Payne wins GOP commissioner primary, but Dem race remains undecided
By Nick Claussen
March 6, 2008
The two primary races for Athens County Commissioner were both relatively close, and one of the races is still not over.
Seven Democrats campaigned for the party’s nomination for the commissioner seat currently held by Democrat Bill Theisen (who is not running for re-election), while two Republicans fought for their party nomination.
In the Republican primary, Larry Payne defeated Joe Yanity III 1,641 to 1,250.
For the Democrats, Charlie Adkins leads the field with 2,649 votes, but Jim Pancake is close behind with 2,506. The lead could conceivably change when all of the provisional votes and absentee ballots are added to the final count.
The other Democrats in the primary election and the votes they received were Doug Davis (1,895 votes), David Ratliff (1,622), Aliene Linwood (1,518), Chad Kister (899) and Bob Baughman (458).
Pancake, a former York Township trustee who won the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent the 92nd District in the Ohio House in 2002 (he lost to Republican Jimmy Stewart in the general election), won 25 of the 69 voting precincts in the county, more than any other candidate.
Albany resident Adkins, a former union president at Ohio University, won 22 precincts, several by wide margins. Davis won eight precincts, while Linwood and Ratliff each won seven.
Adkins won three Athens precincts by close margins, but won big in areas such as Alexander Township, Lee Township and Stewart.
Pancake, meanwhile, narrowly won seven Athens city precincts and won all six of the Nelsonville precincts by wide margins. He also won in areas such as Chauncey, Millfield, Coolville, Troy Township, Buchtel and York Township.
Davis, mayor of Trimble village, picked up all of his wins in Glouster, Trimble Township, the village of Trimble, Jacksonville and New Marshfield.
All the precincts Ratliff won are located in the city of Athens and Athens Township, while all Linwood’s winning precincts are in the city of Athens.
Adkins said Wednesday he is grateful for the support he received.
“If this thing holds out, I will work hard this summer to talk to as many people as I can,” he said. The high number of candidates influenced the race, and if any one of the candidates had not run, it would have caused several changes, he said.
For example, if Pancake was not in the race, Davis likely would have performed better, Adkins said. Also, if Linwood or Ratliff were not in the race, that might have meant more votes for him.
“I think Jim got the license plate tax vote,” Adkins said, referring to how Pancake wants the $15 piggyback license plate tax in the county eliminated. He added that he’s happy the commissioner campaign stayed positive.
Pancake thanked his supporters Wednesday and said he still has a chance to win depending on how many absentee and provisional votes are left to be counted. He and Adkins both said there may be more than 1,000 votes left to be counted, but no official number was available at press time.
Pancake alleged that local Democrats who do not like him encouraged Davis and Baughman to run, knowing that Baughman would take some Nelsonville votes away from him and Davis would take the Trimble Township votes from him. Even with the crowded field, though, he still received support from all parts of the county, Pancake said.
“If the recount goes good for me, I think I’d be a hell of a good commissioner,” Pancake said.
For the Republicans, Payne and Yanity were close in most precincts, but Payne picked up big wins in areas such as Lee Township, Albany, Troy Township and York Township East. Payne is a former Albany mayor and director of member services for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce.
Yanity, a Canaan Township trustee, won big in Canaan Township, and also received support across the county.
On Wednesday, Payne thanked his supporters and explained that he has a campaign committee made up of Republicans and Democrats.
“And that is one thing that we are emphasizing; we are going to promote having a balanced approach to county government,” Payne said. His campaign in the fall will be similar to his primary campaign, he added.
“It’s going to be based on experience and issues. It’s going to be positive,” Payne said.
He will continue working for the chamber, but will not work there in October, Payne said.
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