COLUMBUS Treasurer, auditor will vie for post of attorney general

The auditor's campaign adviser said the state treasurer is attempting 'to steal some of our thunder.'
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
COLUMBUS -- Ohio Treasurer Joseph T. Deters will run for attorney general next year, the same post state Auditor Jim Petro is seeking.
Petro, a Republican, is to officially announce his candidacy for the office at several campaign stops throughout the state Thursday, said John Hughes, his senior campaign adviser.
Deters, also a Republican, plans to make his announcement even earlier than that, probably today, said Matt Borges, Deters' campaign spokesman.
Deters' campaign officials placed telephone calls Friday to Ohio Republican Party headquarters in Columbus asking how a letter from the treasurer about his candidacy could be delivered to GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett, who is in Florida at a state party chairmen meeting, said Gary Abernathy, party spokesman. Once Deters' letter arrives, it will be faxed to Bennett, he said.
"The letter is kind of a desperate attempt to steal some of our thunder," Hughes said. "You can't keep [the planning of the Petro announcement] secret forever. It started to seep. We can't control what Joe does. But we feel confident that we can win a nomination against any Republican opponent."
In response, Borges said, "It's no secret that Joe Deters because of his background as Hamilton County prosecutor has for some time expressed interest in the job of Ohio attorney general."
Abernathy described Deters' entering the race as "the worst-kept secret in the whole state."
The Mahoning Valley is not on Petro's Thursday travel itinerary. The two-term state auditor, who is not permitted to run for a third term because of the state term limits law, will make stops in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Cincinnati and Dayton.
"We talked of doing Youngstown, Canton and Akron, but we can't fit them all in one day," Hughes said. "But Youngstown and northeast Ohio are always important and we aren't taking any part of the state for granted."
Support: Petro has the support of about 75 percent of the state's 88 county Republican chairmen, including Clarence Smith of Mahoning County, Craig Bonar of Trumbull County and Jerry Ward of Columbiana County.
Petro has been a frequent visitor to the Mahoning Valley the past few years, campaigning for fellow Republicans, holding his own fund-raisers and conducting press conferences regarding reviews his office has done of the financial records of local public agencies.
Petro received 51 percent of the vote in Mahoning County and 47 percent of the vote in Trumbull County -- two of the most Democratic counties in the state -- during the 1998 general election against Democrat Louis Strike. He also received 55 percent of the vote in politically-moderate Columbiana County. He won statewide with 62 percent of the vote.
Deters was elected treasurer in 1998 and unlike Petro could seek another four-year term.
Deters did not fair as well against his Democratic opponent in the Valley in 1998. He received 54 percent of the vote statewide, but only 35 percent of the Mahoning vote, 37 percent of the Trumbull vote and 46 percent of the Columbiana vote.
Planning candidacy: Attorney General Betty Montgomery, a Republican, cannot seek a third four-year term because of the term limits law. She is planning a run next year for state auditor.
The party will not take an official position on which candidate to support.
"But we prefer to avoid primaries, especially when it involves two of our thoroughbred candidates," Abernathy said. "We understand and respect their wishes. Not to say eventually there's not a time where the chairman tries to do something in the best interests of the party."