The SCPR has talked with Commissioner Bosley about reports of his possibly running for the 50th Ohio House seat.
Bosley confirmed that Ohio House Speaker Busdish did contact him and did pay a visit to Bosley on Saturday. The conversation ran about three hours.
Bosley says that he will make a decision by Christmas and will be out campaigning either for commissioner or state representative.
The Bosley family is in sync with Todd running for state representative. Bosley put it this way: "The Bosley family likes Columbus."
A SCPR PREDICTION: Commissioner Todd Bosley will decide to run for state represntative from the 50th Ohio House district.
He is already looking at issues on which he believes Todd Snitchler is highly vulnerable. Bosley mentioned Snitchler's public position that Ohio should have refused "stimulus money." Moreover, he noted Snitchler having not gotten any legislation through the Ohio House in his first two year term.
Bosley said that he did meet over the weekend with Jeffrey Ury (a Democrat who first took out petitions for the 50th race) and that the meeting did not go well.
Apparently, the poll that Budish, shared in part with Bosley, did include other Stark County Democrats in the mix. All Bosley knows is that his numbers were very positive for his making the run.
ORIGINAL POST
The SCPR has learned that Commissioner Todd Bosley received a very interesting visit to his home in Marlboro Township this weekend.
Who was the guest?
Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish!!! That's who!
Why was Budish in town?
To convince Bosley as a Democrat against incumbent representative Todd Snitchler.
The Report is told that Budish told Bosley that the Ohio House Democratic Caucus has done polling that clearly indicates that his seat is a winnable seat for the Democrats. Budish reportedly promised Bosley that Columbus-based Democrats would raise "tons of money" for a Bosley campaign.
Democrats are nervous about the possibility of losing seats in the Ohio House given the slippage of Governor Ted Strickland in the polls. Strickland was the first Democrat elected as governor of Ohio after 16 years of Republicans Bob Taft and George Voinovich.
To offset expected loses in the Ohio House, the SCPR believes that Budish is going on offense by taking a look at districts like the 50th.
The 50th (when it was the 56th) was held for about 10 years by former Stark County Democratic Party chairman Johnnie A. Maier, Jr.
Budish also is reported to have told Bosley that he is polling numbers higher than Maier did when Maier held the seat.
There is already one announced Democrat for the seat currently held by Republican Todd Snitchler.
Jeffrey Ury of Lake Township has pulled petitions.
The SCPR has to believe that, if Bosley runs, Ury will "step aside."
The SCPR is skeptical of the Bosley polling numbers. You can bet that Snitchler and his allies will be tagging Bosley as "Taxing Todd" for Bosley's initiative on "imposing" the 0.05 sales/use tax increase in December, 2008.
Bosley will be a formidable candidate.
This race will be, if it materializes, the most interesting Ohio General Assembly race Stark County has seen since Maier ousted Charles "Red" Ash from the old 56th District seat.
1 comment:
Mr. Olson - this is certainly an interesting twist and I wholeheartedly agree that the numbers from the so called straw poll are clearly skewed...when was the poll taken, and who did they poll? Mr. Bosley's narrow majority of 50.1% on election day 3 years ago was probably the apex of his political popularity in Stark County...factor in his headstrong decision to raise taxes, and his remark about folks excercising their patriotism and being branded as terrorists, and you have a campaign recipe for disaster. If I read the 50th District map it largly excludes the City of Canton, and is a little more "rural" so to speak, and Mr. Bosley didn't do well in the "rural" areas. I also think Mr. Bosley overstates his self proclaimed mandate of repairing 911 and that's what got him elected. 911 isn't what got you elected Todd, it's that you were on the Democratic ticket. Either way I see him losing in a landslide whether it be in the 50th District or County Commissioner, and the Dems can throw all the money they want at it, why not put it to good use and give it to the needy of Stark County
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