One spot is up for grabs this election season on the Belmont County Commission. Current county commissioners J.P. Dutton and Josh Meyer secured their respective reelections in November of 2020.
Meyer (R) defeated Democrat Mike Bianconi, 20,772 to 11,149, while Dutton, also a Republican, defeated Vince Gianangeli 18,053 to 13,860.
This time, fellow incumbent and Republican Jerry Echemann will be the one seeking to retain his seat. Mays election will have a decidedly purple flavor as both Echemann and Democrat candidate Jack Regis Sr. live in Martins Ferry, while Gianangeli currently resides nearby in Colerain.
It’s fitting then that the City of Martins Ferry is playing host to a Meet the Candidate night, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, April 3 at 6 p.m., inside the Martins Ferry Recreation Center.
Mayor John Davies was approached by the challengers about hosting the event, and he felt it’d be a great idea for the public to get to know all three candidates a little more. Given this election season is the first following the presidential election, voter turnout, and interest, may be less than normal.
“This will give each candidate a chance to explain their platform and get to know the people a bit more,” Davies said. “I don’t think they’ll be a ton of chances because there isn’t a major national race this year, so it’d be good to have a (meet the candidate) evening.”
The event is open to all, particularly the electorate in Belmont County. Davies felt Sunday would be best as many have the evening free after going to church, running errands, and the usual gamut of Sunday activities.
The Format
The format for this Meet the Candidate event will allow every candidate to take between 5-7 minutes initially to introduce himself and touch on any issues or areas of interest of his platform.
After that, there will be a question and answer portion, between 3-5 questions in length, for each candidate to respond to. The questions will be pre-submitted and selected based upon relevance to the candidates and goals/positions.
Questions can be submitted via email to MCHatLedeNews@gmail.com. Submissions will be accepted through Thursday, March 31 at 9 p.m. EST. Be sure to include your name and address as only questions from Belmont County citizens will be considered. Your name will not be read aloud with the question during the event.
Candidates will have three minutes to answer each question, followed by a follow-up or rebuttal of one minute apiece.
“I think a question and answer would be a good opportunity to present your platform and answer any specific questions the electorate has,” Davies said. “We want the candidates to present their platform and then open it up to submitted questions.”
More information or any changes for the event will be posted on Mayor Davies’ official Facebook page. While LedeNews.com will be moderating the event, all area media outlets will be invited and are encouraged to attend.
