Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

My thanks to Katelyn Sattler for taking on the challenge of reporting for the Southeast Messenger. While Patti Wigginton will be missed, I wish her the very best in raising her family and enjoy family as they must always come first.

I am pasting Katelyn's article from the Messenger this weekend because it follows in line with the thread I started last week called Time to Hear from the Democrats. With the usual exception of some biting comments, the thread seemed to generate some actual two-sided discourse. Let's see what happens this week.

The political role of central committees in Fairfield County



By Katelyn Sattler
Staff Writer
What are these Republican and Democratic central committees we keep hearing about?
Nationally, the Republican leader Ken Mehlman and the Democratic leader Howard Dean, get a lot of attention, but have you wondered how the political parties function at the local level?

What are the central committees?

Both political parties in Fairfield County have Central Committees, which act as the leading political bodies in the county, the members of which are elected every two years at the primary elections.

Republican and the Democratic central committees in Fairfield County held organizational meetings in May after the primary to determine the leadership of each party for the next two years.

Each voting precinct elects a Republican and Democratic central committee member. The primary role of each Central Committee is to elect an executive committee. In addition, should a local elected position become available, whether through death, resignation or retirement, the Central Committee will appoint a successor to fill the role until the term expires. This happened in 2005 when Fairfield County Clerk of Courts Ron Balser retired and the Republican Central Committee appointed Deborah Smalley to fill the position through the rest of his term.

After being elected by the Central Committee members, the executive committee is charged with running the day-to-day business of the party, such as raising money for candidates, recruiting and endorsing candidates, volunteering support for candidates, and acting as the spokes-entity for the party.

continued...

The Republicans


The Republicans

During the May 31 Republican Central Committee organizational meeting, Steve Davis retained his position as executive committee chairman. In his welcoming speech to the other members of the executive committee, Davis warned, ?“There will be big money coming in from out of state for the local Democrats. They will declare war on the church and our candidates.?”

Davis said things are changing and electing Republicans to office won?’t be a cakewalk this time.

Davis also told his executive committee, ?“We need to reach out to folks; invite them to clubs and events. Let?’s declare victory on the wars of the past and move on. We need to lay down our arms on reasons to exclude people,?” alluding to some area Republicans who have been left out of party activities.

When asked about the much-discussed split in the Fairfield County Republican Party, he observed, ?“In every county, there are folks in leadership positions. In every county, there are folks who wish they were. We have that here. My issue with the prior leadership is the apparent intertwining with felons and unethical people who chased money regardless of the source.?”

An example of the tension within the county party, County Commissioner Mike Kiger won the nomination for county commissioner again this election cycle despite the fact that the Republican Party did not endorse him. Davis points out that ?“in every other race, the endorsed candidate won. In every case, the incumbent won.?” Davis credited Kiger?’s victory to the fact that, ?“Mike is a Populist. He says things that sound good at first blush.?”
Kiger did not return calls asking for comment.

The Fairfield County Republican Party can be contacted by calling (740) 654-VOTE. The executive committee meets the first Thursday of the month at the Fairfield County Republican Party Headquarters, 120 E. Main St. in Lancaster.

continued...

The Democrats


The Democrats

According to Dale Graham, who was re-elected as executive committee chairman for the Democratic Central Committee during the May 30 organizational meeting, ?“The Democrats have been making a comeback. Prior to the 2004 election, there were less than 5,000 registered Democrats in Fairfield County. Since 2004, the number has increased to almost 12,000.?”

Two years ago, Graham established an Educational and Outreach Committee out of the executive committee. He credits this with the increase in Democratic numbers as well as the Democrats taking control of Lancaster City Council.

Graham reports that the county Democrats are ?“positive, upbeat and ready to go. This is a good year for Democrats. Ted Strickland will look good in the governor?’s mansion.?”
However, he hopes the governor?’s race campaigning won?’t get down in the mud like the Blackwell/Petro race.

Tony Barletta, a Pickerington Democrat, is a member of the Democratic Executive Committee and the Educational and Outreach Committee. He believes people are becoming dissatisfied with the Republican county government because they feel it has been deceptive and says, ?“Two years ago we elected two commissioners (Jon Myers and Judy Shupe) and the day after the election they said we needed more money. They weren?’t forthcoming with the facts.?”

Barletta encourages Republicans who are dissatisfied with the way things are going to check out the Democratic Party.

The Fairfield County Democratic Party can be contacted through its Web site, www.ffcdp.net, and the executive committee meets the third Tuesday of the month at Independence Hall in Lancaster.

(Disclaimer: Katelyn Sattler was elected to the Republican Central Committee in May of 2004 as a Citizens United for Republican Ethics (C.U.R.E.) candidate. She voted for Steve Davis for Executive Committee Chairman in 2004. Her term expired May 2, 2006 and she did not seek re-election as she is pursuing a career in journalism.)

Question

I was curious who was elected to each officer posistion for both the dems and republicans for central committee and then executive committee?