DAVID SKOLNICK \ Politics Dems pledge allegiance, but to what?

The first meeting of Mahoning Democratic precinct committee members in two years didn't get off to a good start.
But even with the shaky beginning and a bit of in-fighting, the party emerged from the meeting united behind a candidate to replace retired Judge Robert Lisotto on the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court bench.
Before things got going, the precinct committee members stood up to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The only problem, and it was a big one -- no one brought a flag. That certainly didn't thrill the military veterans in attendance.
In a situation equally embarrassing and amusing, those at the meeting pledged allegiance to the shirt of Richard Jensen of Canfield, who came with his wife, a precinct committeewoman. Jensen wore a red shirt with an American flag on it.
From there, Mahoning Democratic Chairwoman Lisa Antonini gave an impassioned speech about the importance of Ohio, particularly the Mahoning Valley, in the 2004 presidential election.
"We face a great challenge in our Valley, and I need all of you to step forward to do more now than ever," she said.
As a side note, the addition of U.S. Sen. John Edwards to the Democratic ticket can only help U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the party's presumptive presidential nominee, in the Valley.
Kerry's support here, one of the state's most Democratic regions, is soft. Edwards beat Kerry in Trumbull County on March 2, the same day the North Carolina senator quit the presidential race.
If Kerry fails to get at least 65 percent of the vote in November in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, he is finished in Ohio, considered a key battleground state.
Kerry's decision to make Edwards his running mate thrilled Valley Democrats. Edwards' populist message resonates with local Democrats, most importantly with those with little to no interest in supporting Kerry.
"The problem isn't that we don't have enough Democrats in Mahoning County, the problem is not enough of them come out to vote," said state Rep. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, the party's election chairman.
Rick Barga, Kerry-Edwards campaign field organizer for Mahoning County, urged precinct committee members to get more involved in the race and to recruit volunteers.
"We don't want to just win in Mahoning County, we want to win big," he said. "We want to run up the score."
It wouldn't be a Mahoning Democratic precinct committee member meeting without a little in-fighting. I think this is the main reason the party gets its precinct members together only about once every two years or so.
John Shultz, a Boardman attorney, led the charge to delay the vote to select a candidate to replace Judge Lisotto for at least two weeks, saying the party rushed the process. Carano said there weren't many attorneys in the county who didn't realize the party planned to field a candidate as quickly as possible to replace Judge Lisotto. Antonini said she contacted numerous attorneys to gauge interest, and was encouraged to not delay the vote.
Shultz has a point because the nominee didn't need to be in place until Aug. 18.
But quite honestly, when Judge Elizabeth Kobly of Youngstown Municipal Court became a candidate, the race was pretty much over. She is an exceptionally strong candidate and a well-respected judge.
Tim Franken found that out the hard way as she easily defeated him for the Democratic nomination. It's going to be quite a challenge for Mahoning Republicans and Gov. Bob Taft to find someone to beat Judge Kobly.
Regarding Shultz's request for a delay, Austintown Trustee David Ditzler, the party's former chairman, astutely noted it's nearly impossible to get the needed number of Democratic precinct committee members together at one time for a meeting.
The party needs to have 100 members to take action. This week's meeting attracted 153 members. There are 286 Democratic precinct committee members in the county, meaning only 53 percent of them showed up to choose a judicial candidate and to vote on party leadership. How many would come back in two weeks?
Amazingly, the turnout pleased Mahoning Democratic leadership.