Dems nominate Hagan in 60th-District contest

State Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr. of Youngstown was term-limited.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- "I got to vote for my good friend, Bob Hagan," said Dr. Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, professor in the department of philosophy and religious studies at Youngstown State University, voting for the first time Tuesday.
Originally from Cuba, Palmer-Fernandez became a naturalized citizen in December. He was among the many friends and supporters of state Sen. Robert F. Hagan awaiting election results Tuesday night at The Bean Counter Cafe on Federal Plaza.
At press time, unofficial results showed Hagan, of Youngstown, defeated five challengers in the Democratic primary in Ohio's 60th District to replace Sylvester Patton.
"I came to the United States as a young boy," Palmer-Fernandez said. "We left Cuba in 1959, right after the revolution. All this time I've been politically active but could never vote."
Palmer-Fernandez said after waiting to vote for so many years, Tuesday's process seemed too easy.
"We went in and was done in about three minutes," he said. "I give my students extra credit if they vote. If you take democracy seriously, you have to go to the polls."
Assured of victory just after midnight, Hagan said his win was an indication that voters want people with experience to represent them in Columbus.
"I'm honored to be chosen to serve," Hagan said. "Obviously, the issues I talked about -- leadership and experience -- are important and will help the people of the Mahoning Valley."
Others in race
Hagan defeated Youngstown Councilman Rufus G. Hudson; Struthers Councilman Dan Yemma; Richard A. Gozur, Campbell Memorial High School principal; Ian Stublarec of Youngstown; and Michael J. Latessa of Youngstown.
State Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr. of Youngstown, who's held this post for eight years, cannot run for re-election this year because of state term limits.
There were no Republicans running in this heavily Democratic district which includes Youngstown, Campbell, Struthers, Lowellville, Coitsville and nine precincts on the east side of Austintown.
GOP contests
There were contested Republican primaries in the 61st and 99th Ohio House Districts.
The 61st District takes in the northern portion of Mahoning County along with portions of Stark and Tuscarawas counties and all of Carroll County.
The seat is being vacated by state Rep. John Boccieri, a New Middletown Democrat who is running for the Ohio Senate's 33rd District seat.
With 83.4 percent of the vote in, Randy Pope of Alliance had 50.7 percent of the vote in the Republican primary for the 61st District, compared to 49.3 percent for Brant Luther of Alliance.
The winner will face Democrat Mark D. Okey of Carrollton in the November general election.
This is Pope's third run for this seat, having lost to Boccieri in 2002 and 2004.
A former one-term Alliance councilman, Pope wants to streamline the state budget by eliminating nonessential programs. He also wants to lower taxes and decrease regulations to keep businesses in Ohio.
Luther, a former Stark County auditor and three-term Alliance council member, says growing Ohio's economy is his top priority.
99th District
The 99th Ohio House District includes the northern portion of Trumbull County and all of Ashtabula County.
William Pikor of Thompson will face state Rep. L. George Distel, a Conneaut Democrat, in the November general election. Pikor defeated Donald Rogers of Kinsman, who was seeking elected office for the first time.
Pikor said the state's education funding problem could be solved by combining sales, income and property taxes instead of an over-reliance on property taxes, something the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional.