On the SidE. . .

ON THE SIDE. . .
This and that from the world of Valley politics.
JUMPING THE GUN: What was actually said at the Ohio Democratic Party's state dinner last week was inconsequential to the Ohio Republican Party.
Hours before the dinner began, state GOP Chairman Bob Bennett issued a prepared statement, embargoed until the dinner was underway, criticizing the event.
"It's unfortunate that Democrats could waste an entire event on negative rhetoric instead of laying out a substantive agenda for leading Ohio," he said.
Positive step: The overwhelming victory by Mark Belinky of Boardman as the Mahoning County Democratic Party's secretary was a positive step for Democrats. Belinky said some upper-level party leaders urged him to withdraw from the race to clear the way for Dorothy McLaughlin of Struthers, a longtime party member, to run unopposed.
Belinky unsuccessfully ran for party chairman twice and organized a political group that has criticized the Mahoning Dems publicly a number of times. But Belinky stood his ground and those who asked him to pull out respected his decision. Having Belinky as a party official, even if the job doesn't amount to much of anything, can only help Democrats who say unity is their goal.
skolnick@vindy.com