National Republican sweep adds to Democratic loss in Athens County

by Natalie Long
Staff Writer

In Athens County, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by more than 3,800 people, the Democratic candidate for the 92nd House District Jim Pancake should have won the vote easily.

Though Pancake won the county, he only did so by 74 votes - not even a whole percentage point. And representative-elect Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, won the district with 58 percent of the district's vote.

Athens County Democratic Chairwoman Susan Gwinn said the reason Pancake lost the election was in part because of the Republican sweep that went through the nation.

Gwinn, who is elected by the Democratic Central Committee, also said the independents played a major role in the results, and Democrats obviously voted for Stewart.

Gwinn has been the chairwoman for seven-and-a-half years and serves two-year terms.

Pancake had won the Democratic nomination by a narrow margin over opponents Dale Tampke and Eric Hasemeier in the primaries with only 37 percent. "Jim Pancake was the Democratic nominee - the people had selected him to be the candidate and we went from there," Gwinn said.

"The problem is the number of Republicans turned out so heavily that I doubt we could have won the district against anyone," Gwinn said. "We lost nothing on Election Day that we already had."

The new district was a result of redistricting by the 2001 Apportionment Board. The lone Democratic member, Senate Minority Leader Leigh Herington, D-Ravenna, said the district was supposed to be a Democratic stronghold, and he never thought a Republican would win the district.

"I envisioned it to be a safe (Democratic) district," Herington said.

Every 10 years, as required by the Ohio Constitution, the committee redraws legislative district boundaries to reflect population changes identified by the Census. The other members are Gov. Bob Taft, Auditor Jim Petro, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell and House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford.

The board secretary and a Republican, Scott Borgemenke, said they met from August through October of 2001.

There are also 10 regional hearings across the state for the public to participate in the apportionment process by offering suggestions and petitions.

Borgemenke said he is in charge of drawing up the map after the apportioners have voted on how they are going to re-district the state.