OSU Dems 'meet the candidates' night

I went to the event at the Drexel Gateway with my wife and daughter. Twelve-Month-Old Charlotte got a lot of attention from the electeds and staffers, which was good because I cannot initiate a conversation on my own to save my life. There's not a lot of substance for me to report. I talked about the GIRFOF education amendment with Stephanie Groce of the Columbus Board of Education. I got a surprised laugh out of Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks when I said I was behind a shadow internet campaign to get her to move to the 12th. She was very nice and put Charlotte's shoe back on when it came off. 2010 Buckeye (Peter K.) picked up Charlotte's water bottle when she dropped it during the speechifying portion of the evening. Hearcel Craig, newly appointed to Columbus City Council, was thrilled that he could get Charlotte to wave.

Mayor Coleman was there for a bit. His plainclothes detail was quite unobtrusive, but would have blended in better if he had put on one of the nametag stickers. The Mayor shook my hand and commented (of course) on Charlotte, but he had that sort of VIP automaton thing going on.

Ed Leonard, the new Franklin County Treasurer, was much different. He's on the ballot in '08, but as he said, he's already running. He's got some big shoes to fill, but it was obvious that he wanted to earn his job by doing it well and winning an election. I hope he can maintain the energy and sincerity.

Even worse than my conversation initiation skills are my conversation joining skills. So I never got a chance to talk to Ted Celeste (State Rep.), Andrew Ginther (City Council), or Herb Asher (frequently quoted OSU PoliSci prof). I got a chance to stand two feet away from each of them for several seconds until it started to feel awkward. That's something I guess.

I was a bit annoyed with some of what I heard/didn't hear, but I'll talk about that some other time. The OSU Dems put on a nice event, we enjoyed ourselves, and I'm looking forward to election season.