Defeated commissioner eyes repeal of tax boost

The incumbent Columbiana County auditor will serve a full four-year term.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Dave Cranmer, defeated as Columbiana County commissioner, said he is considering presenting a motion before commissioners to repeal a 0.5 percent sales tax increase adopted this summer.
Cranmer, a Democrat who narrowly lost his bid for re-election to a second four-year term, voted to impose the increase to save the county from fiscal emergency.
But that vote may have cost him the election, Cranmer said.
Campaign strategy
His opponent, county Recorder Gary Williams, campaigned against Cranmer on the sales tax issue.
Williams, a Republican, said the increase shouldn't have been imposed. Instead it should have been submitted to a popular vote, he argued.
"I'll give him the opportunity to let the people vote," Cranmer said of possibly mounting a repeal effort before his term ends this year.
But Williams said he would support no repeal effort.
"I would not propose to take that tax away," Williams said of the 0.5 percent increase.
He noted that he opposed the tax, but he acknowledged that the county needs the estimated $3 million it's expected to earn annually.
Now that the increase is in place, it should stay, Williams said.
He acknowledged that the sales tax increase was the major issue in the race.
"The voters do not like taxes rammed down their throat," Williams said.
"I did my job," Cranmer said of his role in voting with Commissioner Sean Logan to impose the half-percent increase.
Commissioner Jim Hoppel opposed the imposition.
Williams said one of his goals as commissioner will be to use the funding made available through the 0.5 percent increase wisely and to make clear to the public how it's being used.
He added that he would like to see as much revenue as possible put toward paying down county debt.
Williams has two years left on his term as recorder. The county Republican party will be responsible for appointing his replacement, he said.
Cranmer said it's too early to know what his plans are.
He lost to Williams by about 1,418 votes, according to unofficial tallies.
Williams garnered about 52 percent of the vote.
His victory restores a Republican majority to the commissioners board. Hoppel is also a Republican.
County auditor
In the county auditor's race, incumbent Nancy Milliken, a Republican who was appointed auditor in November 2000, defeated challenger Cynthia Altomare, a Democrat.
Milliken was appointed to the auditor's post to replace Patricia Hadley, a fellow Republican who resigned for health reasons. Milliken served out that term and will begin a new four-year term in 2003.
Milliken earned a nearly 58 percent share of the vote.
Altomare, treasurer and chief financial officer for Lisbon schools, said she was encouraged by the number of votes she earned "as a relative unknown."
But she added that she doesn't plan another bid at elective politics.
"You won't see me running again," Altomare said.