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Campaign season is officially under way.
We’re a little less than two months from the general election. The ballots have been set up. Candidates are making their way from town to town, event to event, all in an effort to appear before the voting public.
Ace Parsi, the Democrat seeking the U.S. House of Representatives seat for our part of the state, had a scheduled appearance at the Brooke County Fair Friday. It wasn’t necessarily a formal appearance, so I’m not certain how many residents knew he was there or had the opportunity to speak with him.
I’m certain his opponent, Republican incumbent Riley Moore, will make his way to the Ohio Valley at some point in the coming weeks.
He made it a point to be here on several occasions, both while he was state treasurer and during his campaign for the House two years ago.
The Hancock County Democratic Executive Committee held grand opening Tuesday for their headquarters, where residents can register to vote (if they aren’t already) or obtain signs for their candidate of choice, or informational materials.
There is bound to be a similar headquarters opening for local Republicans soon, also. In recent years, they’ve held their openings on weekends, so I anticipate receiving a phone call or email shortly to let me know where and when.
I do know there are at least a couple "Meet the candidate" events being set up, and, while the local ballot is fairly small, I would hope there are plenty of opportunities for candidates to get out in front of those deciding whether they should hold office.
Brooke County has two commission seats set to go on the ballot. As of the last check, both feature only one candidate.
Incumbent Stacey Wise won the Republican nomination to represent the Weirton District on the commission in the spring, with no Democrats set to challenge.
Christina White was appointed to the seat representing the Follansbee District following the resignation of A.J. Thomas earlier this year. She, too, is the only candidate listed for that seat.
Those, in fact, are the only local races for Brooke County voters.
Hancock County, meanwhile, has a contested race for its county commission seat. Republican Ronnie Jones defeated incumbent Eron Chek in the spring, and will face a challenge from Democrat Brianne Bates to represent the Butler District.
The only other local race will be for circuit court clerk, with Sheena Connors going unopposed on the ballot. Connors was appointed to the office following the passing of Sandy Casto.
The real excitement for the election will be in the state and federal offices.
Four of the five seats representing our area in the state Legislature are contested this November.
Incumbent Laura Wakim Chapman has certainly been visible in Hancock and Brooke counties in recent months. I would expect her challenger, Shawn Fluharty, to do the same. I haven’t run into Shawn yet, but there are plenty of events in the coming weeks for both to be seen.
On the House side, Pat McGeehan is being challenged by Quincy Wilson, Tony Viola (who defeated incumbent Mark Zatezalo in May) is challenged by Daniel Day, and Jimmy Willis has two opponents in the forms of Democrat Mike Robinson and independent Dave Cantrell.
I’ve seen a few of them in recent weeks, whether at Chamber of Commerce events, community festivals, or just being out and about.
I realize political campaigns, as with many things in society, have changed in the way they operate in recent years. Candidates can reach the people just as easily using email and social media, and can do so, quite frankly, with less effort. But, the mailers - both physical and digital - often are trashed. Voters still notice when they actually see a candidate in person, making that effort to travel from town to town and speak directly with voters.
I would ask all of them, during this election cycle and in the ones yet to come, to keep that in mind as they plan out their strategies.
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is part of the news staff of The Weirton Daily Times. He can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter/X @CHowellWDT)