O’Shaughnessy hopes you get to know her

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, acknowledges that hers is not a household name.

O’Shaughnessy, the Franklin County clerk of courts, is campaigning to change that.

“Clearly, there are plenty of people who need to get to know me here, who I believe when they get to know me will vote for me,” she said at the Mahoning County Board of Elections, her first of three campaign stops Tuesday in Youngstown. “I have lots of friends who are committed to making sure we have trustworthy and fair elections, and they’re getting me around to make sure we are successful this election cycle.”

O’Shaughnessy, of Columbus, faces state Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican from Kettering who used to be speaker of the Ohio House, and Charles Earl, a Libertarian from Bowling Green, in the November general election.

“We have a very diverse state,” O’Shaughnessy said. “The people of the [Mahoning] Valley are different than central Ohioans and southern Ohioans. I would say the attitude [in the Valley] is more of ‘show me’ than anything else, so face-to-face communication is critically important to the people who want to know that they can put their faith and trust in the next secretary of state. I’m doing everything I can to have that one-on-one communication with each voter here.”

As of Aug. 4, the most-recent campaign finance filing date, O’Shaughnessy had $601,702 in her campaign fund compared with $2.58 million for Husted and $110 for Earl.

For her to win in November, O’Shaughnessy said she must do well in the Democratic-dominated Mahoning Valley.

She’ll return Friday to Youngstown to attend the Mahoning County Democratic Party picnic at the Maronite Center Pavilion.