-Democrat commission, as Robert E. Aufuldish of Wickliffe was re-elected Tuesday and Willowick Council President Judy Moran was elected to her first term.

They join Willowick Democrat Daniel P. Troy, who remains on the board until his term expires at the end of 2014.

According to final unofficial results (used for all information in this column), Aufuldish won by a margin of 54,787 to 49,081.

He won each precinct in Eastlake, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, Wickliffe, Willoughby, Willowick, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, Lakeline, and Timberlake.

Aufuldish also prevailed in Madison Township, winning seven of 10 precincts and six of 11 in Painesville Township,

His opponent, Republican John R. Hamercheck, a Madison Village councilman, won each precinct in Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Leroy Township, his hometown Madison Village, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Perry Township and Waite Hill.

Hamercheck also won 13 of 14 precincts in Concord Township and four of seven precincts in Willoughby Hills.

The two candidates split the city of Mentor, as each won 17 precincts.

Overall, Aufuldish won 99 precincts, while Hamercheck won 58 precincts.

Moran won by a margin of 53,713 to 50,897, defeating Willoughby Hills Councilman David M. Fiebig.

Moran won each precinct in Eastlake, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, Wickliffe, Willowick, Fairport Harbor, Grand River and Timberlake.

She also was victorious in Willoughby by winning 10 of 15 precincts, six of 10 precincts in Madison Township and six of 11 precincts in Painesville Township.

Fiebig won each precinct in Kirtland, Concord Township, Kirtland Hills, Leroy Township, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Perry Township and Waite Hill.

He also took 19 of 34 precincts in Mentor and five of seven precincts in his hometown Willoughby Hills.

Overall, Moran won 89 precincts, and Fiebig won 67 precincts. They tied in Mentor Precinct 2C, as each received 421 votes.

For both commissioners races combined, there were 208,478 total votes for the two races and of that figure 108,500 were for Democrats with 99,978 for Republicans.

That contrasts to the top of each party’s ticket in Lake County, where Republican Mitt Romney beat President Barack Obama by a margin of 57,150 to 55,219 giving Romney the edge by 1,931 votes.

Also in Lake County, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, beat Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, by a margin of 52,896 to 51,335 to win the county’s overall vote by 1,561 votes.

In a future column, I’ll take a look at how the Ohio House of Representatives races in Lake County shaped out and possibly others that have generated interest.

Prediction recap

In last Sunday’s column I made predictions for 18 races that appeared in the print edition. I also posted those plus 10 additional picks on the News-Herald’s political blog.

Out of 28 races, I got 24 correct — missing on one countywide result in Lake and Geauga counties, one multi-county race and one statewide race.

In print, 16 of were 18 correct, missing on the races for Lake County recorder and Geauga County commissioner for the unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2014.

I incorrectly picked Jason Wuliger to defeat Ann Radcliffe in the recorder’s race, and Jim Dvorak to beat Mary Samide in the commissioner race. Radcliffe and Samide were victorious.

For the additional 10 picks published online, I missed when I picked Mary Jane Trapp to defeat Colleen O’Toole for 11th District Court of Appeals, and I picked Yvette McGee Brown to beat Sharon L. Kennedy for Ohio Supreme Court for the unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2014. O’Toole and Kennedy were victorious.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

When it comes time to cast a ballot on Nov. 6 don’t overlook the people at your polling location who are there to make help provide that opportunity.

Poll workers are the folks who greet you at your precinct, check your identification, have you sign your name in the poll book, and then give you instructions on how to cast your ballot whether it’s by using an electronic machine or an optical scanned paper ballot.

Poll workers are often friends and neighbors and they do important jobs to help run the election.

The day typically starts around 6 a.m. and includes tasks such as to open up the polls and make sure the machines ready to operate. This all must be finished prior to 6:30 a.m., when the polls are supposed to be open.

Small jobs that most people don’t think about such as placing American flags at the polling location is part of the work.

During Election Day, it’s a poll workers job to make sure each voter is registered. Sometimes a voter must cast a provisional ballot because their identity can’t be verified by required identification or in situations where there might be a question of the voter’s eligibility in that specific precinct.

It’s the job of the poll worker to determine when a provisional ballot must be cast and they are trained on when those situations apply and how to handle it.

Once the election hours are concluded at 7:30 p.m. — unless directed to stay open longer due a court order — poll workers close down the voting location and deliver ballots to the county elections board, which works as quickly as possible to get them counted so the public can learn the unofficial results.

One thing to note is work as a poll worker is not a volunteer position, it is a paid one and the rate is set by the respective county.

In Lake County, a poll worker is paid $107.91 plus $20 for training. Presiding judges receive $127.91, plus $20 for training. In Geauga County, poll workers are paid $107.91, plus $30 for training. Presiding judges earn an extra $5 to $11, plus $30 for training.

There is always a need for poll workers in Lake County and most other counties, election officials will say. Inevitably someone gets sick or has an emergency and just can’t make it to the polls, so another person has to be ready to step in as a substitute, if necessary.

Serving as a poll worker, which I haven’t done because I’m usually working to cover an election, would be something I’d like to do sometime. I’m told it’s a long day, but most often a rewarding one because it’s a chance to be a part of the election process and serve the community.

Lake County TEA Party meets

The Lake County TEA Party will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday at Harvey High School Auditorium in Painesville. Ohio School Board candidates Bev Goldstein, District 11, and Sarah Fowler, District 7 are scheduled to speak.

Candidate endorsements

For any Nov. 6 candidates who have earned endorsements (not from The News-Herald), feel free to email them or fax them. Because of the volume and space required to list them, these items will not be printed in this column. Instead, they’ll be posted periodically on The News-Herald’s Northern Ohio Politics Blog at NorthernOhioLocalPolitics.blogspot.com.

Deadline reminder

The weekly deadline for information to appear in this column is each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Email or fax is preferred.

Fundies

* Lori DiNallo, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 60, hosts a clambake 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Benny Vino Urban Winery in Perry Village. See Jan Clair.

* Judy Moran, candidate for Lake County commissioner, hosts a Ladies Luncheon with special guest speaker Kathy Purmal, noon to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 21, at Cappelli’s Party Center in Mentor. See Kathy Russo or Shirely Vesel.

John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Judy Moran, candidate for Lake County commissioner, announced she received endorsements by:

Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Eckart, Lake County Commissioner Robert Aufuldish, Treasurer John Crocker, state Rep. Lorraine Fende, Willowick Mayor Rich Bonde, Wickliffe Mayor Bill Margalis, Wickliffe Council President Dave Krych, Fairport Harbor Mayor Tim Manross, Perry Village Mayor Vickie Stevens, North Perry Village Mayor Ed Klco, Mentor-on-the-Lake Mayor John Rogers, former Wickliffe Mayor Tom Ruffner, Willoughby Council President Jerry Ranally, Mentor Councilman Ray Kirchner, Willoughby Councilman Chris Woodin, Painesville Council President Joe Hada, Perry Township Trustee Rick Amos, Perry Township Trustee Nancy Steele, Leroy Township Trustee Chuck Klco, Concord Township Trustee Paul Malchesky, Eastlake Councilwoman Laura DePledge, Willowick Councilmembers Andy Allan, Charles Malta, Ann Turk, Mike Vanni and Tom Wells, Mentor School Board Member Mary Bryner, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 116, Journeymen Plumbers Local 55, North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, International Union of Operating Engineers, Cleveland Building and Construction Trades.

John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah