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Where are the challengers?
On the side
Popular Republican: Karl Rove, the nation’s top Republican strategist, will speak to a packed house Tuesday at the Mahoning Valley McKinley Club dinner at the McKinley Memorial Auditorium in Niles.
The facility holds about 300 people. Not only is the event sold out, but there is a waiting list of people hoping those with tickets decide not to attend.
To the best of my knowledge, this will be the first time the club — consisting of Republicans from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties — is closing the dinner to the media in its 96-year history.
Besides the lack of space, Rove’s staff requested the dinner be closed to the press. Rove is supposed to briefly meet with the media before the event.
Rove helped Republicans regain control of the U.S. House, win numerous gubernatorial races and close the gap in the U.S. Senate in the most recent election. He was also instrumental in President George W. Bush’s wins in 2000 and 2004.
Youngstown city government isn’t exactly humming along perfectly.
Yet five of the seven members of city council as well as Clerk of Courts Sarah Brown-Clark and Municipal Court Judge Robert P. Milich are all running unopposed in the May 3 Democratic primary.
And in this heavily Democratic city, only one Republican decided to be a sacrificial lamb: Plato Kalfas is running for the 5th Ward council seat.
Independent candidates can file by May 2, the day before the primary, to run in the general election.
I expected Judge Milich and Brown-Clark to not face opponents.
In Youngstown, incumbent judges and the clerk of courts typically run unopposed. And when they don’t, they have little problem winning.
It’s not that easy to beat a sitting Youngstown council member, but it’s been done.
Two incumbents in the last Democratic primary for council seats in 2007 — Paul D. Pancoe, a mid-term appointment in the 6th and Mark S. Memmer in the 7th — were soundly defeated.
There weren’t incumbents seeking re-election in four of the five other council seats four years ago.
Incumbent Carol Rimedio-Righetti, D-4th, ran unopposed in 2007 in the only uncontested Democratic primary for a Youngstown council seat.
In this year’s primary, Councilman Mike Ray, D-4th, selected two months ago to fill out the remainder of Rimedio-Righetti’s unexpired term, has three challengers.
That was expected.
But based on the lack of candidates in the other wards, it’s surprising there are seven challengers in the May primary to Councilman Paul Drennen, D-5th.
Among them are former Councilmen Michael R. Rapovy and Jerome McNally; Anthony J. Catale, a school board member; and ex-state Rep. Sylvester D. Patton.
Patton is chairman of the state Unemployment Compensation Review Board, a job that pays him more than $73,000 in annual salary. The board meets about three days a week in Columbus to hear unemployment compensation appeals.
Patton was appointed March 19, 2007, by then-Gov. Ted Strickland, a fellow Democrat, to a six-year term on the board.
I’m guessing Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, isn’t going to reappoint Patton to another six-year term in March 2013.
If Patton is elected to council and keeps his state job — don’t expect him to walk away from it — how does he effectively represent his ward while spending about half of his week in Columbus?
Also of interest is the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s endorsement meeting for the 4th and 5th races, which will be Sunday, starting at 6:30 p.m., at party headquarters, 3321 Mahoning Ave. in Youngstown.
Patton is the party’s vice chairman of minority affairs.
Only precinct committee and executive committee members who live in the 5th Ward can vote in that race. There’s also the option to not endorse.
In 2007, only 1,633 votes were cast in the two-man 5th Ward Democratic primary. Drennen won 902 to 731.
If turnout is about the same this May, the winner in an eight-man race, featuring five candidates who’ve won elections, probably only needs 500 or so votes in the second-most populated ward in Youngstown.