Kucinich, Kaptur: Lorain County 2012 Democrat Congress Primary
December 29, 2011
Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich Democrat Ohio 9th District Congressional District Primary Election Campaign Race (Lorain, Sheffield Lake, Avon Lake, Vermilion)
Lorain County, Ohio Democrats who live in the newly-redrawn 9th Congressional District will have to choose between current Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur in the March 6, 2012 primary election race. Both Kaptur and Kucinich have filed to run for the seat, which includes parts of the cities of Lorain, Sheffield Lake, Vermilion and Avon Lake.
Joe Wurzelbacher, also known as “Joe the Plumber,” has filed to run in the Republican primary for the 9th district.
Lorain County has been divided into three separate congressional districts due to new population numbers from the 2012 census. The City of Elyria is now in the 4th Congressional District. The 7th Congressional District includes Avon, LaGrange and North Ridgeville.
Marcy Kaptur
Dennis Kucinich
Calhoun disqualified from Lorian County Commissioner ballot for Kalo’s seat
December 22, 2011
Amherst Democrat Don Calhoun didn’t have enough valid signatures to run in the 2012 Democrat primary for Lorain County Commissioner
According to the Lorain County Board of Elections website, Amherst resident Don Calhoun has been disqualified from appearing on the 2012 Democrat primary ballot for the Lorain County Commissioner seat currently held by Ted Kalo. Calhoun’s petitions apparently didn’t have the required number of valid signatures in order to allow him to appear on the ballot.
You can check out the list of qualified and disqualified candidates at this link.
That means that only two candidates will be vying for the Democratic nomination for this particular county commissioner seat in March 2012: Kalo (the incumbent) and Grafton resident Berry Taylor. The winner of that race will take on Phil Van Treuren in the November 2012 general election.
In the race for the Lorain County Commissioner seat currently held by Lori Kokoski, three candidates will appear on the ballot for the Democratic nomination in March: Kokoski, Rich Resendez, and former Elyria mayor Bill Grace. On the Republican side, Mike Musto and Bob Meilander are running for the general election nomination.
Mark Costilow Named New Safety Service Director for Amherst, Ohio
December 21, 2011
A former Amherst City Councilman, Mark Costilow will replace Dennis Clotz as Safety Service Director
From the Amherst News-Times, Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Amherst Ohio Safety Service Director Mark Costilow
After two terms as right-hand man to mayor David Taylor, safety-service director Dennis Clotz is stepping down.
He told the News-Times he’ll hang up his hat on Dec. 31 for personal reasons.
“It’s been an interesting eight years, and it’s time to let someone else have a crack at it,” he said.
Clotz’s job is to oversee police, fire and utilities workers.
In recent years, he’s made huge strides in mapping Amherst’s aging sewers as the city has struggled to fix residential flooding.
Taylor has named former city councilman and Amherst Cinema owner Mark Costilow as Clotz’s successor.
“He’s thoughtful,” Taylor said of his appointee. “He has a business background, and he’s familiar with the city. With the issues we have, those are all good qualities.”
Costilow graduated from Firelands High School in 1982 and has owned and operated Amherst Cinema for 13 years.
In addition to two terms on city council, he’s also served on the planning commission and currently chairs the zoning board of appeals.
He said the safety-service director position is a dream job.
“People say you can’t separate politics and business, but I think you can. I think you can run the city like a business,” Costilow said.
His goal is to manage city department heads well, but Costilow said he wants to get his feet wet before proposing any changes to the way Amherst operates.
He said he plans to keep daytime office hours while running Amherst Cinema on nights and weekends.
Costilow also runs a wildlife consulting business and recently returned from a six-week stint as a wildlife guide for tourists in Alaska.
He was recently honored with the Ashtabula County Conservationist of the Year award for efforts to restore wildlife and wetland habitat on a 300-acre farm his family owns there.