Many politicians in Sandusky and across the state are looking over the horizon to 2010.
And in fact, the four Erie County office holders who come up for re-election next year — Bill Monaghan, Tom Paul, Roger Binette and Tygh Tone — all say they plan to seek new terms in 2010.
Many state and local elections have already begun to take shape, from statewide races for the U.S. Senate to more local races for seats in the Ohio General Assembly. As a result, Ohio is filled with politicians who already have been running for office for months or are at least thinking ahead.
Here’s a look at some of the races.
LOCAL RACES
ERIE COUNTY: Four offices come up for re-election next year: Erie County Commissioner Bill Monaghan, a Democrat; Tom Paul, a Democrat; Common Pleas Judge Tygh Tone, a Democrat, and Common Pleas Judge Roger Binette, a Republican.
All four said they plan to see a new term. None have an announced opponent so far.
Matt Old, the chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, said he has candidates looking at Monaghan’s and Paul’s jobs but said he can’t announce any names yet.
Democrat Dennis Murray Jr., D-Sandusky, who represents Erie and Ottawa counties in District 80, plans to seek a second term. Republican Jeff Krabill, a Sandusky businessman and school board member, already has announced he’s running, too, and already has a Web site.
State Rep. Terry Boose, R-Norwalk, whose 58th District, includes Huron County, plans to seek re-election. Former state Rep. Rex Damschroder, a Republican who runs an airport in Fremont, is running for the 81st district, which includes portions of Seneca, Sandusky and Ottawa counties. The seat currently is held by another Republican, Jeff Wagner, who must leave because of term limits.
STATEWIDE RACES
GOVERNOR: Look for a matchup between the incumbent Democrat, Ted Strickland, and Republican John Kasich, a former congressman who has been campaigning for several months.
U.S. SENATE: Beating an incumbent senator is usually a difficult task. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown did it in 2006 when he ousted Mike DeWine. In general, though, politicians prefer to run for an open seat.
That’s what they’ll be doing in 2010, when Sen. George Voinovich is retiring. Democrats face a choice between Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who both seem to enjoy a strong following.
Republican hopefuls include Rob Portman, a former Congressman and Bush administration figure, and Tom Ganley, who owns car dealerships in the Cleveland area. Portman is considered the front runner, judging from the barrage of press releases that the Ohio Democratic Party has been sending out.
U.S. HOUSE: Incumbents Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, who represents Erie and Ottawa counties, and Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, whose district includes Huron County, are expected to run again. Both would be heavy favorites..
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Richard Cordray, the Democratic attorney general, is expected to seek re-election. Two Republicans are vying for the nomination to oppose him: Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator, and Dave Yost, county prosecutor in Delaware County.
SECRETARY OF STATE: With Jennifer Brunner running for the Senate, a vacancy is opening up. Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Garrison is running. So is Republican Jon Husted, a member of the Ohio Senate.
TREASURER: Kevin Boyce, a Democrat appointed to the job after Richard Cordray changed jobs, is seeking a full term. The Republican candidate so far is state Rep. Josh Mandel of Lyndhurst.
AUDITOR: Mary Taylor, the Republican incumbent, is planning to seek re-election. Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper, a Democrat, plans to run for the office.

I'm not really a big fan of Fox News. In fact, I seldom watch it. I might see a few minutes of it if a TV is tuned to the channel somewhere I happen to be, but that's about it. I get my news mostly from reading the newspapers and listening to NPR.

But I feel compelled to say something about the piling on from the White House and various left-wing commentators about how Fox is supposedly not a legitimate news outlet. Recent comments from White House communications director Anita Dunn (the Mao Tse-tung admirer, if you remember that kerfuffle) are typical. "[Fox is] widely viewed as a part of the Republican Party: take their talking points and put them on the air, take their opposition research and put it on the air. And that's fine. But let's not pretend they're a news organization like CNN is."

I'm not clear on why Fox is being judged by a standard that's different from the one applied to everyone else. Prime time on MSNBC is filled by left-wing program hosts such as Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Is MSNBC a legitimate news organization? Is it a wing of the Democratic Party?

I'm also hazy  on why the First Golfer and his minions feel compelled to weigh in on which news organizations are legitimate. Do we really want the White House deciding that for the rest of us?


 

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, will be the guest on Friday's "Bill Moyers Journal," says Steve Fought, the congresswoman's spokesman. Check  your local PBS listings.

I asked Fought about the "Marcy for President in 2016" boomlet launched by her appearance in the new Michael Moore movie, and he told me that she's focused on her current job.

"Well, we didn't do the launching. Michael Moore launched it. We'll see how that shapes up," said Fought, who has already seen the new movie twice.

Kaptur does not welcome the kind of fundraising she would have to do if she really considered a race, Fought said.

"She appreciates the attention in the movie," Fought said. "If she wins the lottery, she might reconsider."

 

If you've noticed some of the front page stories in the Cleveland Plain Dealer involving an alleged bribery scheme for property tax valuations, you may wonder if Erie County is using the same property tax assessment firm allegedly involved in bribes and kickbacks.
Erie County's auditor, Tom Paul, is happy to tell you the answer is "No."
As this story details, V.A.S. Enterprises allegedly gave Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo a total of $1.2 million (using cash stuffed in "manila envelopes and empty cigarette packs") to do appraisal work for Cleveland and environs. The costs of such overhead helped raise the value of the V.A.S. contract a whopping 64 percent.
Appraisals in Erie County are carried out with the help of a different firm, Appraisal Research Corporation, Paul told me when I got him on the phone Tuesday.
Referring to V.A.S, Paul said, "I've never seen their name before except in connection with the Cuyahoga County fiasco."
Ottawa County and Huron County doesn't use V.A.S., either, Paul said.