Niehaus Announces Application Process for 26th District Seat

Release:

(Columbus) - Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) announced today the process to fill a pending vacancy in Ohio's 26th District Senate seat.

The Senate Republican Caucus will accept applications through close of business on Friday, July 1. Applications should be sent or hand-delivered to the following address:

Senate President Thomas E. Niehaus
The Ohio Statehouse
1 Capitol Square, Room 201
Columbus, OH 43215

Please send an identical copy of the application to the Senate chief of staff:

Matt Schuler, Chief of Staff
The Ohio Statehouse
1 Capitol Square, Room 205
Columbus, OH 43215

Senator Niehaus also announced that the following Senators will serve on a screening committee which will interview the applicants and make a recommendation to the entire 23-member Senate Republican caucus:

* Senator Tom Niehaus, President (R-New Richmond)
* Senator Keith Faber, President Pro Tempore (R-Celina)
* Senator Shannon Jones, Majority Whip (R-Springboro)
* Senator Chris Widener (R-Springfield)
* Senator Kevin Bacon (R-Minerva Park)
* Senator Cliff Hite (R-Findlay)
* Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering)

Incumbent Senator Karen Gillmor (R-Tiffin) has indicated she plans to resign from the 26th District seat, pending Senate approval of her appointment by Gov. John Kasich to the Ohio Industrial Commission.

WMD Blast

SCHEDULED POSTS:

Today, we have stuff on Sarah Palin's upcoming visit, a Florida update on McCain-Palin, an OH-01 forum issue, ACORN, and Ohio's Issue 6.

LINKS:

Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune: Candidates for 26th Ohio Senate share views

Canada Free Press: "Obama hints at Communist presidency" -- Canadians recognize this sort of thing when they see it...

PolitickerOH: "Romney in Hamilton County for phone bank on Thursday" -- Here's your chance for that BIG interview, BizzyBlog! Heh.

COMING SOON:

Normally I wouldn't even bother with something like this, but I remembered hearing a story -- and I don't remember from whom I heard it, so I'm asking the vast WMD audience to chime in -- that is a bit tabloidy, but since it involves the Angry Armenian, I figure: "Why not!"

Anyway, the story goes a little something like this: Krikorian lost a campaign manager because his grand political strategery was to buy a pig from Jean Schmidt's farm and ride it around downtown.

Does that sound familiar to anybody? I'd love to have confirmation of that... I mean, it is certainly believable, but is it "fake but accurate" is the sort of thing I'm trying to nail down here.

OPEN THREAD IN COMMENTS...

Karen Gillmor's First Ad

I'd really like to see more YouTube videos from Republican candidates. Equally important is letting the bloggers know that these vids are out there...this one was posted four months ago and this is the first I've seen it.

Primary2008: Karen Gillmor Wins Ohio Senate Primary

This also came in after I shut down the "live" coverage:

TIFFIN, OHIO- With a majority of precincts reporting, Karen Gillmor (R-Tiffin), a former two-term State Senator, has won the primary for the 26th Ohio Senate District with more than 60% of the vote over State Rep. Steve Reinhard.

Gillmor said, “I am extremely grateful to the voters for their support. I certainly appreciate their confidence in giving me the opportunity to bring my experienced leadership back to the Ohio Senate. I want to thank Representative Steve Reinhard for a positive, well-run campaign. He has served the constituents of his House District well, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.”

“Our state is facing tough economic times. In 1997, Ohio's tax burden was 20th in the nation. Today, it is the 5th highest. Ohio's heavy tax burden places our state near the bottom nationally in attractiveness to new businesses. We must work diligently to reduce taxes and create the kind of economic development opportunities new businesses seek. By providing incentives and streamlining regulations, our current businesses can be encouraged to expand. We must concentrate our economic efforts to reduce taxes, cut wasteful government spending, and bring high wage jobs back to Ohio.”

“As your State Senator, I will work every day to provide the positive changes that hardworking families in the 26th District want and deserve. My previous record in the Ohio Senate clearly demonstrates I can and will do just that,” Gillmor said.

Ohio’s 26th State Senate District includes all of Sandusky County, Wyandot County, Crawford County, Marion County, Logan County, Union County as well as parts of Ottawa County and Seneca County.

Senate President Bill Harris Endorses Gillmor for State Senate

This just in...

COLUMBUS – Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland) today pledged full support of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee to elect Karen Gillmor as the next state Senator from the 26th Senate District, which includes all of Crawford, Logan, Marion, Sandusky, Union, Wyandot counties and portions of Ottawa and Seneca counties.

Harris noted that Gillmor, who previously served in the Ohio Senate from 1993 through 1997, has demonstrated not only that she can win an election, but that she will be an effective voice for her region as the Senate works to make Ohio an even better place to live, learn and work.

“Now, more than ever, we need experienced leadership on creating jobs, revitalizing our state economy and ensuring our families are safe, healthy, and getting the best education to prepare them for the future,” President Harris said. “Karen Gillmor is the ideal leader to represent the 26th Senate District during this time of great challenges and even greater opportunity.”

Karen Gillmor has worked in the fields of education, health care and finance in both the public and private sectors in Ohio for more than two decades. In 1992, Gillmor was elected to the State Senate, where she quickly rose through the ranks, serving as chair of the influential Insurance, Commerce & Labor Committee and the State & Local Government & Veterans’ Affairs Committee. There, she worked diligently to encourage business development and the creation of new jobs. Gillmor sponsored legislation to create a tax credit to encourage manufacturers to invest in new equipment, encouraging increased productivity and leading to more than $2 billion in new investments by 400 Ohio companies over a period of two years. As vice chair of the Senate Health Committee, Gillmor also worked to advance women’s health care in Ohio and to both expand access to and improve the quality of daycare for children.

Gillmor was re-elected to a second term in 1996. Late in 1997, then-Governor George Voinovich tapped Gillmor to serve as vice chairman of the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), where she has served for the last decade, working to adjudicate labor disputes between public employers and employees. Throughout her service, Gillmor has remained active in the region as a trustee of Heidelberg College (Tiffin), the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center (Fremont) as well as the National First Ladies Library (Canton).

Gillmor was married to the late Congressman Paul E. Gillmor, a former president of the Ohio Senate, with whom she has three sons, Paul Michael, Connor and Adam.

Karen Gillmor for State Senate

In a release for an upcoming press event, is this statement from Karen Gillmor:

“Next Wednesday, I intend to announce my plans regarding Ohio’s 26th State Senate seat. I am proud of my record and the history of public service which is a tradition in the Gillmor family. However, out of respect for my husband Paul’s memory, I have chosen not to make a formal announcement regarding the race for Ohio State Senator until after the November 6th primary for Paul’s long-held Congressional seat.”

Ohio’s 26th State Senate District includes: Sandusky County, Wyandot County, Crawford County, Marion County, Logan County, Union County, as well as parts of Seneca County and Ottawa County.

Karen Gillmor is a former two-term Ohio State Senator.

The press conference is scheduled for Wednesday, Novemeber 7th.

UPDATE: I should add that if Karen has even a fraction of the new media saavy that her husband possessed, she should do alright...