Auditor hopeful has no rivals in primary contest

The candidate's rise in politics has been quick.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- State Rep. Mary Taylor, running for Ohio auditor, is probably the envy of most statewide candidates.
Taylor, of Uniontown, R-43rd, is the only candidate for a state executive office -- governor, auditor, attorney general, treasurer and secretary of state -- without a primary opponent.
The deadline to file for this year's primary is Feb. 16. No other Republican has expressed interest in the running for the seat.
"Anytime you have a primary opponent, you have to spend money," she said. "The advantage to no primary opponent is you save that money and can concentrate on the Democratic nominee."
Taylor's rise in politics has been quick.
She was appointed to a city council seat in Green in Summit County in August 2001 and elected to council that November. A year later, she was elected to the 43rd Ohio House District that includes portions of Summit and Portage counties.
In her second term as a House member, she is running for state auditor. Auditor Betty Montgomery opted not to seek re-election, and made that announcement more than a year ago.
Montgomery, a fellow Republican, was running for governor until last week when she announced she would seek her party's nomination as attorney general, a position she held for eight years.
Natural fit
"That presented an opportunity to me," said Taylor, a certified public accountant for 16 years. "Auditor is a natural fit for me. When I decided it was something I was interested in, I worked hard and have been doing so for a year."
The auditor's race will cost about $2 million to $3 million to win. Taylor said her campaign has raised about $325,000.
As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Taylor said she was heavily involved with the overhaul of the state's tax code.
The Democratic nominees for state auditor are Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon of Boardman and state Rep. Barbara Sykes of Akron, D-44th.
Sykes announced her candidacy last week. Taylor said she was somewhat surprised by Sykes' announcement, particularly because the Democrat had previously announced plans to retire from politics when her House term expired at the end of this year.
Some Democrats urged Sykes, a three-term House member and head of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, to run for the seat because, besides her, there are no black candidates and only one woman on the statewide Democratic primary ballot.
While Reardon isn't thrilled with having a primary, he has no plans to get out of the race.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm the front-runner to win this job," he said. "Not only are we in it, we're stepping it up."
Reardon said he is preparing to send 30,000 mailers to Democrats throughout the state, and has actively campaigned in about 50 counties.
skolnick@vindy.com