Control of parties at stake in races

Mike Wilson, the founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party, stands at the podium with more than 100 politicians who have signed notarized pledges to support the Tea Party’s core values and code of ethics, during a Feb. 24 rally at the Lakota Freshman Campus auditorium.

Contributed photo by E.L. Hubbard Mike Wilson, the founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party, stands at the podium with more than 100 politicians who have signed notarized pledges to support the Tea Party’s core values and code of ethics, during a Feb. 24 rally at the Lakota Freshman Campus auditorium.

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 9:09 AM Monday, March 8, 2010

HAMILTON — With his campaign button, eager smile and fistful of business cards, Carl Rullmann looks like any other candidate for election.

Rullmann is running for GOP central committee. One box of business cards should be enough. There are only 250 registered Republicans in his West Chester Twp. precinct.

“I’m sick and tired and I can’t take it anymore,” the retiree and Tea Party activist said of why he’s entering politics for the first time. “I’ll do what I can (to fix things).”

He’s far from alone.

Rullmann is one of 399 Republicans and 206 Democrats who filed to run for their Butler County parties’ central committees.

This has turned the 298 precincts in Butler County into tiny battlegrounds for control of both parties this year.

“I believe that there are more candidates that filed for the Butler County (Democratic) central committee this year, than ever before in history,” said Don Daiker, former party chairman and founder of the Butler County Progressive Political Action Committee.

The PACs — remnants of President Barack Obama’s campaign — are a big reason there are more people running for the Democratic Party central committee this year.

The Tea Party is one reason for the surge of Republican candidates. But equally responsible is a seat that’s not even up for election.

That’s the Butler County prosecutor post, which the GOP central committee will fill if current Prosecutor Robin Piper wins his bid to become Court of Appeals judge. He’s unopposed in the primary or general election.

As for Rullmann, he still has the incumbent to content with: Naomi Stock, who said she has been active with the party for 25 years. She’s unfazed by the challenge.

“Everybody has a right to run,” said Stock, also a Tea Party supporter. “I’ve walked the precincts for other people, I can walk it for me.”

Democrats, Republicans jockey for committee ballot positions

Party precincts are the smallest unit of democracy in Ohio. There are 298 of them in Butler County alone.

They range in size from less than 100 registered voters in some of the smaller townships to more than 1,200 in crowded neighborhoods.

Republican Gregory Klein is running for a precinct in Fairfield Twp. with only 29 registered Republicans in it. Democratic candidate Laura Kretz’s precinct in Oxford only has 20 registered Democrats.

As of the filing deadline, 167 Democrats and 386 Republicans applied to be on the ballot for their parties’ central committees. Another 39 Democrats and 13 Republicans filed write-in candidacies.

Each precinct has one central committee member per party, who represents the precinct in county party meetings. They serve four-year terms — which is a change for Republicans, who recently lengthened their terms from two years.

They also are the volunteer foot soldiers of their respective parties, walking their precincts come election day, urging their neighbors to show up at the polls.

Their most influential role is filling some elected positions. They vote on who will become their parties’ chairs, and who will sit on the Board of Elections for each party.

They also fill the unexpired terms of elected officials from their party who leave office. Butler County Commissioner Donald Dixon, Treasurer Nancy Nix and Auditor Roger Reynolds were all originally appointed by the GOP central committee in recent years.

Not all central committee members are elected. If seats remain empty after the primary, the party can appoint people to fill them. This is more common in the Democratic party locally, which is not as successful as the Republican party at filling seats.

Even with appointing members, the Democratic party currently only has about 120 people on its central committee. The Republican party is nearly full.

And not all central committee candidates will be on the ballot. The 52 people who filed for write-in candidacies in uncontested precincts need only a vote for themselves to win election.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.

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