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The Real News in the 42nd District
- Filed under: Local, Moran / Nero, Ohio 2008
- Date: Jun 19,2008
One race that is starting to heat up locally is the contest for the 42nd Ohio House District. For the Republicans it is newly appointed State Representative Richard Nero against Hudson Councilman Mike Moran, Democrat. Nero was appointed last week to take over for John Widowfield who resigned last month. However even prior to the recent appointment this match up was already set for the fall. The 42nd encompasses Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Munroe Falls, Silver Lake and Stow.
Nero decided last December to challenge incumbent Republican John Widowfield in the March primary in the 42nd Ohio House District. Under Widowfield's "leadership" things were just not getting done. In a surprise move to some, Widowfield did not file at the last minute. Nero then defeated party establishment candidate Denny "Den" Robart in the primary. This week Rich was kind enough to sit down and talk about the race with me and to clear the air about a recent "controversy" that Democrats are making noise about.
We talked about various issues affecting the district and the state but one area where Rich was really passionate was health care and specifically the electronic sharing of medical records within the state. Other states are doing this now; Ohio is not. Rich gave a personal example in his own family to stress the importance that local hospitals are on the same page in case of an emergency. With better record sharing, patient care improves, and lawsuits go down. This is good for the overall cost of health care for everyone.
Nero also wanted to clear up what was written on this site on June 11. Having just been appointed and sworn in the morning of June 10, Nero had a presentation to give that same night in Las Vegas for Oracle at their corporate conference, something he had committed to months ago. He went to great lengths to make it back for the day before returning to the conference - flying just about 8,000 miles in less than a day to be sworn in and vote.
Earlier in the day (June 10) he voted on a Constitutional amendment for the ballot in November to property rights, SJR8. SJR8 works in conjunction with HB 416 - also known as the Great Lakes Compact. Later that day, the Senate deliberated for some time, but ultimately voted in favor of the Compact with only minor changes. Knowing the bill was coming back to the House with nothing controversial added, Nero was given permission to honor his commitment in Nevada and depart early. The Great Lakes Compact unanimously passed in the House that afternoon by a 92-0 count. To be clear, this bill was not in jeopardy. Had there been any type of threat to its passage though, Nero told me he would have adjusted his plans in the best interest of the state. It never came to that. In a related note, the guy who replaced Matthew Barrett, Democrat Thomas Heydinger, did not show up at all that day; he was sworn in during May. We didn't hear about that from the other side.
More after the jump.
This seat is one Democrats are going to go after in November and they have no voting record to try and use against Nero. They are trying to use this particular missed vote, which to me, looks like nothing but a stunt by Ohio Democrats - intentionally stalling on the vote. As I stated in the comment section with the original story, the case is weak and shows how desperate local Democrats are against Nero. Moran recently said that because the House is on recess this summer, Nero will have nothing to do. If that is Moran's attitude - state representatives only need to be active during sessions - then we will have another John Widowfield holding the seat if he wins.
Nero says he is going to be out in the community this summer and fall to build his name recognition. Moran's only qualification for the job is that he has public service experience. Otherwise, nothing in my opinion in his professional background qualifies him for the job. On the other hand, Nero has worked for the past ten years as a education and health care industry consultant. He was born and raised in Northeast Ohio, went to Kent State, and began working in the district in 1990. Rich's common sense approach to solving problems is something that residents of the 42nd District need at this critical juncture for Ohio. If voters want a true change in the district with a full-time representative, Nero is the candidate.
18 Responses for "The Real News in the 42nd District"
Geat interview, keep it up.
He cannot put re-elect on his signs. It would be against Ohio law. However, he could use KEEP. But regardless, he does not have to change the current sign as presented. My suggestion would be to buy cheap white stickers that say KEEP rather than blowing a wad buying useless and ineffective signs. (PS - I hate yard signs - worthless)
Once again Kyle, check the facts. It was the Ohio House Republicans that appointed him to the seat, not widowfield. We Republicans that actually want to represent want to distance ourselves from all corruption. Not only that of widowfield and arshinkoff, but of people like dodd and conrad.
Kyle,
Widowfield did not appoint Nero, the entire House Republican Caucus did.
Quite being disingenuous, we expect better from you.
Nero would be a great improvement over Widowfield and certianly more in line with the district than Moran.
Any update on Dodd
i know he doesnt know the current interest rates
which is shocking for a chairman of the banking cmte
and i hope Nero wins
Sorry Kyle, I forgot to ask Nero to see the title or deed or whatever you call it to his house to get an exact date on when he moved. This is the second time in the last week or so you have tried to make an issue of something that totally contridicts one of the candidates you support. Last week it was the whole missed vote thing. Now I see we are going after residency. I know Nero lives in the district and has for some time.
You seem to be very interested in the race in the 16th CD between Schuring and Boccieri. I know Boccieri is working on zero days of living in the district, but that doesnt seem to matter to you as he is a Democrat.
And yes, we corrected you last time that Widowfield did not appoint Nero.
beeter check Nero's residency and voter records out, he only recently moved them into the district though he was living in the distict.. his wife registered, but he did not.. this is all available since it is public records.. Still attempting to understand, why Nero would want to leave his Oracle job.. oh wait.. oh the state boys are allowed to hold outside jobs.. so wonder if elected how much he will push Oracle down the throats of the state IT departments… no conflict of interest in the making.
"Moran's only qualification for the job is that he has public service experience… Otherwise, nothing in my opinion in his professional background qualifies him for the job." Uh, I'm dumbfounded as to where to start. Moran's record of service on Hudson City Council and being a leader in his community gives him standing to ask voters to elect him serve at the state level. Where exactly can voters see an example of Mr. Nero's common sense approach to solving problems?
I see he began working in the district in 1990. That is awfully precise wording. Any idea when he established residency in the district?
John McCain is distancing himself from President Bush. Rich Nero is distancing himself from John Widowfield. You Republicans are always running from each other.
I deleted my above comment because it was inaccurate for me to say that Nero was appointed by Widowfield. I honestly forgot.
This seems to be an interesting condidate for the 42nd district and we need you to keep us updated. Frankly, if Moran doesn't think a state rep has nothing to do while the House is not in session, it doesn't bode well for his representation of the district.
Kyle, you make a good point about past experience often being the cornerstone of a candidate's credentails for moving up the political foodchain. However, it seems that Mr. Nero also has pertinent experience in the 'real' world that should be considered. "hudson husband's" comment about Nero's Oracle job was uncalled for–there are many other state legislators who hold outside jobs, dems and reps.
Do you want every single person in the state legislatuare to be a lawyer? I sure don't.
This is how bad it is for ALL Republicans. Nero is toast:
Montgomery will not touch this race with a ten foot pole. You better believe every Republican worth their salt was looking at the polling for this November.
The results speak for themselves….even Yost is out.
From today's paper:
Ohio Republicans are scrambling to find the right candidate for attorney general as a self-imposed deadline to make the choice nears.
The party's top choice, Betty Montgomery a former state auditor who also served as attorney general from 1995 to 2003, isn't interested in the job, while a county prosecutor under consideration said Thursday he didn't want the job either.
Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost said he sent a letter to the party taking himself out of consideration. Yost said he was concerned that he didn't have enough time before the November election to create a strong campaign or raise enough money.
A Republican screening committee was scheduled to make its choice Friday, with the party expected to formally adopt the candidate at a meeting Saturday.
"That's the plan," Ohio Republican Party spokesman John McClelland said.
Democrats also plan to meet Saturday and formally select state Treasurer Richard Cordray, who has been endorsed by Gov. Ted Strickland.
By law the parties don't have to certify the name of its candidate with Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner until August 20.
Republicans have tried to woo Montgomery into getting in the race, but have been rebuffed, said former state lawmaker and current congressional candidate Jim Trakas of suburban Cleveland. Trakas is the former chairman of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party.
"She's the number one priority _ but that's the party's opinion and not hers," said Trakas, who has discussed the matter with members of the screening committee.
Montgomery did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Thursday.
Republicans were eager to put Montgomery up in the race because she has strong name identification around the state and lost her run for attorney general in 2006 to Democrat Marc Dann.
Dann, who resigned from the job May 14 amid a sexual harassment scandal, will figure prominently in the race as Republicans try to tie Cordray and Democrats in general to Dann. Dann said after the scandal became public that he was surprised he won and wasn't prepared to manage an agency that size.
Once the seat opened up, Republicans had a number of high-profile ideas for candidates they could run. But former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine declined because he said he wanted to focus on helping presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain win Ohio. Rob Portman, a former Cincinnati congressman and federal budget director, also said he didn't want to run for the job.
This race is over before it even gets started.
Moran is the City Council President in HUDSON! The Republican stronghold in this district. And they like him there.
Moran will carry Hudson.
Stow Democrat Mayor Karen Fritschel has already signed on to help Moran win Stow.
Moran will easily carry democratic Cuyahoga Falls.
Am I to assume that to be qualified for a State Rep. job one has to have spent extensive time in public service? Perhaps if we had more people with varied backround and less lawyers and carrer "public servants" our leaders would be more in tune with their constituents and less oblivious to the actual results of their economic policies.
Yeah why even have the election. No way a Republican wins in a district that leans Republican.
Thanks for the help Ben. I'll just say this. the other side may not aquire this seat more readily than they think.
In my dealings with Rich Nero, he's been a stand up guy who has a solid understanding of the issues. His business background is exactly what we need to get the over-taxed, under-performing Ohio economy back on track.
While he may not be a member of the Hudson insider club, he's the person we need representing us at the state level. While Mike Moran may be a nice guy, feel free to ask him what he's done to lift even a portion of the Hudson tax burden from the residence.
And for the record, The State already runs Oracle and I don't think Mr. Nero benefits from any Public Sector Oracle transactions.
Kevin Coughlin needed someone to run against Arshinkoff's candidate, so he called on his friend and classmate Richard Nero. Otherwise he does not seem to have had the least interest in public service. Unlike Mike Moran, who has been active in his church and the Hudson community, Mr. Nero does not appear to have been active in any local organizations. (unless he joined in the last few months to pump up his resume). Speaking of which, why he bills himself as a health care consultant rather than a computer software salesman is a mystery. There is nothing wrong with being a salesman…you have to understand your customers needs and explain the benefits of your product or service. I suppose he might help with implementation of the software, so that could be consulting. But he does not appear to be involved at all in health care policy or funding issues. More for the technical side. Mike Moran was elected city council president by all Republicans. He has shown that he works with both parties for the betterment of Hudson. He has been endorsed by both PD and ABJ, as well as many other organizations. He also brings a business background as well as public service. Although it does appear that Mr. Nero will have the votes of Anne, Anonymous and couple other bloggers.
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