Mayor, commissioner leave party over Washington appointment
The Associated Press
1/21/03 8:51 PM

Two northwest Ohio elected officials have switched their political parties in protest of a congressional Democratic leader's appointment, The Lima News reported Wednesday.

John Bergman, who will run for a third term as an Auglaize County commissioner in November, said he changed from a Democrat to a Republican because he thinks House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California is too liberal.

Van Wert Mayor Stephen Gehres announced earlier this month that he would leave the Democratic Party to become a Republican because he was dissatisfied with the choice of Pelosi.

Click here to read the entire story from the Associated Press.

John Franks remembered his daughter, Cathy McCune, as a good person who wouldn’t hurt anyone.

That’s why it’s so difficult for him to understand how someone could shoot and kill her and wound her husband, Richard, during an apparent robbery at their North Toledo auto parts business.

"She was a gift from God, and she’s with Him now," Mr. Franks said yesterday of his daughter, Toledo’s first homicide victim this year.

Mrs. McCune, 43, of 678 Rutledge Ct., Perrysburg, died from a single gunshot wound in the back of her head, according to preliminary autopsy results released by Dr. Cynthia Beisser, a Lucas County deputy coroner.

Mr. Franks said his daughter was trying to unlock the safe to give the suspect money when she was shot.

Meanwhile, in a nearby state that allows its law-abiding citizens to a carry concealed handgun for self-defense, a shockingly similar story had a much different ending for this concealed carry permit holder:

The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA

The Dayton Daily News has published an excellent in-depth look at Justice Evelyn Lundberg-Stratton's upbringing and legal background. OFCC PAC endorsed Stratton's re-election bid in 2002, against a very liberal opponent:

Supreme Court justice raised in Thailand
By Laura A. Bischoff
e-mail address: lbischoff@coxohio.com
Dayton Daily News

While most baby boomers grew up on rock ’n’ roll, TV and fast food, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton lived in a jungle, rode elephants, made her own clothes and savored the few times she saw movies and television.

Stratton’s parents, Elmer and Corrine Sahlberg, raised Stratton, her two brothers and one sister in a small town in the jungles of northern Thailand, where they worked as Christian missionaries.

"Sometimes it seems like a different life, like living in a movie," said Stratton, 49, a Republican who was re-elected to a six-year term on the Ohio’s highest court.

The Gonger News Service is reporting that (pro-CCW) Senator Robert Gardner (R-Bowling Green) had made the decision not to resign his seat in the Ohio Senate in order to accept the position of Lake County Commissioner.

As OFCC PAC reported last week, Gardner, the Senate's president pro tem, was repotedly weighing his options on whether he would withdraw from consideration for the Lake County post or remain in the Senate.

The prospect of a yet another legislative vacancy sparked by term limits evaporated Friday when he 18th District's Senator, who must leave the chamber in 2004, withdrew his name as a candidate for appointment to an opening on the Lake County Board of Commissioners.

Representative Jamie Callender, who OFCC PAC endorsed in 2002, simultaneously announced his intentions to seek to replace Gardner as Senator for the 18th District, when his term ends in 2004. A Callender election would, of course, ensure continued pro-CCW representation for the 18th Senate District. The move also necessitates the search for a new pro-CCW candidate for 2004 to represent Callender's 62nd House District.

Criminals could spend an average of six times longer behind bars if convicted of gun-related charges under a new Cincinnati program aimed at sending them to federal prison.

Project Disarm was launched in late 2001 as a joint effort by Cincinnati police and several federal agencies to crack down on increasing gun violence in the city.

The project's first 20 cases reveal a sharp difference in the sentences convicts get in federal versus state court.

Click here to read the full story in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus:
Now if they can only stop penalizing the law-abiding citizens who wish to exercise their Constitutional right to carry a gun for self-defense.

As it did last week concerning Republicans and the governorship, the Columbus Dispatch has published a story examining who among Democrats emerge as early picks for U.S. Senate in 2004, and for governor in 2006.

A poll suggests that among Democrat political leaders in Ohio, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman ranks third highest, but emerges as the front-runner because the Democrats' first two choices, Rep. Sherrod Brown of Lorain, and Rep. Ted Strickland of Lucasville, both say they don't want either job.

According to the Dispatch, even Coleman has been wary of talking about running in 2006. Several Democrats say he must achieve an impressive win in his re-election campaign this year to propel him to a possible try for governor.

Once Brown and Strickland are out of the picture, no clear choice remains for the Senate seat occupied by Republican George V. Voinovich, with former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Mary Boyle and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur narrowly topping talk-show host Jerry Springer.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus:

Washington - After waiting in the wings for 20 months, two Ohio nominees to the powerful federal appeals court will get a hearing before a key Senate panel Jan. 29.

Despite pressure from the White House, the nominations of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Deborah Cook and Columbus lawyer Jeffrey Sutton languished until Republicans regained control of the Senate in November. Democrats, while in charge, were in no rush to elevate President Bush's conservative nominees to a federal bench one level removed from the U.S. Supreme Court.

As OFCC PAC has been reporting for the past two months, once Justice Cook is confirmed, it will be up to Gov. Taft to name replacement for her on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Click here to read the full story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Man charged in gun-point abduction rape
By GREG SOWINSKI

LIMA - A local man accused in the abduction and rape of a woman was indicted by the grand jury on numerous charges this week.

A 31-year-old woman was abducted by a man with a gun as she left a business in the 1000 block of West Market Street about 6 p.m. on Nov. 15, said Jana Gutman, an assistant Allen County prosecutor.

The woman was taken to a residential location in Lima and raped. The suspect also robbed the woman of money and stole her car, Gutman said.

Following the rape, the woman notified police, who less than an hour later spotted her car, Gutman said.

Meanwhile, in a neighboring state that allows its law-abiding citizens to a carry concealed handgun for self-defense, a shockingly similar story had a much different ending for this woman, who was fortunate enough to have been carrying a concealed weapon:

Friday, Oklahoma City, OK, 4/10/81

Mansfield's Quality Cab Co. has expressed concern for the safety of its drivers after two armed robberies in one week. The cab company -- the only one in Mansfield -- is considering halting service to an apartment complex, Northwest Village Apartments, at 670 King St.

Driver Mike Eberhardt Sr., 45, said about noon Wednesday he picked up a patron at the apartment complex. The man asked to be taken to West First Street. Upon arriving in an alley off West First Street, Eberhardt said the man demanded money as he pressed a silver handgun against the driver's shoulder.

Quality Cab office manager Brad Walker, 44, says "we need to protect our drivers, and it's the civic responsibility for all of us to do the right thing," Walker said.

"I don't want to go to the morgue to identify one of my drivers," he said.

Meanwhile, in a state that allows its law-abiding citizens to a carry concealed handgun for self-defense, a shockingly similar story had a much different ending for this Tennessee cab driver, who became the victim of an attempted robbery:

The Tennessean, Nashville, TN

Are mixed public messages are being given by our state Republican leadership concerning concealed carry reform?

In December, House Speaker Larry Householder said publicly that that concealed carry reform is in position to pass in "February or March".

Yesterday, Householder said that while he expects a bill to be introduced and debated, "as far as the future of the state of Ohio and how we move forward, I think that particular issue is one that takes a seat in the back."

Senate President Doug White agreed, saying the issue didn't make the top five list identified by Senate Republicans, who hold a 22-11 majority.

Our latest online poll asks if reforming Ohio's unconstitutional ban on carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense be considered a 2003 Legislative Priority.

You can vote on the right side of the homepage, or click here to access the poll.