For as long as most of us can remember, that power in Athens County has lain with the Democratic Party. After every general election, local Dems proudly point to the little blue dot in a sea of red on maps showing election results.
The Athens County Republican Party, on the other hand, is essentially nonexistent on the ballot. Only two elected county officials — Auditor Jill Davidson and Court of Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy — are Republicans. Click the “Elected Officials” link on the party’s home page and you get a “page not found” message.
Not satisfied with a lack of partisan challengers for offices its members hold, Athens County Democratic Party officials appear determined to ensure that its incumbents face no challengers whatsoever.
Last spring, the Athens County Board of Elections rejected candidate petitions from Chauncey Mayor Amy Renner — a Democrat herself — to challenge county commissioner Charlie Adkins in the March 19 primary. The board did so on the advice of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Zach West.
West’s boss is Keller Blackburn, the Democratic county prosecutor who sits on the party’s executive committee.
More recently, Democratic officials contacted people who signed petitions nominating Jon Rose as an independent candidate for Adkins’ seat. Those signers who spoke to the Independent — some of whom identified themselves as aligned with the Democratic Party — said they felt intimidated and harassed.
Now, officials acted within the law in both Renner’s and Rose’s cases. Renner’s original petitions had the wrong date for the start of the term, so she notified the board that she was rescinding them and subsequently submitted new petitions with the correct term date. West told the board of elections that state law did not allow potential candidates to alter submitted petitions; the Ohio Supreme Court agreed.
As for questioning Rose’s supporters, candidate petitions, including the names and contact information of the signers, are public record. Anyone may challenge a petition, and that entails checking the information.
But there’s a difference between what is legal — “it’s my lawful right” — and what is moral — “this is the right thing to do.” And the average voter knows it.
In 2023, one-third of races for local offices in Ohio were uncontested. Statewide, nearly 2,600 positions had only one candidate or none at all. That’s great for the political parties that control those positions. It’s not so great for the rest of us.
Most Americans agree that the right to vote is a key national value, but voting implies that we have a choice of whom to vote for.
We need people to run for office. Ideally, we’d have Republican options for local office; one-party rule is inherently undemocratic. Unless or until the local GOP fields candidates, though, we at least deserve choices between two Democrats in the primary and a Democrat and someone else in the general election.
Blocking potential candidates on technicalities and interrogating those who sign candidate petitions discourages people — especially, I suspect, young adults — from participating in the electoral process, either as voters or as candidates. The Athens County Democratic Party needs to think less about protecting its incumbents and more about what’s good for democracy.
Let us know what's happening in your neck of the woods!
Get in touch and share a story!
