Ohio House 42nd: Van Ho (D) Gains Beacon Journal Endorsement

In the Democratic primary to determine an opponent for incumbent Rep. John Widowfield (R-Cuyahoga Falls) in the 42nd House District, the campaign of Assistant County Prosecutor Adam Van Ho (D-Hudson) received great news today in the form of a strong endorsement by the Akron Beacon Journal over rival Paul Colavecchio (D-Cuyahoga Falls), a staff attorney for the United Auto Workers' Legal Services Plan. This is the first election campaign for each.

The editors prefer Van Ho because of his "energy, stronger sense of purpose and broader reach on the issues." Van Ho regards Widowfield and the Republicans "as a party bogged down in pay-to-play, unable to move ahead with long-term solutions on issues from school funding to legislation that would add additional judges to the Summit County courts." While not "abandoning local property taxes," Van Ho "sees more state aid as essential" and would "consider ways to make education more efficient by encouraging cooperation, consolidation and pooling insurance coverage among districts." On the public corruption issue, he "favors lower contribution limits and would ban all gifts from lobbyists."

While not gaining the endorsement, Colavecchio is described as "smart and sincere," as very concerned about the "impact on state and local government" of gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell's Tax and Expenditure Limitation constitutional amendment, and as favoring "lower college costs" and "loan forgiveness for graduates who stay in Ohio." The editors opine that both candidates "would perform well at the Statehouse" but recommend the election of Van Ho.

The 42nd District includes parts of Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson, Stow, Silver Lake and Munroe Falls. Colavecchio's spouse, Diana Colavecchio, lost to Widowfield in 2004 but attracted a respectable 43.11% of the vote. She is now a Cuyahoga Falls City Council member.