All politics are local

Primary 2008 is over. What's next?

By Larry Metzger, CEO

Whew! What a 2008 Primary Election. Seldom have we seen so much interest in a Primary Election than the one we witnessed on March 4, 2008. Barack versus Hillary. Cindy Lazarus versus John O'Grady. Two open seats in Congress from the central Ohio Delegation with the retirement of Representatives Deborah Pryce and Dave Hobson, both very influential members of Congress. And, there are nine open seats impacting central Ohio to be filled in the Ohio Legislature; plus "tons" of things going on in the counties.

Now that the Primary is over it's time for central Ohio REALTORS® to begin thinking about the General Election. We must turn our sites towards those races that could have significant impact on our business and political future for years. I thought, perhaps, that I should discuss a few of those races that will draw the greatest interest from the electorate in central Ohio, and especially the real estate community.

Let's first look at the race for the Representative to Congress for the 12th District, Mary Jo Kilroy versus Steve Stivers. Kilroy, currently serving her final year as a Franklin County Commissioner, ran a strong race in 2006 against Rep. Deborah Pryce. Stivers, currently serving as an Ohio State Senator representing the 16th Senate District, was headed for senate leadership until he decided not to run for reelection to the Ohio Senate in 2008 and to make a run for Congress. Senator Stivers easily won his primary but has a lot of work ahead of him to make a strong run for the Congressional seat in the General Election. Both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee have targeted the 12th District as a very important seat to win.

Two other important races for Congress in central Ohio will have Rep. Pat Tiberi (the incumbent and past REALTOR®) against Democrat challenger David Robinson for the 15th Congressional District and State Senator Steve Austria (R) against Democrat challenger Bill Connor for the 07th Congressional District.

Now let's take a quick look at the open seats from central Ohio in the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate. First, with Senator Stivers running for Congress, the seat for 16th Senate District in the General Election will pit Representative Jim Hughes against Danielle R. Blue. Jim is currently serving the final year of his fourth term in the Ohio House of Representatives (22nd House District). Representative Hughes has been endorsed by the Franklin County Republican Party; Ms. Blue has been endorsed by the Franklin County Democratic Party.

The Ohio Senate seat for Senate District #10 (Madison County) is also open because Senator Steve Austria is term limited and he is also the Republican Candidate for the U. S. House of Representative, 7th District (open because of the retirement of Rep. David Hobson). Rep. Chris Widener, Ohio House District #84, will forgo his 4th term in the House to run for Senate District #10. Rep. Widener has been a great supporter of REALTOR® issues for the last six years in the Ohio House of Representatives. Rep. Widener's opponent will be Democratic challenger Roger Tackett.

In the Ohio House of Representative's, all seats are up for election every two years. The seats of primary interest are those that will be vacated because of term limits (An individual is limited to four consecutive two year terms in the Ohio House of Representatives.). Those seats are as follows:

• House District #02 (Delaware, the seat held for four terms by Jon Peterson): Janice Lanier (D) vs. Kris Jordan (R)
• House District #19 (Franklin, the seat held for four terms by Larry Flowers): Brad Lewis (R) vs. Marian Harris (D)
• House District #22 (Franklin, the seat held for four terms by Jim Hughes): James Patrick Carney (D) vs. Michael Kennan (R)
• House District #23 (Franklin, the seat held for four terms by Larry Wolpert): Cheryl Grossman (R) vs. Keith Goldhardt (D)
• House District #27(Franklin, the seat held for four terms by Joyce Beaty): W. Carlton Weddington (D) vs. Jim Hunter (R)
• House District #84 (Madison, the seat vacated by Chris Widener): Robert Hackett (R) vs. Connie Crockett (D)
• House District #90 (Knox, the seat held for four terms by Thom Collier): Duane Grassbaugh (D) vs. Margaret Ann Ruhl (R).

All central Ohio REALTORS® should be proud of the fact that the seat for House District #24 is currently held by REALTOR® Ted Celeste. Ted is currently serving the second year of his first term in the House and will run for reelection.

Another REALTOR®, Representative John Schlichter, is completing his third term representing House District #85 (Fayette) and is also running for reelection. Rep. Thom Collier, House District #90 (Morrow), is also a REALTOR®. Unfortunately his House Seat is "term limited" and he must step down.

Now let us take a quick look at some of the local races of primary interest in Franklin County. Two seats on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners are up for reelection. Commissioner Paula Brooks is seeking reelection to her seat. But, the seat currently held by Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy will be open for election to two new candidates: John O'Grady (D) versus Jeffery Miller (R). Of interest in this election, John O'Grady (currently Clerk of Court of Common Pleas) won a tough election in the Primary against Cindy Lazarus (a past member and president of Columbus City Council and judge on the Franklin County Court of Appeals). One would wonder if the primary election wasn't the real battle for the seat on the Board. If Brooks and O'Grady win their election, the Democrats will continue to hold all three seats on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. We'll see when the ballots are counted in the General Election this fall.

Edward Leonard will be seeking "reelection" as the Franklin County Treasurer. Most of you will recall that Treasurer Leonard was appointed last year to fill the remaining term of Richard Cordray who won the 2006 election as the Treasurer for the state of Ohio. Mr. Leonard's opponent in the General Election is Stephanie McCloud.

There appears to be just as much interest being generated in the two open seats for the Delaware County Board of Commissioners. Both incumbents, James Ward and Glenn Evans, were defeated in the Primary and will not be on the ballot for the General Election. Tommy Thompson and Ken O'Brien won the Republican Primary Election and will replace the two incumbents on the ballot. Mr. Thompson and Mr. O'Brien will face opposition in the General Election by the two candidates that won the Democratic Primary Election, Neil Niedhardt (D) and Roger Van Sickle (D), respectively. So, what makes this race so interesting? Kris Jordan currently holds the third seat (term expiring on 12/31/10) on the Board of Commissioners. You will recall earlier in this article that Mr. Jordan is a candidate for the seat currently held by Rep. Jon Peterson. If he wins the General Election, he will vacate his seat on the Delaware County Board of Commissioners with the vacancy being filled by an appointment through the remaining two years of his term. It appears that three new commissioners will be seated on the Delaware County Board of Commissioners.

Another old friend of Ohio REALTORS® is Rep. Jon Peterson, who you will recall will be term limited in 2008 for Ohio House District #02. Mr. Peterson won the Republican Primary Election for Delaware County Treasurer. No one filed for the Democratic Primary; therefore, it appears that Jon will be elected.

REALTORS® and voters in central Ohio will have their hands full educating themselves as to who are the best candidates that will best represent their interests in the years ahead. The CORPAC Governing Board will certainly be busy interviewing candidates and trying to sort the "whole thing" out. Now add the races for President of the United States and Congress. Wow!

I'm sure that we will all have to agree; November 4, 2008 will be every bit as exciting as was March 4, 2008.