Published: May 16, 2008 02:57 pm            

Winners eye fall races

PRINCETON — Nationally, the 2008 election cycle may signal a time of change, but Mercer County voters kept incumbents seated through Tuesday’s election. From the Board of Education to the state Senate, every Mercer County incumbent seeking a return trip to office cleared the primary hurdle. And, a few new faces entered the races along the way. Counting complications delayed the release of election results, but here’s how the competitions closed when the numbers finally came in early Wednesday. Senate District 10 West Virginia Senate’s Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer, went unchallenged in the GOP ticket for the District 10 seat, but he’ll square off against James “Jim” McNee-ly, D-Monroe, in Nov-ember. Dis-trict 10 includes parts of Mercer and Fayette counties and all of Monroe, Summers and Greenbrier counties. Caruth, who has served the last six years in the West Virginia Legislature, said he wants to return to the Senate to continue his push to make the Mountain State more open and available for economic development. “My main concern in regard to all the races is that we’re careful to select representatives who are positive about economic development and continue to bring forth some of the positive things we’ve done over the last six years,” Caruth said Wednesday. When he took office, Caruth said stifling litigation costs, an unworkable workers’ compensation system, a medical malpractice crisis and more were keeping businesses out of West Virginia and pushing existing ones across state lines. Today, those problems have largely been tamed, and Caruth is pushing for ongoing tax reform to further improve the state’s business climate. Speaking with a “good bit of optimism,” Caruth said he believes West Virginia is on the right path and hopes whoever leads the state will keep moving forward. McNeely, who bested former state Sen. Anita Skeens Caldwell, D-Mercer, by a 4-percent margin in unofficial results, thanked his opponent. He said Caldwell was helpful and gracious throughout the campaign and vowed that District 10 Democrats would be united in November. Likewise, McNeely said he “thought the world of Don Caruth” and expected him to be a “vigorous campaigner.” During the campaign, McNeely called for a more diversified economy through support for clean coal technology, small business, agriculture, forestry and tourism. At the same time, he said he would oppose “giveaways” of state or local funds through special interest tax breaks. He also vowed to support local law enforcement, oppose increased Turnpike tolls and seek a fairer workers’ compensation program. “Voters are going to be presented with a choice this fall,” McNeely said. With all 168 precincts reporting, the vote totals were: McNeely, 10,246; Caldwell, 9,318; and Caruth, 4,284. House District 25 Incumbent Dels. Marshall Long and Thomas “Mike” Porter both advanced through the primary, but it was challenger and retired Judge John Frazier who garnered the most votes in House District 25, with 4,411 votes to Long’s 4,088. That didn’t sit well with Long, who declared, “We could’ve worked harder. We’ll have to work harder to get my name out there.” Citing a desire to bring in the most votes in hopes of picking up a key chairmanship in House committees, Long said he would stand up to the challenge. “It’s just my competitive nature to want to come in first. It gives me something to shoot for,” he said. “We don’t want to be like Avis and just be happy with second.” For his part, Frazier said he expected the General Election to feature strong competition and interesting options for voters. “It’s going to be a very hotly contested race, and I think we’re going to see four good candidates,” he said. He said the economy would continue to weigh heavily on voters’ minds, and he predicted money would make many of the voting decisions in the fall. Porter, the GOP incumbent from District 25, recorded 1,308 votes, and said he too expected a tough contest come November. “It’s going to be a good race. I just want to come out on top,” he said. he second Republican on the ballot, Dr. Joe Ellington, posted 751 votes and will round out the District 25 options. Voters in November will choose two delegates. “I was pleased to get through the primary Tuesday. I have my work cut out for me,” Ellington said. “I’m looking forward to a good spirited challenge.” Family Court Though the night didn’t bring many worries for Family Court Judge Mary Ellen Griffith and hopeful Omar Aboulhosn, who ran unopposed in Districts 1 and 2, it was a different situation in District 3, where two Democrats and a Republican appeared on the ballot. At the end of the contest, Democrat Lisa Clark won by a margin of more than 2,000 votes over Ward Morgan. Clark will square off against Republican Gerald “Jerry” Linkous in the November election. “Certainly, we’re very excited about the results,” Clark said. “But, Mr. Morgan ran an honorable race, and I think very highly of him. I look forward to continuing my campaign through November and appreciate the continued support from the public in both Mercer and McDowell counties.” With all 103 precincts in the 12th Family Court circuit reporting, Clark received 7,644 votes to Morgan’s 5,629. Linkous garnered 2,121 and said he knew he would face a strong competition from Clark. “It’s always tough for a Republican to win around here, but Family Law judge is one position where party shouldn’t matter,” he said. County Commission Democrat Joe Coburn will return in January for another six years on the governing body that manages Mercer County. Currently the County Commis-sion president, Coburn led his three challengers in the contest to keep his seat. He tallied 3,757 votes, while Robert “Bob” Carter totaled 2,637; Stephen Akers posted 2,290; and Willie Wiley earned 982. “I’m just real happy with it. I’d just like to keep fighting to see what we can do to improve the situation in the county,” Coburn said, listing infrastructure, water, sewer and highway improvements on his list of priorities. There were no Republicans on the ballot for County Commission. Magistrate Three incumbent magistrates and two retired law enforcement officers will fill the Democratic ticket for magistrate in the fall. Mike Flanigan (5,852), Harold Buckner (5,326), Rick Fowler (3,934), Roy Compton (3,717) and Charles N. Poe (3,547) will proceed to the general election, where they’ll run against Republic-ans Charles “Chuck” Terry and Amber McClure for the five magistrate benches available in Mercer County. Terry and McClure automatically advanced, since there were only two candidates in the race. “It’s almost like one fight’s ended to start another,” Poe said. Fowler seconded that thought. “The way things are, and the way people are all fired up about the presidential race, you cannot let up,” he said. “If you want to win, you have to campaign every day.” For his part, Buckner said he was proud voters continued to support him. “I appreciate all the people who have confidence in me for my seventh term. I hope it continues through the general election,” Buckner said. Meanwhile, Terry had high goals. “I’m really excited about the future and being able to get into this race. I’m up for a challenge,” he said. “I want to go in the record books as being the first Republican magistrate in Mercer County.” Board of Education Incumbents Mary Alice Kaufman and Lynne White handily defeated their three challengers in the nonpartisan school board race. Kaufman led the contest with 6,316 votes, and White tallied 4,831. Challenger Brandon Young came in third with 3,524, while Mona Poling registered 2,627 and Kenny Harmon finished the race with 2,585. Since they did not run on party affiliations and their current terms expire in June, Kaufman and White will officially begin their next terms as Board of Education members in July. — Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.

        

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