Why bother to have elections at all in Montgomery County?
Donald Trump won Montgomery County.
The local democratic party did nothing to win any new seats, and Debbie Lieberman came within 1% of losing to Gary Leitzell, who only spent $6000 and barely campaigned.
No seats changed hands. No republicans were replaced, no incumbents got voted out. Phil Plummer who should be in jail instead of running it- got re-elected.
Mike Turner hasn’t faced a serious opponent since his first race.
The local dems endorsed Ted Strickland from the start as well as Hillary Clinton and we see how that turned out.
We don’t really hold elections here, we just rubber stamp decisions made in back rooms on who should be allowed to run.
UPDATE
an hour after posting: And one other thing happened, without anyone knowing in advance, from Thomas Suddes:
Then there’s the General Assembly. In January, Republicans, led by Speaker Clifford Rosen-berger of Clinton County, will hold 66 of the Ohio House’s 99 seats. That’ll be the biggest House majority either party has held since Ohio went to a 99-member House in 1966 – 50 years ago….
It takes 66 House votes – the number that Rosenberger will have – to pass a bill as an emergency measure. That may seem like inside baseball, but for this: Voters can’t challenge emergency measures in statewide referenda. If Republicans could’ve passed union-busting Senate Bill 5 as an emergency measure, voters couldn’t have killed SB 5 (as they did, resoundingly, in a 2011 referendum).
Source: Ohio Democrats find selves in tough spot
How does labor feel about that? Some labor groups even backed Portman in this election.
In the spring election, be it in May or March (I can’t remember, because they switch it up- and the Board of Elections site is worthless) the democrats will be selecting their new precinct captains and ward leaders. It only takes 5 signatures of registered dems to get on the ballot. It’s long overdue to throw out the stacked deck of patronage job holding precinct captains that keep allowing the Monarchy of Montgomery County to continue with their lame “leadership.”
This is also the year where three seats will come up on the Dayton City Commission- Mayor Whaley, Joey Williams and Jeff Mims. The question is who will really try to challenge them. Whaley raised half a million last time so she could raise your taxes, charge you for street lights, and raise your water and trash bill, while buying empty buildings and giving away Garden Station for $10. Williams has repeatedly won more votes than any other candidate, yet has done little but go with the flow. Mims, despite being a former educator, local and state school board educator- has zero problems allowing more tax abatement shortchange Dayton Public Schools.
But, consider everyone in the country who said Congress was broken, worthless and gridlocked, how many seats changed hands?
Case closed.
Right again and seldom wrong, Esrati. Lost respect for local labor when they sucked the Whale’s YKW full throttle campaigning her into becoming Queen of Dayton. They created the mess they are in. Next they will help her take the next Senate or HOR seat up for grabs. We are screwed.
The next Reorganization Meeting for the Montgomery County Democratic Party organization is after the Democratic Primary in 2018. Each of the 360 precincts in the county can elect one Democrat to represent that precinct at the Reorganization Meeting. Those elected then are voting delegates at the Reorganization Meeting and then serve as precinct captains for their precinct and serve as voting members of the Central Committee until the next Reorganization Meeting. At the Reorganization Meeting all MCDP officers are selected and amendments to the Constitution require only a majority vote.
In 2014, only 132 precincts had even one candidate. 228 precincts had zero candidates and at the Reorganization Meeting only about 100 of these 132 elected delegates showed up.
If the Democratic Primary is in May of 2018, then deadline for Democrats to get on the ballot to represent their precinct will probably in January of 2018. If the primary is in March of 2018, then the deadline will be in December of 2017. We have a year to line up candidates.
The efforts I made for the 2014 Reorganization Meeting are still posted on my unused website CitizensTogether.com. It includes a map of the county showing which precincts were represented in 2014 and proposes changes to the constitution allowing MCDP meetings to be conducted via the internet.