Late auditor's son enters race for council seat

6/10/2006

Democrat Joe McNamara, son of the late Lucas County Auditor Dan McNamara - a Republican who died in a car accident 23 years ago - said yesterday he will run for the Toledo City Council seat vacated by Bob McCloskey.

Mr. McNamara joins at least three other candidates who have said they will run - Democrat Lourdes Santiago, who holds the seat by appointment; Republican David Schulz, and Democrat Bob Vasquez.

Two other candidates have taken out petitions for the three years that will remain in the seat: David Davison and Stephen Ward. The filing deadline is Sept. 8.

Toledoans will vote Nov. 7 to fill the seat that was vacated May 2 when McCloskey resigned to face bribery charges in state and federal court. Ms. Santiago was endorsed by the Lucas County Democratic Party and was appointed by council May 23 to serve until the election.

Mr. McNamara, now 29, was riding in a car driven by his father in 1983 when a tire came off another vehicle and burst through the windshield, killing the elder McNamara. Dan McNamara had been a member of City Council and was elected Lucas County auditor in 1978.

Joe McNamara plans a kick-off on Tuesday at the Main Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.

He said he will run a "service-driven" campaign, encouraging volunteers to support service projects during the campaign and emphasizing political reform and job creation.

Mr. McNamara is a lawyer who graduated from the University of Michigan and New York University School of Law. His mother is Jill Kelly, the executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections.