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KOZUIRA ROLLS IN PRIMARY;
ONE OF THREE REPS. RUNNING FOR MAYOR IN NOVEMBER
You may not even have noticed, but voters in cities across Ohio went
to the polls Tuesday, casting their primary ballots for a variety of
municipal offices and levies. Five of the state’s ten largest cities
will feature mayoral elections this November, and there were contested
primaries in two of them. In three of the ten largest cities, sitting
members of the Ohio General Assembly are running and, if successful,
would have to resign from the legislature before their terms expire.
One of them, Rep. Joe Koziura (D-Lorain), easily won a three-way primary
to secure the Democratic nomination for mayor of Lorain, Ohio’s
tenth largest city. He captured 62% of the vote in completing the first
step in his bid to reclaim the office he held from 1996-1999.
His primary victory sets up a rematch against incumbent Mayor Craig
Foltin (R), who upset Koziura in 1999 by just 412 votes. Lorain is heavily
Democratic – there were more than five times as many Democrat ballots
cast Tuesday than Republican ballots – but Foltin is the incumbent
and is sitting on a warchest of nearly $150,000.
Rep. Dean DePiero (D-Parma), who stepped down as House minority leader
earlier this year at least in part to focus on running for Parma mayor,
had no primary opposition. He faces two independents, Councilwoman Debbie
Lime and Robert Sinkovic, in November. DePiero and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor
Bill Mason control what is referred to as the “Parma Democratic
machine,” and Lime – elected to council as a Democrat –
is running as an anti-machine Democrat.
The third legislator running for mayor is Rep. Bryan Williams (R-Akron).
Williams is prevented by term limits from running for re-election, and
is seeking to oust longtime incumbent Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic (D).
Neither Williams nor Plusquellic had primary opposition.
Canton and Columbus are Ohio’s other largest cities where voters
will choose their mayors this Fall. In Columbus, Mayor Michael Coleman
(D) is unopposed for a second term. In Canton, veteran Councilman Bill
Smuckler defeated Bill Healy – the son of former Rep. Bill Healy
(D) – by 138 votes to win a five-way Democratic primary. His GOP
opponent will be Stark County Auditor Janet Creighton, who had no primary
opposition. Incumbent Mayor Richard Watkins (R) opted not to seek re-election.
A former member of the General Assembly, Joe Sulzer (D-Chillicothe),
was successful in his first political comeback bid. Sulzer, who was
defeated for re-election to the House last year by Rep. John Schlichter
(R-Washington C.H.), trounced incumbent Mayor Margaret Planton 73%-27%
in the Democratic primary for mayor of Chillicothe. Planton succeeded
Sulzer as mayor when Sulzer was appointed to the House in 1997. Before
coming to Columbus, Sulzer served as mayor for almost a decade, and
will do battle with Republican Councilwoman Diane Carnes in November
in his effort to recapture the post.
COOK RECEIVES U.S. SENATE CONFIRMATION – FINALLY
Nearly two years after being nominated by President George W. Bush,
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah Cook was confirmed this week by the
U.S. Senate to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 6th Circuit
includes Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, and her appointment
is a lifetime appointment. The Senate confirmed her by a vote of 66-25.
Cook will officially resign from the Supreme Court on May 16. Considering
her eventual departure has been anticipated for almost two years, Gov.
Bob Taft is expected to fill the vacant seat on the state’s highest
court quickly, perhaps in as little as a week after Cook’s resignation.
From the day her nomination by Pres. Bush was made, speculation has
been that former Appeals Court Judge Terrence O’Donnell was the
leading candidate to take her seat, and that still appears to be the
likeliest scenario.
Nonetheless, the Governor’s top aides are interviewing several
interested candidates, including Appeals Court Judges William Batchelder,
Judith Christley, Michael Corrigan, Richard Knepper, Mark Painter, and
Steven Powell, Franklin County Municipal Court Judge James Green, and
Guy Reece, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections and a
former Common Pleas Court judge.
Given that Justice Cook had the second most favorable ranking in the
most recent P.a.C.E. Business Evaluation of the Ohio Supreme Court and
that she has a solid record of having demonstrated judicial restraint
on a court that has until recently been controlled by a majority of
judicial activists, the philosophical approach of her successor is critical.
P.a.C.E. recently completed evaluations of all twelve district courts
of appeals in a manner similar to our Business Evaluation of the Ohio
Supreme Court. Here are the pro-business scores for the potential appointees
serving on the appeals court:
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Batchelder
86% |
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Corrigan
86% |
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Powell
83% |
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Christley
67% |
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Painter
54% |
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Knepper
52% |
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O’Donnell
52% |
For
a closer look at the records of each of these judges, check out our
complete Courts of Appeals evaluations at OhioBusinessVotes.org.
Beyond philosophy, the Governor will no doubt take into consideration
the political strengths and weaknesses of the potential appointees,
as well. With Cook’s departure, Ohioans will elect four members
of the seven-member high court in 2004.
The appointed justice will have to run next year for the two years remaining
on the six-year term to which Justice Cook was elected in 2000. Also
running for re-election next year are Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and
Justice Paul Pfeiffer. Because Justice Francis Sweeney will be at least
70 years old and therefore barred by the Ohio Constitution from running
for re-election, the fourth contest will be an open seat race.
Replacing Cook with a judge who shares her philosophical approach and
who also has a solid political base, name recognition, or fundraising
ability will help ensure the new majority on the court – a majority
the business community worked so hard in 2000 and 2002 to create –
that understands and respects its proper role will be retained.
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