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Democrat pulls petitions for Josh Mandel’s to-be vacated OH House seat


Kelli Kay Perk, an attorney who appears to be in the General Civil Division of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office and was, according to this information, a magistrate in Portage County as recently as 2004 (her current address is in Broadview Heights), has pulled petitions to run for the Ohio House 17th district seat that is being vacated by State Rep. Josh Mandel (R-Lyndhurst) in 2010. Walton Hills Mayor, Marlene Anielski, appears, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, to have already pre-checked and satisfied petitions requirements to run for the seat on the GOP side.

I’ve voiced perplexion before regarding just how much the state and county parties care about Ohio House District 17 because, based on my sense and now based on my experience of running for office in Pepper Pike, I feel certain that a Democrat could win the House seat – with a lot of work, always, but still, the voters and votes are there. I believe that 100%.

I don’t know Kelli Perk, who graduated from Springfield High School in Akron (1981), and I’m about to Google her to learn more, but at a minimum, she’s done the right thing by pulling petitions now.  And no candidate for an open seat, of all things, should go unchallenged. Again, from personal experience, there’s no question that it makes you work harder but it also can provide the necessary edge to win, even against someone who has the backing of the sitting elected (which, in this case, for this district, lately? don’t count on that being so positive).

BONUS: I love seeing two women running for this seat. I don’t know, but I don’t believe any women have ever run for this district, before or after it was re-drawn in 2000.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:49 pm December 12th, 2009 in Campaigning, Cleveland+, Democrats, Government, OH17, Ohio, Pepper Pike, Politics, Statehouse, Voting, leadership 

Comments

7 Responses to “Democrat pulls petitions for Josh Mandel’s to-be vacated OH House seat”

  1. 1 Jim Trakas on December 17th, 2009 2:00 am

    No female candidate has sought this seat since it was originally drawn in 1992 or redrawn in 2002. It has always been assumed that a strong female candidate would have an edge. The district is marginally Democratic, but also socially conservative (60% pro life in 2004). Kelli is a good candidate, and may square off against another good candidate Marlene Anielski, a real hard worker with a base in D17 who has been hitting it hard for over a year.

  2. 2 Jill on December 17th, 2009 10:41 am

    Thanks, Jim. I’ve certainly been receiving Mayor Anielski’s literature for a while. You know I’ll do what I can do keep a light on the race. :)

  3. 3 Greg Helms on December 17th, 2009 5:37 pm

    Jill,

    Another Dem candidate, Matt Slain, has now pulled petitions for this seat.

    I’m guessing this is him.

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/matt-slain/10/64b/52a

  4. 4 Larkin on December 19th, 2009 1:11 am

    “Perplexion” is a word?

  5. 5 Jill on December 19th, 2009 10:48 am

    @Larkin – I’m going to guess that you don’t read this blog that often but yes, it’s a word defined in the Urban Dictionary:

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=perplexion

    Thanks for reading and commenting.

  6. 6 Larkin on December 20th, 2009 1:59 am

    No, it’s not:

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perplexion

    “The word you’ve entered isn’t in the dictionary. Click on a spelling suggestion below or try again using the search bar above.”

    I will, however, concede that UD’s souvenir coffee mugs are adorable.

  7. 7 Jill Zimon on December 20th, 2009 1:48 pm

    @Larkin: Yes, it is.

    To wit, from today’s New York Times Magazine’s On Language column published, Redefining Definition:

    “…the traditional dictionary definition, although it bears all the trappings of authority, is in fact a highly stylized, overly compressed and often tentative stab at capturing the consensus on what a particular word ‘means.’”

    I’ll also refer you to the writer’s adage, “show, don’t tell” which is supported much of what the Redefining Definition piece talks about in regard to what gives anything meaning – a word you think doesn’t exist simply because it’s not in Merriam Webster, for example.

    The entire column is worth reading – even if it causes you perplexion.

    :)

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