51 candidates running for county’s government study commission
Nicholas A. Andy
Donald G. Angelone
Colleen Murphy Arnowitz
Lisa Stout Bashioum
Ernest J. Benchek III
Karianne Bilsky
Bracken Burns
Parker Burroughs
Mark D. Caskey
Robert P. Cocco
William A. Congelio
Bud Cook
Peggy Cox
Kristin Clingerman
Jimmie D’Alessandro
Brenda Davis
Tony Jacob DeLost
Christina A. DeMarco-Breeden
John Dieterle
Dennis Dink Dutton
Marie A. Ferguson
Andrew J. Goudy
Madeline Gruzs
Sharon Guidi
Emily L. Holmes
Mark Kennison
Frank Kosir Jr.
Jeff Kotula
Noah Lambert
Lars Lange
Robert H. McCarrell
Corey McConn
James H. McCune
Mark Mikec
Dave Papak
Todd A. Pappasergi
Michael Passalacqua
David J. Podurgiel
Joe Ravasio
Jodi Ripepi
James Roman
Suzanne M. Ruschak
Bob Sabot
Tamara Talotta Sampson
Eric J. Sivavec
Nicole Strike
Sonia Stopperich Sulc
Dennis Urso
Louis E. Waller
Gary B. Weinstein
Joseph M. Zupancic
More than 50 people have filed paperwork to run for Washington County’s government study commission if voters approve the formation of the board during the upcoming general election.
Tuesday was the deadline to file to run for a seat on the 11-member board, and 51 candidates submitted their nominating papers for their name to be placed on the ballot in the Nov. 2 election.
Candidates were required to obtain at least 200 signatures to be placed on the ballot, and they could come from any county residents regardless of party affiliation as long as they are registered to vote.
While the county’s elections office has posted the names of all the candidates on its website, some may not appear on the ballot if their paperwork is challenged over the next week and flaws are found with their nominating papers. Candidates can also decide to voluntarily withdraw their names from the ballot. The deadline to challenge or withdraw from the election is Tuesday.
The order in which names will appear on the ballot will be chosen at noon Monday in the commissioners meeting room as candidates “pick lots” for their positioning. No candidate’s party affiliation will be included next to their names because the commission is considered a non-partisan board. Candidates who are running as “political slates” won’t necessarily appear together on the ballot.
Voters will be able to select 11 candidates to serve on the commission. However, a separate question on the ballot will ask voters to approve or reject the formation of the commission to study Washington County’s form of government. If the electorate votes against the commission, the candidate selection portion will become moot.
Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said she spent time last week working with ES&S, the vendor that supplied the county its electronic voting machines, to see if they can fit all candidate names on one screen.
“I’ve already worked with our vendor (ES&S) last week and we were working on it,” Ostrander said of how names will be arranged on the voting machine screen. “We’ve been testing it. We want to have them all on one page.”
She said fitting all the names on the voting machine shouldn’t be a problem, but they may have to print multiple pages for the mail-in and absentee paper ballots.
The process to place the government study referendum on the ballot began July 14 when the county commissioners first publicly announced their interest in creating the board. The commissioners voted 2-1 during a two-hour special meeting July 29 after listening to numerous comments from the public, most of which were against the proposal. Commission Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan and Commissioner Larry Maggi voted in favor of placing the question on the ballot, while Commissioner Nick Sherman voted against it.
If the voters approve the formation of the commission, the 11 top vote-getters will serve on the board for about nine months reviewing the mechanisms of county government. The commission can then recommend changes that voters would have to approve at a future election. The board can also decide to recommend no changes at all.
The last government study commission convened in 2001, but it decided against recommending any changes. County officials previously said that board met for about six months and cost the county about $4,000.