Lorain County candidates announce, spar on last day before March primary filing deadline

Primary election season shifted into full gear on Tuesday with the two candidates for Lorain County prosecutor trading barbs as the Lorain County Democratic and Republican parties announced their slates of candidates seeking to win office in 2024. Candidates for partisan races in the March primary have until 4 p.m. today to file their signed petitions with the Lorain County Board of Elections. Claiming that "the days of Democrats running unopposed in Lorain County are over," Lorain County Republican Party Chairman David Arredondo said Tuesday it gave him "great pride" to introduce 11 of the more than two-dozen Republican candidates who will be on the ballot next year. Arredondo made the declaration and introductions in front of a small crowd at county GOP headquarters on North Ridge Road in Sheffield Township. With the exception of the county engineer's race and three judicial races with only Democratic candidates filing, the county GOP will field candidates for all the offices on the ballot in the March 19 primary, Arredondo said. The Lorain County Republican Party does not endorse candidates in primary races, he said. Lorain County Democratic Party Chairwoman Sharon Sweda likewise said her party is proud of its team of candidates and promised a robust primary season in 2024. "From top down we are successfully fielding talented and experienced individuals who are recognized for their integrity and commitment to public service," she wrote in a news release. Democrats also are making a run to unseat two of the three Republican county commissioners, with Brian Baker running for incumbent Commissioner David Moore's seat. Sweda said Lorain City Councilman Tony Dimacchia, D-At Large, plans to make it a three-way primary with Carolyn White and Charles Brown to unseat Commissioner Michelle Hung — though Dimacchia had yet to file as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. On the Republican side, Avon Lake businessman Marty Gallagher is taking on Hung in the primary, while Matthew Spears — Hung's administrative assistant — has filed to run against Moore. Gallagher said Tuesday he has experience in economic development and creating jobs. In a news release, Spears said his platform includes "re-establishing a positive relationship between the residents of Lorain County and county government, including the first responder community." Personal agendas don't belong in government, Spears said. Prosecutor's race Among the Republican candidates already announced but officially confirmed Tuesday is Anthony Cillo, a former assistant Lorain County prosecutor and former assistant Ohio attorney general who stood on the steps of the old Lorain County Courthouse in downtown Elyria on Tuesday to formally announce his candidacy for incumbent J.D. Tomlinson's job. Tomlinson is a Democrat who also formally announced his campaign for a second consecutive term on Tuesday. Flanked by former Lorain County Prosecutor Greg White, Cillo said he chose the old courthouse to make his announcement because he spent the first 6½f years of his career prosecuting cases inside. A lifelong resident of Lorain County, Cillo said he wants to "restore integrity" to the prosecutor's office. "Public officials work for the public, not the other way around," he said. Cillo criticized a recent and secretive $100,000 payout by Tomlinson to a former prosecutor's employee, Jennifer Battistelli. He also mentioned an incident in which former judge James Burge, Tomlinson's chief of staff, charged toward Cillo during a Lorain County Deputies Association candidates night on Nov. 17. White said there is "nobody more qualified" to be county prosecutor than Cillo. "It was a wise decision to hire him," White told a small crowd that gathered in the cold for the announcement. "I enthusiastically support him and want you to also." In his own announcement on Tuesday, Tomlinson said he was the only county prosecutor out of Ohio's 88 counties to defeat an incumbent in a primary election in 2020 when he unseated longtime county Prosecutor Dennis Will. Prior to being elected, Tomlinson was a defense attorney in private practice "counseling clients from every walk of life," he wrote in a statement. "We've adopted innovative, first-of-its-kind strategies to address crime, including the recent awarding of a Smart Prosecutor grant from the Department of Justice to effectively prosecute those who prey on child victims," Tomlinson said. "Our new approach has produced real, tangible results that make Lorain County safer." He pointed to a 12 percent increase in the successful prosecution of high-level felonies, a 26 percent increase in prosecutions of sexual offenses and "double-digit drops" in violent crime in large Lorain County jurisdictions thanks to "fewer predators on the streets." "I hope that he joins the conversation that I started long ago with the citizens of this county about the improvements we've made in the prosecutor's office, the new policies that we've adopted to correct the terrible mistakes of the past, and the role that Mr. Cillo and others had in causing those mistakes," Tomlinson wrote. Judicial races Democrats head into campaign season with four judicial incumbents in judges Lisa Swenski, Chris Cook, Raymond Ewers and Frank Janik, and several newcomers in attorneys Donna Freeman, Dan Petticord and Matthew Bobrowski for the seats being vacated by judges James Miraldi and John Miraldi, both Democrats. A lifelong resident of Lorain County, Bobrowski has done civil litigation and probate work, then broadened into landlord/tenant matters and criminal defense while also serving as a part-time magistrate and acting judge in Lorain Municipal Court, he wrote in a news release. "Unfortunately, I have seen many of the same people come through the criminal justice system repeatedly," Bobrowski said. "We need to do better in order to break that cycle by identifying those individuals that would be receptive to help and get them on the right path. At the same time, we must protect the citizens of Lorain County." The winner of the Bobrowski/Freeman judicial primary will face attorney and Amherst City Treasurer Richard Ramsey, who announced his candidacy as a Republican on Tuesday. Ramsey has been an attorney in private practice for 20 years focusing on family, estate, business, probate, juvenile, criminal and civil law, he said in a news release. Petticord, who is currently chief assistant prosecutor of Tomlinson's Civil Division and legal counsel to the Board of Commissioners, will be challenged by attorney Giovanna Scaletta-Bremke in a race to fill the seat of James Miraldi, who is age-limited out of office. Janik, a Domestic Relations judge, is facing a challenge from Republican Anthony Hurst. Cook, Ewers and Swenski were running unopposed for reelection as of the end of business Tuesday. Other races Jack Hall, Republican candidate for county sheriff, said at Tuesday's GOP event that he brings a "diversity of experience" in his bid to take over for retiring Sheriff Phil Stammitti. The Democrats seeking to replace Stammitti include Rich Resendez and Rick Thomas. Incumbent Lorain County Recorder Mike Doran, a Republican, will face the winner of a Democratic primary between his deputy, Jeff Bearer, and Dawn Walther. Incumbent Lorain County Clerk of Courts Tom Orlando is facing a challenge from Elyria City Councilman Maurice Corbin III, R-3rd Ward, who lost his council seat in November. Incumbent Lorain County Treasurer Dan Talarek is being challenged by John Prajzner, a former Lorain County Board of Elections employee and the commander of American Legion Post 717 in North Ridgeville, who said Tuesday he is focused on "service to the community." State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, is running for reelection. Republican Bradley Lacko will challenge him for a second time. Republicans Kellie Deeter and Anthony Savage will face off in the primary to replace state Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, who cannot seek another term because of term limits. Brenda Buchanan of Columbia Township is so far the lone Democrat to file for the primary in that race. Incumbent 9th District Court of Appeals Judge Jennifer Hensal also appeared at Tuesday's GOP event to announce her campaign for a third consecutive term on the bench. State Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, announced Monday she would seek a fourth and final term in the 52nd Ohio House District. Manning has represented Lorain County in the Ohio House of Representatives since 2019, after eight years in the Ohio Senate. Democrat Genevieve Flieger of North Ridgeville is Manning's challenger. Sweda said Democrats also hope to pick up another seat on the Ohio Supreme Court and reelect U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, "whose work on behalf of working men and women is most evident here in Ohio," she said. Republicans running for Brown's seat include state Sen. Matt Dolan, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and businessman Bernie Moreno, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.