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Want to run for township trustee? Here’s advice from veterans
Going door-to-door is the most effective way to campaign, several trustees say.
Running for township trustee seems easy enough.
You get signatures of at least 25 registered voters in your township on nominating petitions, put up some signs in the yards of supporters, hand out fliers or nail files or pens or something with your name on it, talk to some people and wait for the result on Election Day.
While that’s a formula for success for some, it isn’t that simple for most.
Trustee candidates only need signatures from 25 registered voters in their township and a $30 filing fee to get on the November general election ballot. Candidates can submit a maximum of 75 signatures. [This year’s filing deadline for trustee as well as board of education seats is Aug. 20.]
“The petition process the first time is a little bit confusing to a new challenger,” said Trustee Walter P. Avdey of Coitsville Township, a 24-year trustee running for re-election. “You need to school yourself quickly. But after a while you understand it.”
For most candidates, that’s not a problem.
“The easiest thing is getting on the ballot,” said Austintown Township Trustee David Ditzler. “You’re only required to get 25 signatures. I try to get close to the maximum of 75.”
Boards of elections have disqualified candidates for not having enough valid signatures. The other most common reason candidates are disqualified is their failure to correctly fill out nominating petitions — a candidate must put his/her name, address, position being sought and the term of the office — as well as forgetting to sign and date them before having others sign the documents, said Thomas McCabe, Mahoning County Board of Elections director.
When candidates obtain nominating petitions from the board of elections, they also get a packet of instructions on how to fill out nominating petitions as well as the Ohio secretary of state’s candidate requirement guide — available online at: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/candidates/Candidate%20Requirements.aspx — and information on reporting campaign contributions, McCabe said.
Candidates can also receive lists of eligible voters in their townships from the elections board. It’s free if you bring your own blank CD, McCabe said. It’s about a penny a page for those wanting paper copies, he said.
Raising money can be difficult, veteran trustees say.
Ditzler, running this year for his fifth four-year term, said he’s spent upwards of $10,000 on previous elections.
“With the economy as tough as it is, I’ve held off on having a fundraiser,” he said. “I normally have one in April, but I didn’t this year. I’ll see if I can put my own money into the campaign. I’ll be more conservative in what I do and how I do it.”
Boardman Township Trustee Robyn Gallitto said she hasn’t set a target for how much money she’ll spend on her campaign. But said she could “run a decent campaign on $10,000.”
Incumbents become reusers and recyclers using leftover yard signs and other items such as unused nail files and pens urging people to vote for them.
Like other incumbents, Liberty Township Trustee W. Gary Litch will reuse his signs, and plans to spend less than $2,000 on his campaign.
“You try to get your signs back as soon as possible” so they can be used for the next campaign, he said.
Springfield Township Trustee Gerald Guterba spent $750 in 2005 when he won his first four-year term. It will be less expensive this year for Guterba. He said he’ll spend a few hundred dollars to buy a few yard signs as well as stickers that read “re” that he’ll place on his old signs that read: “Elect Gerald Guterba for trustee.” With the stickers, the signs will read: “Re Elect Gerald Guterba for trustee.”
Beaver Township Trustee Larry Wehr spent about $1,100 when he ran four years ago. It should be cheaper this time, he said.
Also, there’s no reason to spend much, he said. A candidate can be elected trustee in Beaver with only 700 to 800 votes.
Wehr’s costs are extravagant compared to Avdey’s.
Avdey anticipates his only expense will be the $30 filing fee he’ll give the board of elections.
“I have stuff left over from past campaigns such as signs, literature and note pads,” he said.
One incumbent not running for re-election is Ellsworth Trustee Steve Martin, who’s serving his 12th year.
It’s not the campaigning — which he enjoyed for the most part — that’s keeping him from running for re-election, he said.
It’s the “absolutely crazy” requirements imposed on the small township from the state and federal governments on issues such as water testing, he said.
Martin and many other veteran incumbents offer this advice to those running for public office: Go door to door and talk to as many people as possible.
Martin used a pretty good trick when he campaigned.
Under the guise of needing signatures to get on the ballot, even after he obtained more than the 75 signature maximum, Martin said he would knock on people’s doors to talk about his candidacy.
“I’d get hundreds of signatures,” he said. “There were several times when I had people sign petitions after I submitted petitions” to the elections board. “If someone’s going to sign your petitions, hopefully they’ll remember to vote for me.”
Several trustees contacted for this article said going door to door talking to residents is the most effective way to campaign, particularly in small townships, but it doesn’t come without a few headaches.
“Typically the guy who stops you for two hours isn’t registered the vote,” Ditzler said. “I learn a lot from walking and talking to people. They make you aware of a lot of issues that concern them.”
Martin said: “Going door to door is a must. What better way is there to talk to people? You want a nice, polite five to 10 minutes with each person. Sometimes you have to look at pictures of the grandchildren or the dog or the grandchildren’s dog.”
Talking with people at their homes is the best way to find out their concerns and issues, Litch said.
Avdey of Coitsville said he attempts to go to every house in the township.
“If they’re not there, I leave a little note saying, ‘I’m sorry I missed you,’” he said. “Sometimes I have to go there three times [to find the person at home.] One person can tie you up for an hour, but you have to be patient and sincere.”
One day Avdey said he can spend two hours campaigning and get to 30 houses and the next day speak to only three people in that same time frame.
Another great place to campaign is high school football games, Wehr said.
“There’s a lot of voters there,” he said. “I’ve found that to be more effective than going door to door.”
Another bit of advice from the incumbents: Run for office because you want to make a difference.
“People should run for the right reasons and not because they have a vendetta against another candidate,” Gallitto said.
skolnick@vindy.com
TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES
Incumbents and salaries
The following township trustees are up for re-election this year. Their annual salary is also included. Trustees’ salaries are based on a township’s annual budget under state law. The deadline to file nominating petitions for trustees and other nonpartisan positions, including seats on boards of education, is Aug. 20.
MAHONING COUNTY
AUSTINTOWN
$20,568
David C. Ditzler
Warren Bo Pritchard
BEAVER
$11,318
Ted Lyda
Larry Wehr
BERLIN
$10,288
Sandie Engle Brown
Jodi Kale
BOARDMAN
$20,568
Robyn Gallitto
Kathy M. Miller
CANFIELD
$15,998
J. Randy Brashen
Bill Reese
COITSVILLE
$10,288
Walter P. Avdey
Gerald M. Backo
ELLSWORTH
$9,004
Douglas W. Gedra
Steven Martin
GOSHEN
$11,318
Charles Brickner
Robert D. Spencer
GREEN
$10,288
Edward J. Schaefer
George Toy
JACKSON
$11,318
Charles Booth
Olin Harkleroad
MILTON
$10,288
Harold Maynard
Harold Moore
POLAND
$12,346
Robert Lidle
Mark Naples
SMITH
$11,318
David Mannion
Ralph Ritchie
SPRINGFIELD
$12,346
Gerald Guterba
Robert Orr
TRUMBULL COUNTY
BAZETTA
$12,346
William O. Glancy
Michael G. Piros
BROOKFIELD
$12,346
Gary P. Lees
John P. Schmidt
HOWLAND
$20,568
Richard E. Orwig
Sally B. Wehmer
HUBBARD
$12,346
Thomas Jacobs
Joseph F. Gleydura
LIBERTY
$15,998
W. Gary Litch
John B. Simon Jr.
VIENNA
$10,288
Heidi Brown
Philip M. Pegg
WEATHERSFIELD
$12,346
Steven Gerberry
William A. Miller
COLUMBIANA COUNTY
FAIRFIELD
$12,346
Bob Hum
Fred Grappy
PERRY
$11,318
Mike Halleck
Larry Parker
SALEM
$10,288
William Heston
John R. Wilms Sr.
UNITY
$10,288
Kathy McCarthy
Timothy S. Weigle
Sources: Ohio Township Association; Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties’ boards of elections and auditor’s offices