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BUTLER COUNTY

Tea Party’s ‘precinct project’ sparks GOP races

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By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 9:09 AM Monday, March 8, 2010

HAMILTON — The political tempest swirling within the Butler County GOP can be found in a teapot in one west Hamilton neighborhood.

It’s home to the Governor’s Hill subdivision, a county commission candidate; the county coroner’s wife; a long-time GOP member; and a mother of four.

And 200 Republicans who will have to pick which one of those they want to represent them on the county party’s central committee.

The race for the precinct designated Ham7wd1 is the most crowded in the county, though countywide there has been a flood of 399 candidates — many of them political newcomers — for the party’s 298 central committee seats.

To see why, look no further than Ham7wd1.

‘Precinct project’

For one, there’s the Tea Party influence.

“I think that’s playing a big part in it,” said Wes Retherford, Ham7wd1 candidate, avowed Tea Party member, county commission candidate and local mortician.

“For me, it has to do with the fundamentals behind the Tea Party movement,” he said. “I want to be able to see that the people that are responsible for endorsing our political candidates in the primaries are people that stick to the core (conservative) values.”

Tea Party leaders are open about their desire to fill local party committees with their supporters. Some call it the “precinct project.”

Cincinnati Tea Party president Chris Littleton said it’s impossible to pinpoint how many of the more than 700 people running for central committees in Butler, Warren, Clermont and Hamilton counties are Tea Partyers.

“We know we have affected that number, because we’re been hammering away at that forever,” he said.

There’s nothing insidious about it, he said; it’s simply conservatives taking their party back.

Race for prosecutor under way

Marilyn Burkhardt, wife of Butler County Coroner Richard Burkhardt, said she’s running for Ham7wd1 central committee “because I was asked to do it.”

It was Hamilton attorney Michael Gmoser who asked her, because he wants to be the next Butler County prosecutor — a job that will likely be filled by the local GOP.

This is because Robin Piper, the current county prosecutor, is running for 12th District Court of Appeals judge. Seeing as he’s unopposed in the primary and general election, his odds are pretty good.

If he dons judge’s robes in January, it will be up to the central committee to appoint a replacement to fill his unexpired term.

So Gmoser and Assistant County Prosecutor Jason Phillabaum are trying to fill those seats with their respective supporters.

The incumbent for Ham7wd1 is Donald Stewart. Stewart is Piper’s campaign treasurer, and Piper has expressed an interest in backing candidates from his office, like Phillabaum.

Though her husband has been an elected official for nearly 30 years, Marilyn Burkhardt said she’s never been very active in politics. She’s only running for the position because Gmoser is a personal friend.

“I think he would make a good prosecutor,” she said.

She doesn’t really plan to campaign much this time around.

“If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, you know what, that’s the way life is.”

‘These folks want to be involved’

The other candidate for Ham7wd1 is Jane Schlichter. She is a friend of Phillabaum’s, though she says that has nothing to do with why she’s running.

She said she’s also not active in the Tea Party: “That whole thing scares me a little bit,” she said.

The stay-at-home mother of four and former Piper employee said she has long wanted to be more involved in the party, but was waiting for Stewart to step down. And she got tired of waiting.

“I just know that I want to be way more involved, so my first step in getting more involved is running for central committee,” she said.

As for Stewart, he doesn’t recall exactly how long he’s been on the committee: 15, maybe 16 years. “It’s been a very long time,” he said.

He had a challenger for the only time in 2006, during another attempt to flood the central committee. That time, it was Rawnica Dillingham and Joe Ruscigno who filed petitions contesting more than 80 central committee seats in an open bid to wrest control of the party.

“I don’t believe that’s the case this time, maybe these folks want to be involved in the party,” he said.

As for campaigning, the Ohio Casualty retiree and three-time city councilman said he has a couple of campaign signs he’ll likely put up at the polls and a mailer he’ll send out.

If he wins, he’ll be happy. If he loses, “I’ve got a lot of other things that I’m involved in, in the community. If I didn’t do this, it might give me time to do other things I enjoy doing.”

Contact this reporte

at (513) 820-2175 or jsweigart@coxohio.com.

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People should get wise and find out for themselves what the truth is. The media and national politcal parties stand to further distort and facts. They Divide and Conquer. The Tea Party stands to Unite & Restore...

fact_checker
8:35 PM, 3/10/2010

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The Tea Party is not a national party. It's not even a polictal party in any way. It's a movement. A coalition of AMERICANS! Patriotic folks who love LIBERTY. The true Tea Party movement is not funded or organized by groups who have already been in the game. Beck & Limbaugh are media-talkers, not delegates! If that were true, that would make Matthews and Olbermann the leaders of the Democratic-Socialist Party USA!

fact_checker
8:33 PM, 3/10/2010

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Time to change your name, 'Truth'. This has been checked out and Mike Gmoser has voted consistently as a registered Republican for all of his life. Never been a Democrat.

Feel stupid?

The real truth
1:12 PM, 3/9/2010

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Gmoser is a democrat and has been ever since he worked for Holcomb. This is a case of another democrat trying to get elected by running for office as a Republican. Right now, half the Republican party is made up of democrats who couldn't get elected as democrats and changed parties so they could get on the gravy train.

Truth
10:32 PM, 3/8/2010

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If not for listening to Beck, none of us would have known the agenda this admiistration has. Until too late! I have never heard hate from Beck or Limbaugh , only facts that cannot be disputed. Look them up to find out for yourself instead of listening to anyone.

beck listener
9:18 AM, 3/8/2010

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