Lack of challengers in primary surprising

The March 4 primary promises to feature some interesting races for elected positions in the Mahoning Valley.

But as interesting as who filed is the lack of opponents in a number of races.

There was uproar when Ohio Senate Democrats appointed Capri Cafaro in December 2006 to the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Marc Dann.

Earlier that year, Cafaro lost the Democratic primary for the 13th Congressional District seat and was defeated in the 2004 general election for the 14th Congressional District. She actually lives in the 17th District, although state law allows her to run for Congress anywhere in Ohio.

Some complained that her family’s wealth helped her obtain the appointment, and that her past record showed she could be beat.

Yet last Friday’s filing deadline came and went and no Democrat or Republican in all of Trumbull and Ashtabula counties turned in nominating petitions to run against Cafaro in the 32nd state Senate District. The independent filing deadline is March 3, but it’s extremely rare for an independent candidate to win a state Senate race.

Also facing no primary opponent is state Sen. Jason Wilson, D-30th. Wilson had never run for office when the Senate Democrats selected him to replace his father, Charlie, who resigned after being elected to Congress.

Wilson’s appointment was controversial.

The younger Wilson was fired as his father’s campaign manager because Charlie failed to obtain the needed 50 valid signatures to get his name on the ballot. The elder Wilson and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent more than $1 million combined on an unprecedented congressional write-in victory for the candidate.

With that on the younger Wilson’s résumé, it’s a bit surprising that no Democrat in the five-county district, which includes Columbiana, challenged him.

The only Republican to file for Wilson’s seat is Tim Ginter, who finished a distant third among four candidates in the 2006 primary for the 6th Congressional District post.

On the congressional level, U.S. Reps. Charlie Wilson, D-6th, and Tim Ryan, D-17th, face no Democratic primary challengers and weak Republican opponents in the general election.

The older Wilson certainly scared off the competition with his ability to win the 2006 Democratic primary as a write-in against two virtual unknowns. But he’s still just a freshman congressman who hasn’t done much to distinguish himself in his 12 months in the House. That’s not a knock against him because few freshmen have and he’s only been there for a short time.

The Republican sacrificial lamb in the general election is Richard Stobbs, who finished dead last in the 2006 primary for the 6th District.

Ryan appears to have smooth sailing in his quest for a fourth two-year term in the House.

His Republican opponent is Duane V. Grassell, who withdrew as a candidate and then refiled.

Trumbull County Board of Elections officials told Grassell when he filed for the seat the first time that there was a problem with his petitions, but he refused to listen to them.

To his chagrin, Grassell discovered a day later that the elections officials were correct. He withdrew those petitions and submitted a new set by last Friday’s deadline.

There are others on the March 4 ballot who are incumbents, but have never won elected races. They are in their jobs through appointments.

Among them is Mahoning County Recorder Noralynn Palermo, a Democrat, who has no primary opponent. Her Republican challenger is Jeanette M. Garr, a Youngstown State University professor, who wants to get her foot in the political door by being recorder, a job she called a “stepping stone” to higher office.

Mahoning Probate Court Judge Mark Belinky and Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Franken have run for office with no success. They were appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland to fill vacancies.

Apparently there are those who see them as vulnerable because two Democrats and a Republican filed to challenge Judge Belinky and three Democrats are going after Judge Franken.