Adams County Democrats appoint Richard M. Dryden as candidate for commissioner
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The Adams County Democratic Joint Central & Executive Committee met on Thursday, Aug. 11 and voted unanimously to appoint Richard M. Dryden as the Democratic Party's candidate for the Jan. 3 term for Adams County commissioner.
This appointment was made according to Ohio Revised Code 3513.31 (K) which gives “any other major political party” the legal right to appoint a candidate due to withdrawal of a candidate after the primary, but prior to the general election.
Richard M. Dryden is a current Tiffin Township trustee and is the son of the late Rev. Harmon and Ruth Dryden. He and his wife, Tanja, operate a farm in Tiffin Township, and are the parents of one daughter. The Dryden’s ran a dairy until 2013. Dryden has served as a “working” Tiffin Township trustee for 10 years.
According to Linda Stepp, chair of the Adams County Democratic Party, the statute is in place to prevent parties from running popular candidates in a primary and then withdrawing to prevent a contested election.
In the case of outgoing commissioner Stephen Caraway, Mrs. Stepp indicated that the Democratic Party had a candidate recruitment committee that met in July 2015 to consider candidates to run for county offices as the filing deadline was December 2015. She went on to say, “At that time, we believed Stephen Caraway was a popular commissioner working to serve the people of Adams County and we did not choose a candidate to challenge him. However, his resignation and the statute made it an open seat and the people deserve a choice. It is our understanding that the Republican Central Committee has chosen to appoint another currently seated Commissioner Brian Baldridge to run. Baldridge holds the Jan. 1 term on the County Commission which expires Dec. 31, 2018."
This appointment was made according to Ohio Revised Code 3513.31 (K) which gives “any other major political party” the legal right to appoint a candidate due to withdrawal of a candidate after the primary, but prior to the general election.
Richard M. Dryden is a current Tiffin Township trustee and is the son of the late Rev. Harmon and Ruth Dryden. He and his wife, Tanja, operate a farm in Tiffin Township, and are the parents of one daughter. The Dryden’s ran a dairy until 2013. Dryden has served as a “working” Tiffin Township trustee for 10 years.
According to Linda Stepp, chair of the Adams County Democratic Party, the statute is in place to prevent parties from running popular candidates in a primary and then withdrawing to prevent a contested election.
In the case of outgoing commissioner Stephen Caraway, Mrs. Stepp indicated that the Democratic Party had a candidate recruitment committee that met in July 2015 to consider candidates to run for county offices as the filing deadline was December 2015. She went on to say, “At that time, we believed Stephen Caraway was a popular commissioner working to serve the people of Adams County and we did not choose a candidate to challenge him. However, his resignation and the statute made it an open seat and the people deserve a choice. It is our understanding that the Republican Central Committee has chosen to appoint another currently seated Commissioner Brian Baldridge to run. Baldridge holds the Jan. 1 term on the County Commission which expires Dec. 31, 2018."