Mar. 4 Primary

Much attention is being directed at the Mar. 4 Presidential primary here in Ohio. However, several other officies have competitive primaries, and we should inform ourselves about them as well. By "competitive," I mean that more than one candidate is on the ballot for at least one party. This table is based on my sample ballot in Franklin Couny; it shows the officies that have competitve primaries and the party for which they are competitive. D = Democrat; R = Republican.

Competitive Race Office	Party
President	D & R
Congress (OH-12)	D & R
Judge of the Court of Appeals (10th District)	D
Member of the State Party Central Committee	D & R
Franklin County Commissioner	D & R
Franklin County Clerk of Common Pleas Court	R
Member of Co. Party Central Committee (Columbus Ward 12)	R

Also on the ballot is a proposed tax increase to fund the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.

Note that in Ohio one must declare a party affiliation to vote in that party's primary. I am not sure if I will join either party.