CityBeat: Dems Deal with Repubs Drives Candidacy

I'm glad to see this is getting some traction. I didn't like it when it was first announced, and I thought Tim Burke did a less than effective job suggesting that the arrangement was financially motivated.

Voter Choice Denied

A deal was cut between the Hamilton County Dems and Repubs to assure that there would be no endorsement of the Republican candidate against Democratic Commissioner Todd Portune, and no Dem candidate against Hartman for Dewine's vacated seat. I agree with Marilyn:

Marilyn Evans, a Democrat from Millvale, learned about the deal Friday afternoon when she came to the board of elections to file her petition to run as a Democratic precinct executive.

“That makes no sense to me,’’ Evans said. “Why would we not have a candidate running for county commissioner? People should have a choice. We’re not supposed to hand elections to the other party.”

In addition to the loss of choice, I'm not convinced that this deal is really all that balanced (our candidate still has opposition, there's doesn't). Also, it has a scent of capitulation to the way Republicans like to do business -- rig the system to maintain power. That's not an example Democrats are supposed to set.

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Gotta love this.