Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023
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Volume 10, Issue 47
Number of races, issues on primary ballot grows DAVE O’BRIEN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
The field of candidates is shaping up for the March 19 primary election in Lorain County. The partisan primary features multiple judicial races, as well as larger national races for president and statewide offices. The most recent local candidate to announce their reelection campaign is Lorain County Domestic Relations/Juvenile Judge Frank Janik. Janik is seeking a third term on the bench, after first being elected in 2012 and then again in 2018. The term commences in January 2025. A 23-year veteran attorney who worked as an assistant prosecutor in the Lorain County Pros-
ecutor’s Office and in private practice in Amherst, Janik also held an at-large seat on Amherst City Council. He currently is president of the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges, which “promotes the common business interest of the Ohio juvenile court judges and provides leadership for a just and effective juvenile court system throughout the state of Ohio,” according to a biography Janik provided in his campaign announcement. Janik also has been appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court to serve on the Advisory Committee on Children and Families, currently serves on the Juvenile Justice and Family Law Reform subcommittees and Juvenile Law and Procedure Committee, the Education Com-
mittee and Executive Committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference. Janik is one of six county judges up for election next year. As of Nov. 22, the field of candidates looks as follows, according to the Lorain County Board of Elections:
Common Pleas Court
Dan Petticord, chief of the Civil Division at the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office and legal counsel to the Lorain County Board of Commissioners, is running for Judge James Miraldi’s seat in the March primary. He is a Democrat from Sheffield. James Miraldi is prevented from running again due to age limits. No Republicans have filed in that race.
Attorney Giovanna ScalettaBremke has announced her candidacy for Judge John Miraldi’s seat as a Republican, but has yet to file her petitions with the Board of Elections. John Miraldi, a Democrat, is expected to retire at the end of his term, though he has yet to make a public announcement or return a message seeking comment. Scaletta-Bremke is the current president of the Lorain County Bar Association. No Democrat has announced to run in that race. Incumbent Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook, also of the court’s general division, has filed for reelection in the Democratic primary. He is a Lorain resident first elected to the bench in 2016.
Commissioner
Democrat Charles Brown of Elyria has filed to run for the seat held by Commissioner Michelle Hung, a Republican. Hung has yet to file. Incumbent Lorain County Commissioner David Moore, a Republican from Amherst, has filed for reelection. He served one term from 2001-2005 and was reelected to a second nonconsecutive term in 2020. Both terms commence in January 2025.
Sheriff
Democrats Rick Thomas, who has filed his petition, and Rich Resendez, who is running a campaign but who has not yet filed his petitions with the Board PRIMARY PAGE A4
Firelands Life Scout gives back to Amherst considers Veterans for Eagle Scout project tobacco licensing program
LAUREN HOFFMAN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
For Firelands High School senior Daniel Dempsey, it is all about leadership. That’s why for his Eagle Scout project earlier this month he decided to put those skills to the test by leading his troop through a group clean-up effort at Amherst Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1662. “Our project included cutting back a ton of overgrowth around the perimeter of both the parking lots at the Amherst VFW and was about 100 hours of man hours in labor,” Dempsey said. Leading a group of 25 people, Dempsey chose this task for his Eagle Scout eco-project due to the connection his troop has to the VFW and its veterans. “The VFW has helped us out a lot in the past years,” he said. “And they’re veterans, so we wanted to help them out of course.” Before the clean-up effort began, half of the parking lots were unusable due to the thick overgrowth, something that was due to be a problem ahead of the VFW’s annual Veterans Day brunch. In all, Dempsey said the group managed to fill two large trucks full of thick tree trunks in addition to 60 bags of leaves, trash and smaller sticks. “We had bagged a lot more than we thought we FIRELANDS PAGE A2
LAUREN HOFFMAN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE
PROVIDED
Firelands senior Daniel Dempsey helps clean some of the overgrowth in one of the Amherst VFW parking lots.
AMHERST — The city is set to consider entering into a program with the Lorain County Public Health Department that could crack down on the number of underage tobacco sales. Proposed by Police/Fire Council Committee head and Council at-large member Chuck Winiarski, the ordinance mirrors one that had been passed in Lorain earlier last week. “One year ago, the state of Ohio changed the age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21 but it left the disciplinary actions in the hands of the cities to figure out,” Winiarski said. “In response to this, the county health department has offered a program that would take care of this in conjunction with our police department.” The program would allow the Lorain County Health Department and the Amherst Police Department to conduct routine inspections at the city’s 24 tobacco establishments and give out citations to businesses that violate the new law. “This is something that gives us teeth to hold those TOBACCO PAGE A4
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Oberlin
Wellington
Difference Makers announced ● A3
Schools face staff shortage ● A5
Village to replace water meters ● A4
OBITUARIES A2 • CLASSIFIEDS A4 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8