The Dem Ticket, All the Way Down

The image above is the generic "sample ballot" listing the candidates and issues endorsed by the Franklin County Democratic Party. For those of you who have not been around the blog, I operate under a modified version of Reagan's 11th Commandment... I don't like to help the GOP. If I'm not a fan of a particular Dem candidate, I tend to simply ignore them. After this election, when Dems have big majorities in both federal chambers of Congress and (k.o.w.) the White House, I might have the luxury of engaging in party-internal position-taking at that level. At the state and local level, I'll most likely stick to picking and choosing Dems to support.

In general, I also stick to commenting on races I can vote in. I like to feel that I have standing to comment, and I simply don't have the capacity to be informed about other folks' ballots at a Jeff-Coryell-Level.

Finally, there are many races where, like most people, I simply haven't invested the time to add anything of substance to whatever discussion is going on. While I ignore races when I don't like the Dem, the majority of races that I ignore are simply due to time and information constraints.

At the end of the day, I almost always vote pretty much exactly how the flyers of the type above suggest, but I often get a bit uneasy toward the bottom, so I'm following up with some additional resources.


The blue highlights on this image represent unqualified endorsements from Blue Bexley, for candidates and issues on the ballot in Bexley. Obama is a patently obvious choice, and Robinson and Garland have been covered extensively here. Cordray has done an excellent job in his last post and current post, and I expect him to be an excellent AG as well. Ed Leonard took over for Cordray in the Franklin County Treasurer's office, and has worked his butt off to keep up those standards. Paula Brooks is an excellent County Commissioner, and John O'Grady will be as well. Maryellen O'Shaughnessy is back on the ballot in Bexley this year running for countywide office after her stint on the Columbus City Council, and I'm happy for the opportunity to vote for her again. Although I had initially been ambivalent about the 10th Court of Appeals race, I believe that (R-New Albany & current State Senator for Bexley) David Goodman's use of misleading and very ugly robocalls, and subsequent defense of the content of those calls, displays a troubling sense of ethics and judiciousness on his part. Troubling, at least, in a candidate for the bench. As a result I find myself giving an unqualified endorsement to his opponent, Judge John Connor. As for the ballot issues, you're welcome to read my previous post on those.

Jim Karnes is highlighted in gray, meaning that he is an incumbent who has given me no reason to believe that he shouldn't return to the office. He is running for re-election as Franklin County Sherriff, and I will be voting for him.

Jan Gorniak and Kristen McKinley are first-time office seekers, Dr. Gorniak for Coroner, and Ms. McKinley for the State Board of Education. Given that they are both political newcomers, you may want to visit their campaign websites, listed in the links below. Ms. Gorniak (a forensic pathologist) appears to be more qualified for the position than her opponent (an internist with a private practice she will maintain in Fairfield County). Ms. Mckinley will be going up against the very formidable Larry Wolpert, a term-limited Republican legislator. Mr. Wolpert might start out knowing exactly what he is doing, moreso than Ms. McKinley. Unfortunately, I really don't like what he'd be doing. Mr. Wolpert has been in favor of changing accountability requirements for school districts, claiming that it's not fair for districts to be held responsible for special populations' test scores. In other words, Mr. Wolpert favors "Come on, can't we leave some children behind?" Ms. McKinley is supported by the major labor groups making endorsements in the race.

The remaining judicial candidates are highlighted in lavender. I'll be voting for all of them, with varying levels of enthusiasm, but none reluctantly. Judicial races are perennially the most difficult to get a handle on. This is why the Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, has produced an interactive statewide guide to judicial races. It's an excellent source for the biographies and basic statements from the candidates. For a more extensive look at each of the Democratic candidates, please visit their campaign websites, listed below.

Candidates and issues not highlighted are not on the ballot in Bexley, and as such I have no for-publication opinion. I will say that I don't know of any reason to contradict the FCDP's endorsements in those races.

So yes, I am voting a straight Democratic ticket. In some years, only the Yellow Dogs do so, but this year, we've got a good slate.

Newcomers:

• Kristen McKinley - Board of Education
• Dr. Jan Gorniak - Franklin County Coroner

Judicial Candidates - Supreme Court:

• Peter Sikora - running for Evelyn Stratton's seat
• Joseph Russo - running for Maureen O'Connor's seat

Judicial Candidates - 10th Court of Appeals:

• John Connor
• Richard D. Brown - Link unavailable, see SOS profile

Judicial Candidates - Court of Common Pleas:

• Shawn Dingus
• Tim Horton
  (Website under construction, SOS profile here, running unopposed)

Judicial Candidate - Court of Common Pleas - Probate Division:

• Eric Brown