ON THE SIDE. . .

ON THE SIDE. . .
This and that from the world of Valley politics.
CANDIDATE SEARCH: The Republican Party chairs of the five counties in the 30th Ohio Senate District meet June 2 in Columbiana County to pick a candidate to run for the seat. Lawrence Stacey II of Columbiana withdrew as the Republican candidate for the seat before the March primary. But he didn't withdraw in a timely fashion so his name appeared on the primary ballot, and he actually got 4,079 votes.
Because Stacey won the primary, he ran unopposed, the Republican chairs of the 30th District have until Aug. 18 to find another candidate for the November general election. Columbiana GOP Chairman Jerry Ward said there are at least two Republicans interested in running for the seat, but he wouldn't disclose their names. The person selected June 2 by the GOP chairs would face state Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, who won the Democratic primary, in the November general election.
Anti-tax GOPers: Americans for Tax Reform, a right-leaning Washington, D.C., organization, released a list of Ohio Legislature incumbents and challengers who signed a pledge promising to oppose any efforts to increase taxes. Most of those in Ohio who signed the pledge are Republicans, the same political party responsible for the state sales tax increase. Among those signing the pledge are three Republicans running for state House seats in Mahoning Valley districts.
skolnick@vindy.com