First, to those who won congratulations. You worked long and hard, so have an extra cup of coffee this morning to savor the moment.
Some local races in particular were remarkable for the story behind the headline.
Clearly the most contentious race – for Seneca County Prosecutor – taught us two things. First, that campaign spending does not equal winning. This is not official, but many folks estimate Egbert, Jr. spent in the neighborhood of $40,000. DeVine certainly spent thousands as well, but no where near that amount. Egbert received thousands from the state and county for his campaign. DeVine, as an Independent, relied solely on his own wallet and donations. Egbert bought a media blitz. DeVine’s campaign concentrated on a grassroots effort - a handshake, and word of mouth. Egbert ran an attack campaign. Devine ran a positive change campaign. but all that money did not translate into votes.
It also taught us with a tremendous amount of hard work and a team effort, that it is possible to unseat a party incumbent. Sometimes the good guy really does finish first.
The commissioners race confirmed that many people seek change in that office, though not necessarily through the same avenue. Sauber won by virtue of a split vote. Huss threw her hat in the ring first, and then Fletcher. Fletcher won what appears to be the straight party ticket since Seneca County is 35% Democrat. Sauber took the straight party ticket on Republicans with 25% and the remaining 20% from Independents. Ultimately, most of the voters wanted Sauber out. I hope this fact isn’t lost on Mr. Sauber, because it speaks volumes. And though Nutter won 51.46%, we too sincerely hope he will stop the endless fighting in his office with his co-worker, and with those who wish to preserve the courthouse.
Finally, Damon Alt sailed through with nearly 64% of the vote. I might add that Bernard retained the straight Democrat party ticket at 36%. After all the headlines, Bernard still pulled in the party faithfuls. Amazing.
It’s finally time for some long overdue musical chairs.
The Seneca County Blog polls did predict the winners, except had Sauber tied instead of winning. And one other amazing statistic – views today – 4,122. So yes, this little blog, can make a BIG difference!
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Thanks, Prof!! Well stated!
What’s our assignment for next week?
Thank you to all who came forward to help and to wish me well. You are greatly appreciated.
Thank you to Mr. Sauber for a respectful campaign, too.
All of you who voted for the Mental Health Levy showed that we do care about those who are troubled.
Campaigning is quite an education. I learned so much about and from the citizens all around the county. So many have lost or are losing those good jobs and now are having to settle for a job with no insurance and lower pay.
It really is about creating a government to represent all of us. It’s hard to get out there and try to make a difference, but no one ever said democracy was easy. It is easy to criticize people trying to participate.
Commissioners, I am counting on you to get involved and take advantage of the new opportunities through the Port Authority and SEIDC. Thousands of voters are expecting you to represent us.
I still have great hope for the future.
Jackie
I think you’re wrong about Huss throwing her hat in the ring first. Not that it matters anymore, but maybe Ms. Fletcher can verify that.
Ken – Suggested Assignment : Make a list of Seneca County “goods”!
foundit: I’m not sure eather who was frist but Ms.Fletcher was Dem. and Huss was an Independt. I do know Ms. Fletcher was attending commission meetings long before she ran for office and I could be wrong but I can’t recall ever seeing Ms. Huss there till after she started runing and I go way back before this board
I asked, and Huss did say she was going to run first. I am sure Mrs. Fletcher attended the meetings long before she ran too, if for no other reason than having been a party to the legal action on the courthouse.
Thanks Jackie and Cheryl for posting!
Fletcher made her announcement on January 23rd 2008.
Huss filed her petition in October to run, and announced at the Nov. 5 meeting with Fletcher in attendance she was running.
OhioUSA
What do you mean by “Goods?”
-dry goods
-merits/assets/virtues
-agricultural products
-manufactured products
-great cops
-stellar ‘Bergermeister?”
Please specify
Ken,
All of the above:-)
Goods to mean Strengths, Merits, Assets, Virtues – Positive Statements – about the people, places, and things – both tangible and intangible – broad and narrow. Why this place (Seneca County) matters.
Just to get the conversation flowing in a positive direction after all the negative election posts.
…or a compromse: everyone list two “goods” and one “bad”.
Scout: Are you sure about Huss’s filing date? I went back through some of the candidate info I have, and I found her announcement in the March 26, 2008 A-T.
I will bet my life on it because I asked her out of curiosity. I think the Nov. 5 meeting was the League of Women voters, but I might be incorrect on the name of the group that met when she made the announcement. I do know Mrs. Fletcher was at the same gig.
Congrats to all the winners… I won’t tear down people that won even though I don’t like them. I understand though that the people that run this blog are entitled to their opinion and their right to post it, but if trying to give the idea that it’s actually an important source of information for Seneca County berating a win in an election because you dislike the winner does nothing to help your reputation. I see your points on split votes and all, but a win is a win.
Congrats to the winners…
for the record: I filed my petitions with the Seneca County Board of Elections on October 26, 2007 (after obtaining 400 signatures); I told those present at an after hours for the League of Women Voters the day after the November 2007 election I was running and against Sauber, and yes Jackie was present because we had a nice conversation about it and she never mentioned the fact she was going to run.
Does it really matter? A loss is a loss and a win is a win. get over it. what counts is how does Seneca County move forward from here.
Until 2010…
Just My Thoughts – It isn’t berating a candidate to look objectively at statistics. Every person who runs for office does the same thing. Whole industries compare and analyze results. You can get a Ph.d. in the field of doing what I did. It has nothing to do with the candidate. I could look at any race, and do the same thing. Why, I might have actually taken a class or two on the subject, and actually know a thing or two about running a campaign. I would recommend to any person in office to “play well with others”. And I guarantee, if you are my friend and only won with 44%, I would tell you to your face that most of the people were unhappy with your performance, and you need to change that. Trust me, folks in both parties will, if they already haven’t, tell both Sauber and Nutter the exact same thing I said.
Scout – has anyone compared any results by precincts?
I will as soon as I have the information. The demographics have changed and It will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
I think as far as cleaning up properties in Tiffin, has either of you contacted city council? I could see a volunteer/council driven group “Titivate Tiffin” making things happen.
Thanks Cheryl for setting the record straight. I was just curious because I remember Ms. Fletcher making her announcement, and at the time I hadn’t heard about your announcement to run for commissioner.
My hope this that, although we’re once again stuck with the same Comedy Commissioners we’ve have, that the new county prosecutor will make sure they stay on the straight and narrow from now on, rather then get involved in stupid, petty, backbiting nonsense with the people who they’re supposedly representing.
Oh yeah – and to Jackie Fletcher:
Jackie, you ran a stellar, clean, upbeat and positive campaign. I firmly believe that, were it not for Huss, you would have won. You’re “take” on the many issues that we face in Seneca County are very unique, and I hope you continue to give your input at future commissioners meetings. And hey….there’ll be another opening in a couple yrs, after all!
Sorry for posting so late, but I spent all day yesterday out picking up signs. I appreciate all of the support that I received during the campaign. If you were helping me, thanks. It was truly a team effort.
Reading the blog has been inspiring at times and almost always is good for a chuckle or two.
Keep talking and keep sharing ideas.
found it – i submitted my announcement to the local media, however, they said they had to wait until they announced those who would be running in the primary first. A short announcement was actually run right before the primary because I submitted my own article and asked them to run it (of course, it wasn’t run in complete format) and then finally they ran my formal announcement on March 26th. Hope that answers your questions.
Puddintame – get over it; if I analyzed the situation I could say the same thing. you can’t do the what ifs on this campaign, the voters have decided to put the two back in office and we have to live with their decision and hope for the best. Jackie ran a hard race and so did I; democrat or independent we still had a loss and won out to a republican who doesn’t belong in office. Until 2010… or 2012
Derek – CONGRATULATIONS!
Cheryl Huss said: “Puddintame – get over it”.
With all due respect, this is the same abrasive attitude we’ve had to put up with in the commissioners office for quite some time now. And the same abrasive attitude I encountered at the Seneca County Fair, when talking to your husband.
Everyone has their opinions – and you know what they say about opinions.
I still congratulate Jackie Fletcher for running a clean campaign that displayed RESPECT AND CONSIDERATION for the voters and their opinions, and a willingness to approach issues with an open mind, rather than an open mouth, the way virtually ALL the other candidates behaved (referring to the verbal poking and stabbing displayed at the “meet the candidates” nights). I sincerely hope she runs for the next open seat, and again, she’ll have my vote.
I thought Cheryl and Jackie both ran excellent campaigns. It’s tough being an independent. I voted for Cheryl and have no doubt she would have been an excellent commissioner. Same goes for Jackie. Both very smart, classy ladies.