How Lake County is represented in the Ohio General Assembly in Columbus will have a slightly different look next year.

Filling the seat for Ohio House of Representatives District 60 will be John Rogers, a Mentor-on-the-Lake Democrat, newly elected Nov. 6 when he defeated Painesville Councilwoman Lori DiNallo, a Republican.

Communities in the district are Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Mentor Wards 1-3, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, the townships of Concord, Leroy, Madison, Perry and parts of Painesville Township.

According to final unofficial results (used for all information in this column, as provisional votes will be added next week), Rogers won 25,964 to 21,141 or 55.12 percent to 44.88 percent.

Rogers won each precinct in Eastlake, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Willowick, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, and Lakeline. He also prevailed in Painesville, winning nine of 10 precincts, seven of nine precincts in Wickliffe and nine of 15 precincts in Willoughby.

Meanwhile, DiNallo won each precinct in Timberlake and the two Painesville Township precincts that are part of the district. She also won six of nine precincts in Mentor.

Overall, Rogers won 67 precincts and DiNallo won 16.

State Rep. Ron Young, R-Leroy Township, will remain in the Ohio House, where he’ll represent the new 61st District. He defeated Painesville Township Democrat Susan McGuinness. Young won 31,491 to 26,420, or 54.38 percent to 45.62 percent.

Communities in the district are Eastlake, Fairport Harbor, Grand River, Lakeline, Mentor Ward 4, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, parts of Painesville Township, Timberlake, Wickliffe, Willoughby and Willowick.

Young, who won his second consecutive term, won each precinct in Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Leroy Township, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Perry Township and Waite Hill.

He also was the victor in seven of 10 precincts in Painesville Township, 16 of 25 precincts in Mentor, four of seven precincts in Willoughby Hills and 13 of 14 precincts in Concord Township.

McGuinness won six of 10 precincts in Madison Township. Both candidates won one of two precincts in Madison Village and tied with 433 votes each in Willoughby Hills Precinct CC. Overall, Young won 59 precincts and McGuinness won 22 precincts, plus the one tied precinct.

In the race for Lake County recorder, Concord Township Democrat Ann Radcliffe defeated appointed Recorder Jason Wuliger, a Kirtland Republican.

Radcliffe won 52,502 to 47,353, or 52.58 percent to 47.42 percent.

She also won each precinct in Eastlake, Mentor-on-the-Lake, Painesville, Willowick, Fairport Harbor, Lakeline, Madison Village and Timberlake. Radcliffe was the victor in 18 of 34 precincts in Mentor, eight of nine precincts in Wickliffe, 12 of 15 precincts in Willoughby, eight of 10 precincts in Madison Township, eight of 11 precincts in Painesville Township.

Wuliger won each precinct in Kirtland, Concord Township, Kirtland Hills, North Perry Village, Perry Village and Waite Hill. He also won four of seven precincts in Willoughby Hills.

Both candidates won two of four precincts in Perry Township, one of two precincts in Leroy Township, and tied with 296 votes each in Mentor Precinct 4H.

Overall, Radcliffe won 103 precincts and Wuliger won 53 precincts.

Lake County’s new state senator

Some Lake County residents may not realize that starting in January there will be a second state senator representing the county in Columbus.

State Sen. Nina Turner, D-Cleveland, represents Ohio’s 25th Senate District that will be comprised of Ohio House Districts 8, 12 and 60. Her term expires at the end of 2014, so she was not on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Turner attracted some national attention this past week with her criticism of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, accusing him of enacting policies of voter suppression and hinting she might run for the office in 2014, and with what she views as a war by Republicans on women’s reproductive rights, specifically citing a state bill that would ban abortions after doctors can detect a fetal heartbeat.

Prior to reapportionment, all of Lake County was all within Ohio Senate District 18, which is represented by state Sen. John Eklund, R-Munson Township, who retained his seat Nov. 6 after defeating Democrat Jim Mueller.

Now the Ohio 18th Senate district will consist of House Districts 61, 75, 76, which is half of Lake County, two-thirds of Geauga County and all of Portage County. It no longer includes any of Cuyahoga County.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Susan McGuinness, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 61, announced she recently received endorsements from the following:

Ohio Nurses Association
Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters
Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, Inc.
National Association of Social Workers/Ohio Chapter
Ohio Association for Justice
Ohio AFL-CIO
North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor
Building Laborers’ Union, Local No. 310
Cleveland Building and Construction Trades Council
Ohio Education Association
Ohio Federation of Teachers
Pipe Fitters Local Union No. 120
Ohio Civil Service Employees Association
Ohio Association of Public School Employees, AFSCME Local 11
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18
Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

The Heartland Tour as part of the campaign for President Barack Obama made stops Monday in Painesville and Newbury Township to discuss the middle class and the economy.

At the Painesville stop was former Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Bob Boggs; Susan McGuinness, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 61; and Obama for America-Ohio Rural Vote Director Michael McCandlish.

In Newbury, appearing were McCandlish and Deborah Reiter, Chardon Councilwoman and chairwoman of the Geauga Democratic Party Women’s Caucus.

Meanwhile, the campaign for Republican Mitt Romney hosted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for a campaign briefing Tuesday morning at the Richmond Heights Victory Center.

The Obama campaign said the economy in both counties is improving, citing 4,900 new jobs in Lake County, and 2,200 jobs in Geauga County since March 2010, sourcing the statistics to an Ohio Labor Force Query.

Also noted was the unemployment rate in Lake County dropped from 8.4 percent in July 2009 to 6.2 percent in July this year.

In Geauga County unemployment dropped from 7.2 percent in July 2009 to 5.7 percent in July this year.

The Obama campaign also noted there have been signficiant infrastructure investments made through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the agricultural safety net and access to capital has greatly expanded through crop insurance and emergency disaster assistance.

Campaign officials also said that through the new health care law an estimated 1,462 young adults who otherwise would have lacked insurance now have it through their parents’ plan in Lake County and 634 young adults in Geauga County.

In Richmond Heights, Sen. Rubio was slated to discuss why the country needs a president who will address the growing national debt that has more than doubled under the Obama Administration. 

The Romney campaign said that almost four years after taking office, and several visits from Obama to the Buckeye State, Ohioans are not better off under Obama.

Romney officials said as the nation has $16 trillion of debt things would continue to get worse and that Obama has failed to lead and instead relied on budget “gimmicks” instead of actual spending cuts.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Now that the March 6 primary results are finalized, political parties are in the process of reorganizing and preparing for the Nov. 6 election.

This process is important as the selection of leadership will shape how fundraising is conducted, which candidates get support, both financially and through grassroots efforts.

The Lake County Republican Party conducted its reorganization Monday night in Painesville. Selected as officers were Dale Fellows, chairman; Amy Sabath, first vice chairwoman; Greg Schmidt, second vice chairman; Susan Betteley, secretary; Dave Vitaz, treasurer; Janet Clair, chairwoman.

Meanwhile, the Geauga County Democratic Party has its reorganization meeting Monday night in Newbury Township. Selected as officers were Janet Carson, chairwoman; Dennis Pavella, vice chairman; Glen Quigley, treasurer; and Terri McIntee, secretary.

The Geauga County Republican Party will meet at 7 p.m. April 10 at Munson Township Hall.

The Lake County Democratic Party was slated to have met at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Bricklayers Hall in Mentor, which is after the deadline for this column’s publication. Check back next week for results.

Statewide, the Ohio Democratic Party will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday to reorganize at the state party headquarters in Columbus. Word is party Chairman Chris Redfern might have a challenge from Lorain County Democratic Party official Anthony B. Giardini.

The Ohio Republican Party will meet Friday for its reorganizational meeting in Dublin. Chairman Kevin DeWine plans to step down from his position. Perhaps former Chairman Bob Bennett could be the interim chairman as the party gears up for the Nov. 6 election?

Potential commissioner?

What if Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy is elected as state representative for Ohio House District 60 in November? Of course, he must first defeat Republican Painesville Councilwoman Lori DiNallo.

But if Troy wins, the Lake County Democratic Party would need to make an appointment to fill out the remaining two years of Troy’s term.

I’m told former Willoughby Municipal Court Judge Larry Allen has an interest in the potential appointment. Others mentioned so far within party circles are Willoughby Hills Councilman Kevin Malecek and former state Rep. Mark Schneider.

Paper ballots

Lake County Elections Board reports that 28 people used a paper ballot during the March 6 primary. The state required each county that uses electronic voting equipment to have paper ballots on hand equivalent to 10 percent of the number of people who cast ballots in the March 2008 primary. The idea is for them to be available to people who want a paper ballot or in case of emergency.

That means 7,778 paper ballots were ordered at a cost of $2,022.28 in Lake County. That equates to $72.23 per vote cast by paper.

LGYR Hall of Fame

The 12th Annual Lake-Geauga Young Republicans Hall of Fame Dinner will be April 20 at Cappelli’s Party Center in Mentor. It is the organization’s sole fundraiser of the year.

The club will induct into its Hall of Fame former founding member Stephen Patt, who was instrumental to help restart the organization in 1999.

Past inductees include Steven LaTourette, Fellows, Jamie Callender, Raymond Sines, Timothy Grendell, B.J. Kresnye, Louis Mucci, Clair, Schmidt, Vincent Culotta and Eugene Lucci.

The LGYRs meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at Cork’s Wine Bar in Willoughby.

Fundies

n Fundraiser for Susan McGuinness, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 61, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 16 at Match Works Tavern in Mentor. See Walt McNamara or Ray McGuinness.

n Annual Buffet Dinner fundraiser for Lake County Prosecutor Charles E. Coulson, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 18 at LaMalfa in Mentor. See Stephen Byron.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: newsheraldjah