OSD-17: Peterson Applies for Ohio Senate Vacancy

Release:

(Columbus) - Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus and Ross County Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Carnes announced today that State Representative Bob Peterson (R-Sabina) is the only applicant to fill the vacancy in Ohio's 17th District Senate seat.

"Bob has strong support not only from the members of our caucus but also from the county party leaders in the district who will join us in this selection process," said Niehaus. "I will be contacting the party chairs in the district to share Bob's application and get a quick and unanimous consensus for his appointment and nomination."

The 23-member Senate Republican Caucus is responsible for appointing a replacement to the seat; however, state law requires the seat to stand for election on the November general election ballot because the vacancy was created within 20 months of a resigning member's term. The candidate appearing on the ballot must be nominated by the central committee chairs and secretaries of the 10 county Republican parties in the district.

NOTE: Earlier Cliff Rosenberger announced that he was passing. Is the fix in? :)

Niehaus Announces Application Process for 17th District Senate Seat

Release:

(Columbus) - Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) and Ross County Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Carnes announced today the application process to fill a vacancy in Ohio's 17th District Senate seat.

The 23-member Senate Republican Caucus is responsible for appointing a replacement to the seat; however, state law requires the seat to stand for election on the November general election ballot because the vacancy was created within 20 months of a resigning member's term. The candidate appearing on the ballot must be nominated by the central committee chairs and secretaries of the 10 county Republican parties in the district.

To ensure that both the appointee and the nominee are the same person, President Niehaus created a joint screening process between the Senate Republican Caucus and five of the district's county Republican Party chairs. The screening committee consists of the following members:

Senator Tom Niehaus, President (R-New Richmond)
Senator Keith Faber, President Pro Tempore (R-Celina)
Senator Tom Patton, Majority Floor Leader (R-Strongsville)
Senator Shannon Jones, Majority Whip (R-Springboro)
Senator Chris Widener, Senate Finance Committee Chairman (R-Springfield)
Chairwoman Diane Carnes, Ross County Republican Party
Chairwoman Kay Ayres, Highland County Republican Party
Chairman Ray Dutey, Lawrence County Republican Party
Chairman Geoffrey Phillips, Clinton County Republican Party
Chairman Jim Ward, Fayette County Republican Party

The Senate Republican Caucus will accept applications for the vacancy until noon on Friday, March 9. Applications should be sent or hand-delivered to the following address:

The Honorable Thomas E. Niehaus
President, Ohio Senate
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:

Jason Mauk
Chief of Staff, Ohio Senate
The Ohio Statehouse
1 Capitol Square, Room 205
Columbus, OH 43215

The candidate screening and selection process will likely take place on Saturday, March 24. The newly appointed member of the 17th District Senate seat will replace former Senator David Daniels, who recently accepted an appointment as director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Kasich Appoints Daniels to Lead Department of Agriculture

Release:

COLUMBUS—Governor John R. Kasich today announced the appointment of Sen. David Daniels (R-Greenfield) to serve as director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA). Daniels has represented Ohio’s 17th Senate District since January 2011 and will submit his resignation to the Ohio Senate on Wednesday. He is expected to be sworn in and begin his duties as ODA director on Thursday, February 16.

Daniels replaces Jim Zehringer who Kasich appointed to lead the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in November 2011. Chief of Animal Health and State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey has served as interim director of ODA since November and will resume his previously-held duties upon Daniels’ swearing-in.

Daniels is a life-long farmer and, together with his father and uncle, operated Daniels Brothers farm in Greenfield. Prior to his election to the Ohio Senate in 2010, Daniels served eight years in the Ohio House of Representatives and a total of 18 years in local government as a Highland County commissioner, a Greenfield city councilman, and the mayor of Greenfield.

Ohio Senate Update

There are two articles that the Cardinal Points widget at the bottom of the page here at WMD tagged for the Ohio Seante that I wanted to specifically highlight because they deal with Republicans announcing their candidacies.

State Rep. Clyde Evans has served the 87th House District and now is running to replace State Senator John Carey who is term-limited (and a candidate worthy of Kasich LG consideration). Evans is on a district-wide tour today and will be at the county courthouses in Ironton (9am - missed it!), in Waverly (11:50am), 1 p.m. in Chillicothe and Circleville at 3:45 p.m.

Former State Senator Scott Oelslager is going to be seeking his 29th district seat again. Oelslager and Kirk Schuring did the old seat swapping bit awhile back and now it is time to do it again. Aren't term limits wonderful?

UPDATE: There is another name being tossed around for the 17th...State Rep. Dave Daniels of the 86th District has also announced his candidacy. You can learn more about Dave by checking out his website.