Buckeye RINO

Editor’s note: Phil Van Treuren is a current member of Amherst City Council, occupying one of the 3 At-Large seats on that council.  He has filed petitions to run for re-election this year.  Democracy works best when voters have a choice of candidates on the ballot, hence this press release issued 2/4/2011.  For municipalities with partisan election races, the field is already set for the May 3rd primary elections (unless one wants to run as a write-in candidate for party nomination in the primary, in which case the filing deadline is 4pm, February 22nd).  Independent candidates don’t appear on primary ballots, as they aren’t competing for a political party’s nomination, thus they proceed directly to the general election and won’t appear on the ballot until then.  If one wishes to run as an independent candidate in a municipality with partisan elections, the deadline for filing petitions at the county’s Board of Elections office is 4 pm, Monday, May 2nd.  For candidates wishing to run for municipal office in municipalities that hold non-partisan elections, those wishing to run for school boards, and those wishing to run for township offices, the petition filing deadline for the general election is 4 pm on August 10th.  To get more information about running for office, feel free to visit the county Board of Elections office.  One may also wish to consult the webpage for the Ohio Secretary of State.  There’s a page there where you can access the 2011 Election Calendar.  The general election will be held on November 8th.

VAN TREUREN ENCOURAGES INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES TO ENTER AMHERST AT-LARGE COUNCIL RACE

Amherst Councilman Phil Van Treuren is encouraging Independent candidates to enter the 2011 council at-large race and challenge him and two others who have already filed to run.

Van Treuren said that he was “very disappointed” to see that Councilman At-Large Terry Traster, a Democrat, did not file for re-election this year. Both Van Treuren, a Republican, and Frank Janik, a Democrat, have filed to run again for their current council at-large seats. Another Democrat, Steven Mihalcik, has also filed to run for a council at-large seat.

That means that there are only three candidates on the ballot for three council at-large seats, which Van Treuren said isn’t fair to Amherst voters.

“The three of us shouldn’t be able to just waltz right into office without any kind of challenge,” Van Treuren said. “Even if it means that I get voted out, I think the people of Amherst deserve to have more candidates on the ballot in November so they can actually make a choice.”

Van Treuren said that he wants to draw attention to the fact that registered Amherst voters are still allowed to file for office as Independents, as long as they turn their petitions in before the May 3 primary deadline.

“The City of Amherst has plenty of dedicated, involved residents who would make great candidates for elected office,” Van Treuren said. “We should never have a situation where there are only three candidates on the ballot for three at-large seats.”

Van Treuren is encouraging any Amherst registered voter who is interested in filing to run as an Independent for council at-large to contact the Lorain County Board of Elections for information on how to obtain and file petitions.