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The postings related to the upcoming election have been tremendous! Keep them coming.
I have noticed a trend in many of these postings and I thought I would toss out a subject for discussion. Who is really runnning Fairfield County?
There seems to be a couple schools of thought... Some would claim that the NW Fairfield County Republican Party is firmly in charge. This group brings folks like Mayor Shaver, Jeff Fix, Harry Myers, Terry Dunlap along with those on the campaign trail like Kyle Farmer and Steve Elsea. Yet another group feels that men such as Mike Kiger and Brian Fox are pulling the strings. Is there another faction that I've failed to mention?
We have all seen the postings over and over again on this website. So, I ask you, the readers of PATA... Who is really running Fairfield County? Is it these groups or some other entity? Are any of these people doing any good for the county? What about the new names that will appear on the ballot next week?
By Coyote
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Transition
I believe the political winds are changing here in the County. Clearly as a result of a poor economy and high unemployment our state's voters are disillusioned with the Republicans. The scandals at the State house and the conviction of the Governor last year will probably see many former Republicans looking else where for leadership this fall.
One huge issue that will sink the Republicans is the Religionist right. In the past, when social issues like abortion, and gay marriage were taken on by politicians those taking on the issues normally lost their bids for election. I think in the end most of the voters whether they be Democrat, Independent or Republican do have some faith in not only religion but their family and their moral values. Having a politician tell us how to believe rubs most of us the wrong way. When one party says they are moral then they imply the other party is immoral and so on. When one party says they have ethics they imply the other party of candidates do not. Then those messages go in the trash when we hear of the scandals of late.
The other factor is that we are seeing a re-awakening of the Democratic party here in the state and in our county. For a long time the Democrats have sit on the side lines because they had their liberal leaders in Columbus and Washington D.C. making life very hard in the heartland for Democratic candidates.
For a long time the County has been a one party system. Part of the problem with the two recent notorious office holders were that there was no opposition from the ''other'' party to challenge guys like DeMastry and McAuliffe. To run these guys out of office it took some courage from within the party to purge these unfit candidates. That purge has taken a toll on the party and in many ways it has split the Fairfield County Republican Party.
Those in charge is the question. Clearly those holding elective office today are in charge and they will be responsible for their performance. Those in primary races this Tuesday will have some real shocks come election night. Those with good organizations and get the party's nomination will face some stiff competition this fall.
As an example I expect that Blackwell will win the Republican nomination for Governor on Tuesday. However as a long time Republican I will vote Democrat in November.
As we all saw last fall the Lancaster City Council changed their leadership to a Democratic majority from a long run with a Republican Majority.
Finally as the rest of the county begins its transition to new leadership here in Pickerington I see some splits in how the City and Township line up in the next few years. The NW club was a factor a few years ago in 2003 however I believe they have taken sides mostly based on the far right wing and the Governor's race. We have some in our City government dedicated to the city for the long term and some looking beyond the city for bigger fish to fry. Clearly Mayor Shaver, Heidi Riggs and Jeff Fix all have higher ambitions and they are making their plans for that future now.
The Mayor was wanting to run for Judge. He couldn't get the support of either the BAR association or the NW Republican club. However his future in the Republican party may be very limited and his only option now is to stay on as Mayor of Pickerington. Clearly his only support group currently is the NW Republican Club. The possible option for the Mayor is running for Township Trustee. I have heard rumors of Gary Weltlich about to resign. He had said early on that this would be his last term in office. Is David Shaver positioning himself to step into the Trustees position? I am aware that Heidi Riggs very much wants to run for Mayor in 2007. So who will the NW club endorse for Mayor next year?
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Transition continued
That leaves Ted Hackworth and Brian Wisniewski on council and up for re-election next year. I am not sure where they stand on running again. I also believe both have somewhat distanced themselves from the NW club. I have also heard that Heidi is still upset over being ''overthrown'' as Queen of Council and she plans to find two other candidates to run against Ted and Brian. Similar to the vote 4 change group in 2003. Not sure how that will turn out. The Blackwell campaign will have a big impact on what Heidi does in 2007. If Blackwell fails to be elected governor he returns to Cincinnati and Heidi is out looking for a job.
I look for David Shaver's behavior to rise again and he will need to look for some other office to be able to provide him medical benefits for his illness. Going for a larger voting block like township trustee will allow him to continue to preach his regionalism and he appears to get along with the Trustees better than the council members for now. The other possibility will be that Shaver gets an appointment to say a magistrate if Laura Smith gets elected.
The Trustees are in kind of a pickle. I understand that if they approve the big box rezoning that there will be a recall effort put forth on them. If they turn down the rezoning I understand that the developers will sue. At least that is the terror alert sounded so far. The cleanest way would be to have the Trustee approve the rezoning and the Citizen vote it down with a referendum. However it will cost probably a couple of Trustees their jobs. Shaver knows this and he is ready to step in.
So to answer the question who is in charge? The voters are in charge. They will make their choices on Tuesday and it will be the begining of a transtition in the county and the State. Part of what happens Tuesday will have an effect on Pickerington and Violet Township next year.
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What if??
If Elsea and Farmer lose Tuesday then all bets are off. That will cause everythng to be in a mess. The NW Republican club with have become insignificate.
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