The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Elections board certifies 35 as candidates for charter commission
Lorainites will choose 15 Charter Commission members from among 35 candidates appearing on the November ballot.
On Sept. 14, the Lorain County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify the petitions from 35 hopefuls who will fill 15 seats on a Lorain Charter Commission.
That is, if Lorain voters approve the formation of the charter commission.
Elections board members Marilyn Jacobcik, Anthony Giardini and Jack Baird discussed the Lorain issues in a meeting with board Director Paul Adams and Deputy Director James Kramer.
The Lorain charter issue will appear as Issue No. 25 on the ballot.
It will be the first issue that Lorain voters see on the ballot, Adams said.
Then, voters in Precinct 8-F will see two local option issues regarding allowing liquor sales.
Then, Lorain City Schools options will follow, and the Lorain County Children’s Services renewal levy after that, Adams said.
That county issue will be numbered Issue 24, because it already was issued a ballot number before the board considered certifying the charter change to appear on the ballot.
The numbers may seem trivial, but the board members agreed the goal is to avoid voter confusion.
“I think the issue is going to be confusing enough as it is,” Giardini said.
Lorain voters must consider if they want the charter or not.
Even if they vote “no” on the charter, they still may vote for Charter Commission candidates to have a say on that board in case the charter issue passes, Giardini said.
“It’s a weird situation, to say the least,” he said.
The ballots
Although the list of candidates may be lengthy on a paper ballot, voters who live in the city of Lorain and in the Lorain City School District will have a one-page ballot, Adams said.
Voters who live in the city of Lorain, but in Clearview, Amherst or Vermilion school districts, will see two-page ballots.
That is because those districts are members of Lorain County JVS, which has a 10-year additional levy on the ballot, Adams said.
The candidates’ names will appear in alphabetical order in Lorain Precinct 1-A.
In different precincts, the names will be rotated around.
When casting ballots, voters may pick fewer than 15 candidates for the Charter Commission, and still have those votes counted.
That would be similar to a Lorain City Council atlarge race, in which voters could vote for up to three candidates, but might select only one that they like, Giardini said.
On touchscreen voting machines, voters will see a notice that they voted for fewer than 15, and may opt to vote for fewer than 15, Adams said.
On the touchscreen voting at the polls, the computer will not allow voters to select more than 15 candidates, Adams said.
But for the paper ballot, selecting 16 or more candidates will be considered an over-vote, meaning the selections will not count for that race.
Jacobcik asked if there would be a write-in period for more Charter Commission candidates.
“Oh, for God’s sakes, I hope not,” Giardini said.
Adams confirmed there would be no write-ins for the Lorain Charter Commission.
The board members allowed three name changes for candidates running for the Charter Commission.
The requests came because candidates circulated and filed petitions, officials said.
David Z. Arredondo will appear on the ballot as David Arredondo; Anthony J.
Dimacchia will appear as Tony Dimacchia; and Audali J. Torres will appear as A.J. Torres.
The other candidates are:
• Joel Arredondo
• Jeffrey Bearer
• Jack Bradley
• Kyriece Brooks
• Tim Carrion
• Lynne Maxine Christner
• Jerry Donovan
• Mitchell J. Fallis
• Jay Ferguson
• Dennis Flores
• Douglas A. George
• James C. Gula Jr.
• Jessica Higgins
• Ted Kalo
• Kathryn L. Kennedy
• Jeremy S. Leighty
• Lori L. Olson
• Henry T. Patterson Jr.,
• David Petroskey
• Garon Petty
• Mallory Santiago
• Mary Santiago
• Max Schaefer
• Dennis L. Shawver
• Karen Shawver
• Terri Soto
• Rick Soto
• Joshua Thornsberry
• Ruben Torres
• Jessie Tower
• Sanford Washington Jr.
• Brandon J. Wysocki