Thursday, March 10, 2016 | Page 9
The Kent Stater
National Nurses United’s ‘Bernie Bus’ visits KSU’s campus
Austin Mariasy / The Kent Stater Nurse Cathy Kennedy talks with freshman accounting major Stephany Smith about Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders when the National Nurses United’s ‘Bernie Bus’ made a stop in Kent on Wednesday, March 9, 2016. The National Nurses United’s ‘Bernie Bus’ made a stop in Kent on Wednesday, March 9, 2016.
Austin Mariasy / The Kent Stater
Candidates vie for county positions Stater staff Recorder • Lori Calcei, 49, is a Republican and the current Suffield Township fiscal officer, as well as the Portage County District Library Deputy Fiscal Officer. She is a graduate of Mogadore High School. If elected, Calcei would like to implement e-recording, where documents are submitted for recording online, then reviewed, recorded and returned to the submitter electronically. The system increases efficiency and saves time and money, Calcei said. She said she will work “diligently to make sure the Recorder’s Office is efficient, accurate, readily available and technologically advanced.” • Renee Howe-Aboul, 49, is the Democratic candidate on the ballot. She has been a deputy clerk for the Portage County Clerk of Courts for 16 years and attended Kent State. If elected, Howe-Aboul said she would “make sure that our records would be cur-
rent because we would record right away for customers that come into the office and any mail that we get will be recorded daily, so we will always remain current.” Treasurer • Brad Cromes, 32, is the current treasurer of Portage County. Cromes, a Democrat, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hiram College, a Master ’s degree in Public Policy & Management from The Ohio State University, and a Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University College of Law. On his campaign website at www. bradcromes.com, Cromes said he wants to make sure “all taxpayers are paying their fair share, and that once those taxes are collected they are put to the best use possible,” and that the treasurer’s office can help make sure “Portage County taxpayers have access to the information they need to make good financial choices.” Cromes also said his office balances “safety with strong returns” when county funds are invested. Trisha Heath of Franklin Township is
the Republican candidate for treasurer. No further information on her campaign is available. Clerk of Courts • Jill Fankhauser is the Democratic candidate. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and her law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. Fankhauser was appointed to office in August to fill the position vacated by the retirement of her mother-in-law, Linda Fankhauser. Prior to becoming the clerk, Fankhauser practiced law for more than 12 years. • Tia M. Paoloni, 54, is the Republican candidate for Portage County Treasurer. She is currently an assignment commissioner for Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty and is the direct liaison between the Common Pleas Court and the Clerk of Courts. She also worked as a legal assistant in several area law offices and graduated from Field High School and Maplewood Vocational School in 1980.
3 seats open on Ohio Supreme Court Neville Hardman City Reporter Three of the seven total seats for Ohio’s Supreme Court are available for grabs this primary. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor runs unopposed for re-election for the first seat, as her current term is up on Dec. 31. Elected in 2003, O’Connor was the first woman to lead Ohio’s judicial branch as chief justice. When she was up for re-election in 2008, she took 68 percent of the vote. Republican Pat DeWine, son of Ohio
Attorney General Mike DeWine, will compete against Democrat Cynthia Rice for the second seat, as Justice Paul Pfeifer cannot run for re-election since he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. DeWine was not recommended by the Ohio State Bar Association, while Rice was highly recommended. For the third seat, as Justice Judith Lanzinger is retiring, candidates Pat Fischer and Colleen O’Toole face each other for the Republican slot. Judge Fischer serves the 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals, serving Hamilton County, while O’Toole serves
the 11th Ohio District Court of Appeals, including the counties of Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Portage and Trumbull. Fischer was recommended over O’Toole by the Ohio State Bar Association. Both candidates face Democratic Judge John P. O’Donnell for the open Ohio Supreme Court seat. Recommended by the Ohio State Bar Association, O’Donnell is currently the judge of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas General Division in Cleveland. nhardma1@kent.edu
Candidate list for U.S. Senate Blythe Alspaugh City Reporter
DEMOCRATIC BALLOT
Kelli Prather, a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, is a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a supporter of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Center, and is the Chair of the Cincinnati Black Teen Ambassadors. Prather has worked in the field of occupational therapy for years, forming companies in order to merge the clinical and business sides of healthcare. Prather’s platform is built on education reforms that include student loan forgiveness and more affordable education, equal access to affordable housing, upholding the Affordable Care Act and addressing health disparities in minority communities, firmer gun control laws, and more employment opportunities for minority businesses. Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, P.G. Sittenfeld is currently serving his second term on the Cincinnati City Council. Sittenfeld’s platform for the senate race focuses on rebuilding the middle class through a livable minimum wage, creating educational opportunity by cutting interest rates on student loans dramatically, ending gun violence by enacting a series of proposals for gun reform, bringing an urban policy agenda to the senate in order
to reform public policy in urban areas, addressing climate change with support for the Clean Power Plan, increasing social security benefits for senior citizens, advocating for LGBT equality and supporting a Supreme Court nominee who upholds Roe v. Wade. A former Congressman and Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland is running on the Democratic ticket for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. Strickland’s platform is built on restoring economic fairness by increasing the minimum wage, protecting and strengthening wages, fighting for equal pay among men and women, and support of collective bargaining. In addition to this, Strickland hopes to create a safe environment in schools and communities by reducing gun violence, protect national security by eradicating ISIS, create more benefits for veterans such as free higher education and tax reductions and strengthen social security and Medicare by opposing privatized social security reforms. He intends to continue advocating for healthcare reforms that include improvements to the Affordable Care Act and fair access to healthcare for women, creating renewable energy reforms, overturn Citizens United and fight for increased campaign finance transparency, and create more affordable higher education opportunities by expanding and protecting the Pell Grant and Perkins Loan Program, while
ultimately working toward a debt-free higher education.
REPUBLICAN BALLOT
Republican candidate Don Elijah Eckhart is from Galloway, Ohio. His top three priorities for his campaign platform are protecting life and religious freedom by presenting legislation to do so; protecting and expanding the middle class through tax reforms that eliminate special tax breaks and support of the Fair Tax, which would replace income tax; and declaring independence of foreign oil, as he believes it has limited policy options. Hailing from Cincinnati, Rob Portman is the incumbent. Portman’s platform promotes pro-job policies through simplified and reformed tax codes, improve retraining programs, a repeal of the Affordable Care Act for lower-cost health care reforms and a competitive tax code. He also hopes to reduce government spending by enacting the Balanced Budget Amendment, which would prevent states from spending more than their income allows. In addition to this, Portman promotes energy independence, is in defense of the Second Amendment and plans to reduce gun violence through better enforcement of current gun laws, enhancement of school security and proper care for mental illness. Portman is also pro-life and supports pro-life legislation. balspaug@kent.edu
Christiana Ford TV2 Correspondent National Nurses United (NNU) “Yuge” Bernie Bus made a stop on Kent State’s campus Wednesday. The NNU and Single Payer Action Network partnered to talk to students about free college and healthcare for all. “We get all kinds of people coming up to us and saying, ‘Oh good, I heard about you, (and) here you are. Can you tell us this, can you tell us that,’” Co- President Jean Ross said. Ross is especially happy students seem to be well-informed and understand the authenticity of Sanders, she said. “It isn’t just free college,” Ross said. “They actually understand the way the world works and that it needs to change.” Sophomore marketing major Angela Deibel is one of those students who stands with Sanders. She supports Sanders because he is the only candidate preaching a message of togetherness. “He’s not judging people based on their ethnicity or color,” Deibel said. “We all stand together as brother and sister.” With the cost of education
and student debt rising, Sanders is what the people need, NNU member Martese Chism said. “People are looking for a champion. They’re looking for a fighter and Senator Sanders is that fighter,” Chism said. NNU has traveled across America and will focus on Ohio this week. The bus’ first appearance was in Cleveland on Monday. It also stopped in Akron before making the trip to
“They actually understand the way the world works and that it needs to change.” JEAN ROSS CO-PRESIDENT OFNNU campus. The Bernie Bus plans to make stops in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati before the week is over. The group composed of 185,000 members is the largest organization of registered nurses and was the first union to endorse Sanders back in August. For more information on the NNU or the Bernie Bus, visit their website at nationnursesunited.org. cford35@kent.edu