Brown victorious over McNamara in 11th District Senate primary
5/5/2010State Rep. Edna Brown met friends for dinner at Olive Garden last night instead of watching the results of her 11th Senate District primary against fellow Democrat Joe McNamara roll in.
"I was just too nervous to watch," she said.
As it turned out, Ms. Brown had nothing to worry about. Mr. McNamara called her around 11 p.m. to concede in what was a race between two of Lucas County's most recognizable Democrats.
"I was disappointed greatly that we ended up with a race between two able people, but in the end everything will work out for the party," Ms. Brown said.
Ms. Brown, who will vacate her seat in the 48th House District at the end of the year because of a term limit, now faces Toledo City Councilman Tom Waniewski, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination.
Ms. Brown, 70, joined the General Assembly when she was appointed to former Toledo Mayor Jack Ford's seat in 2002, and prior to that served eight years on city council.
Mr. McNamara, 33, is a Toledo city councilman who was re-elected last year to an at-large seat. An attorney and former council president, Mr. McNamara was first elected to council in 2006.
"I wish to congratulate Edna," Mr. McNamara said. "She has my full support in the fall, and I hope the entire Democratic slate wins to promote the core Democratic values we share."
The 11th Senate District Seat currently belongs to term-limited Sen. Teresa Fedor (D., Toledo), who was unopposed in last night's Democratic primary for the 47th House District seat.
Rick Bush, a 53-year-old TARTA bus driver, defeated Phillip Barbosa in the Republican primary for the 47th House District seat. He faces Ms. Fedor and Libertarian Joseph Pfeiffer this fall.
The 47th District seat was recently vacated by new Lucas County Administrator Peter Ujvagi, who would've given up the seat at the end of 2010 because of a term limit. State Rep. Barbara Sears (R., Monclova Township) easily staved off competitor Jeffrey Jones in the GOP primary for the 46th House District seat she currently holds. Ms. Sears now faces Democrat Harry Barlos, a former Lucas County commissioner and clerk of courts, Maumee mayor, and Village of Holland administrator who was unopposed last night.
Ms. Sears was elected in 2008 to serve the 46th District, which encompasses western Lucas County. She defeated Democrat Darlene Dunn with 57 percent of the vote.
Republican Rex Damschroder comfortably won the GOP primary for the 81st House District seat, defeating Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce chief Holly Stacy and Fremont man Merrill Keiser, Jr. Mr. Damschroder represented the district from 1994 to 2003, a district that includes all of Sandusky County and parts of Ottawa and Seneca counties. He will face Seneca County Commissioner Ben Nutter, who defeated middle school teacher William Young in a Democratic primary.
In the 74th House District, which includes much of Fulton, Defiance, and Williams counties, incumbent Rep. Bruce Goodwin easily defeated political consultant Jim Volkert. Mr. Goodwin now faces Democrat David Pilliod of Swanton, who was unopposed.
Contact Joe Vardon at:
jvardon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6559.