John Widowfield Needs a Vacation

John Widowfield had a very bad weekend. It's the kind of weekend that could turn an election if it hadn't happened two days before the vote. As it is, his swat-a-fly-with-an-anvil campaign for Cuyahoga Falls Muni Court Clerk will probably prevail in a Republican-leaning court district. And then, apparently, kick back and take it easy.

It all started last week when Columbus Monthly published the results of a poll of legislators and other insiders in the General Assembly. The results are tabulated according to categories both weighty (most knowledgeable, best orator) and fluffy (best hair.) Widowfield beat all comers for Laziest.

Widowfield has enjoyed a reputation for legislative indolence for some time, but this is the first time that consensus has been quantified and entered into the permanent record.

And since some folks like to accuse me of knee-jerk partisanship, let me say that the prospect of electing a lazy guy to a court clerk post is troubling, no matter what one's politics. This is an administrative job whose focus is making sure (Generally my partisanship leads me to just remain silent on such things when it affects my party -- like during a certain race for State Auditor last year.)

WAKR's Ed Esposito got the Monthly piece and posted a .pdf of it, along with a write-up on his blog. He also discussed it, along with some late breaking fliers warning that a vote for Lisa Zeno Carano is a vote for Cindy Sheehan.

Then yesterday, ABJ ed page editor Michael Douglas threw it all together is a Sunday column cataloging all things wrong with Widowfield.

Again, this may well be too late to matter. Widowfield has grotesquely outspent Carano, aided by five-figure donations from Alex-friendly benefactors like David Brennan. He has high name recognition in a district that leans R. Still, if the race is close an enough people have heard the poll results, this could tip it.

And then John can really take a break.