Dates Dates Dates

Some key dates for the upcoming primary election season (brought to you by the Franklin County Board of Elections):

2/18/2010: Deadline for partisan candidates to file, as well as local issues/questions/options for the 5/4/2010 election.

3/3/2010: Deadline for write-in candidates to file intent.

4/5/2010: Deadline for VOTER REGISTRATION, to be eligible to vote in May 4th primary.

5/1/2010: Deadline for absentee ballots by mail (must be received by BOE by 4pm).

5/4/2010: Primary Election Day, polls open 630am-730pm.

Candidate Updates!

It's been a long pause...but...here we go. Gonna roll back into things by sharing a few links...

...about Pat Tiberi...

Tiberi Releases Fundraising Number Early

Tiberi stands with GOP on Modest Healthcare Expansion

Tiberi part of coalition to seek Federal Aid for Haitian Adoptions

...and that's about it. Not too much else newsworthy from anyone else (or maybe I'm not searching right? I'm open to correction on this point).

In other news...Massachusetts sent a Republican to the Senate? Really? I'm partly shocked, but not entirely. There's a very strong backlash against imaginary socialism. I really liked this response to the situation tho.

I Lied...

Holiday schedules and work schedules were too much for me this week too, so all I have to say is have a Happy New Year and we'll be back at it soon as possible :-)

Thanks for tuning in this past year, we've had quite a few hits more than I expected!

A Happy Round of Holidays, Whatever Your Flavor

So the Senate finally passes it's health care bill...tho one could argue that might not have been the best outcome after certain Senators decided to gut and mangle it. Is the passing of this bill a Christmas miracle, or a Christmas nightmare?

Only time will tell. Right now, we get to see what happens when the House and Senate sit down to reconcile their two versions...versions that are about as different as they could get.

As for me, I apologize for the unannounced break...but posting will resume on schedule, Tuesday and Thursday, starting next week. Where we'll see what we can do about getting up to speed on this mess that healthcare reform has become.

A happy Boxing Day to all of you!

Congressional Race Watch 2010

Just a couple news links about people who will have their names in various electoral hats next fall!

On Saturday, the House of Representatives passed the major financial regulation overhaul bill pushed for by the Obama Administration. Pat Tiberi and Steve Austria voted against the bill, Mary Jo Kilroy voted for it.

This week the Franklin County Board of Commissioners spent $7 million on a grant to help prevent premature births and lessen the ill effects of such births. Paula Brooks (who will be challenging Pat Tiberi for his seat in Congress) is quoted by the Dispatch as saying, "We're saving our children, and we're also making sure our community is on the cutting edge of dealing with an issue that's very vexing."

That's it for today folks, tune in next week!

Ohio House Bill 318: Income Tax Cut Delay

Thanks to an update e-mail from the Columbus Library I found out about House Bill 318, the bill designed to postpone the income tax reduction and give legislators a pay cut. The goal for this bill is to keep as much money in the state budget as possible (probably a good idea given the , and it looks like a pretty solid bill.

Key provisions include:

1. 2 year postponement of the last part of the income tax cut
2. Reduces legislator salaries and supplements by 5%
3. Eliminates statutory automatic annual pay increase
4. Various other rule and compensation changes

Now's the time to read the bill (linked again for you in these parenthesis) and then let your state Senator know how they should vote on this issue. Since, after all, they represent you.