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EDITORS NOTE: This is one of several stories in a regular series with a purpose of preparing voters for the May 17 primary election.

A pair of police officers from the same department are aiming for the chance to go toe to toe with the current Boyd County sheriff in the 2022 general election.

Theres only room for one Republican.

May 17s primary election will determine if Catlettsburg PDs Terry Clark or Jamie Reihs will represent the R party against Democrat Bobby Jack Woods, the incumbent.

Clark, 65, and Reihs, 48, are slow to jab each other, which is why its been a clean race up to this point.

Clark complimented Reihs and Reihs reciprocated when given the chance to describe what its like to duel each other for this position. But each still made his case as to why hes better suited to take on Woods come November.

Jamies a great guy; no complaints about him, Clark said. Ive known Jamie since he was a kid. His father (Jim) was on the Boyd County Police great guy. I cant stay anything bad against except I can throw in some Ronald Reagan comments, because who he ran against (Walter Mondale in 1984) was in his 50s and Reagan was in his 70s. He said he didnt want his age difference to be a factor. Ive got roughly twice the experience Jamie has.

Reihs and Clark work different shifts, so they dont cross each others paths often.

He and I are very professional, Reihs said. We dont bring (the election) up, and we just try to do whats right for the agency.

Clark ran four years ago in the Primary against Woods on the Democrat ticket.

Like many in the recent red-wave movement in this portion of the U.S., he hopped on the Republican train sometime in 2019.

One of my friends told me I was a closet Republican, and come to find out, she was right, Clark said.

Clarks career in law enforcement spans four-plus decades. He started with auxiliary police and then joined Ashland Police Department in 1980. He was with APD for 27 years. He worked with the late Chief Tom Kelley, and picked up a slew of wisdom from him, he said.

There are many times Ill ask, what would Tom do? Clark said.

Clark logged time in patrol, crime prevention, the drug program, as a drug liaison officer for FADE and detective. Clark retired from APD only to unretire about 30 days later, latching onto Catlettsburg PD as a part-timer. That lasted from October 2007 to March 2008, he said, and then he became full-time.

Engaged with no children, Clark said hes ready to devote his time to a new office if hes elected.

If he is named Sheriff, he said, he would sit down with local leaders and work toward the solution on drug issues.

We can come up with better answers than what weve got so far, Clark said.

Clark mentioned the Sanibel House in Catlettsburg as a positive tool for drug rehabilitation. He said CPD and that facility have a strong relationship.

Theyre cooperative about everything, Clark said. I told them, Were friends as long as we can work like this.

On the issue of drugs, just putting people in jail is not working, he said.

Clark is emphasizing getting back to community-oriented policing, he said.

We started that in the 1980s with (APD) Chief (Ron) McBride working on neighborhood problems and resolving issues, Clark said. We need to get back into the community and get the community to support policing again.

Clark is also the DARE officer at Catlettsburg Elementary.

If he is ultimately elected Sheriff, Clark said his door would always be open and would be receptive about any concerns.

Reihs said the same in his interview with The Daily Independent.

After 24 years with the Boyd County Sheriffs Department and two with Boyd County Police prior to that Reihs made one of the hardest decisions hes had to make in his law enforcement career, he said. He tendered his resignation with Boyd Sheriffs in May 2021.

In order to run for sheriff, Reihs had to resign, he said, because of the merit system former Sheriff Terry Keelin implemented in Boyd County.

It broke my heart to go in there and have to resign, said Reihs, who had worked his way up to Chief Deputy under Woods.

Reihs donned a different badge almost immediately, though, when Russell Police brought him on part time. Not long after, Catlettsburg had a full-time opening for Reihs.

Like Clark, Reihss motivation for running for sheriff is simple:People.

The biggest thing is interacting with people and trying to help them,Reihs said. (Law enforcement) has always been something Ive been interested in and passionate about. Idont think youre going to find anybody willing to put the hours and effort in like I am.

While Reihs knows hell have to log a good deal of desk time if hes elected Sheriff given hed be the countys chief tax collector hell still be right out there in the middle of them. I dont care to arrest somebody, I dont care to work a wreck. Its a good feeling to get out and work with (fellow police officers).

Reihs said his No. 1 objective is to continue to be aggressive against drugs.

We cant arrest our way out of it,he said.

He also said more training for the deputies is needed, and that a special response team is very much needed, and I know it costs money.

Reihs acknowledged APD and Kentucky State Police have been awesome, but Idont want to be in a situation where APD, KSPand us are working critical incidents at the same time. We need to get an SRTto handle certain incidents.

Reihs said having patrol cruisers continuously throughout areas of Boyd County is a must, too.

Married with three children, Reihs said campaigning on top of working midnight shift and detailing vehicles on the side has consumed a bunch of hours, but its all been worth it.

Ive missed some things, but Ive enjoyed the interaction, talking and meeting people,he said. I like to have that interaction and feedback.

(606) 326-2664 |

asnyder@dailyindependent.com

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Battle of the C'burg badges: Clark, Reihs work to represent Republican Party in Sheriff's race - The Independent

In Britain, the Conservative government is in trouble. Boris Johnson has been dogged by domestic scandal of the kind that baffles foreigners. He has accepted responsibility for holding gatherings in 10 Downing Street that contravened Covid-19 restrictions. Each turn of this months long story incenses the public. The war in Ukraine has hardly affected the prime ministers polling.

This might pass, but Sir Keir Starmerleader of the opposition Labour partycould be prime minister soon if Conservative fortunes do not improve. Starmer is worth studying. In office, he would shape Britains relations with the rest of the world.

Akin to President Joe Biden, Starmer wishes to present his foreign policy as a return to normal. Starmer has characterized Johnson as Britains [Donald] Trump.

Starmers individual ideas have some merit, but his prospective foreign policy is still crude. Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, his predecessor, Starmer does not have a decades-long career filled with statements of belief. Starmer is a career lawyer and former director of public prosecutions. His foreign policy is cobbled together from recent history.

Since he was first elected to Parliament in 2015, Starmer has not covered himself in foreign policy glory. He notably opposed British jets fighting the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria as well as in Iraq.

Under Starmer, Britain would not lurch into a radical and untested departure from the mainstreamas it would have done had Corbyn been elected prime minister. But Starmers platform still has gaps which will need to be addressed.

Otherwise, Starmers party risks entering government unprepared and without the capacity to make significant decisions. The current UK government produced the Integrated Review, a strategy forGlobal Britain. Starmer has no strategy of similar depth.

Foreign policy is not an overriding concern for him. Most of Starmers day-to-day foreign policy pronouncements are dictated by the advantage they give in domestic politics.

In politics, Starmer emphasizes legalism: process and formality. He does this when addressing Brexit and recent foreign policy crises like the Iraq War and intervention against ISIS in Syria.

Since he became the leader of the Labour Party, Starmer has also shown examples of what I term strategic silence. This consists of saying the right things on international affairs, but proposing essentially no action.

Starmer favors maintaining Britains existing alliances and supports Bidens foreign policy and the European Union. Starmer opposes the revisionist illiberal powers in Europe, including Viktor Orbans Hungary and Vladimir Putins Russia. He wants continued international agreement on climate change.

These are more attitudes than concrete policies.

Starmer has been a consistent and vocal critic of Trump, and British politicians who dealt with Trump in office. His hostility to Trump and the U.S. Republican party might prove a problem. In government, Labour leaders have had to work with Republican presidents, and have found ways to form personal relationships with them. A Republican president in the mold of Trump, like Ron DeSantis, could offend Starmer personally and jeopardize British-American relations. Starmer must show that he is able and willing to work with whoever the American president is, from whichever party he comes.

In recent months, Starmer has become more focused and more activegalvanized by Russian aggression towards Ukraine. Starmers Labour party has become an advocate of arming Ukraine, sanctioning Russia, and revitalizing NATO and European self-defense.

In a speech given at Tufts in March, David Lammy, Starmers shadow foreign secretary, described Putin as taking advantage of the end of American hegemony to invade Georgia, annex Crimea, and keep Bashar al-Assad in power in Syria. Starmers foreign policy and defense team have been serious in relation to Ukraine. This has not yet been replicated in other areas. But it could still be.

But Britains allies must also wonder. Would Prime Minister Starmer help to contain Chinese expansionism, or join new a counterterrorism mission in the Middle East, or intervene to punish the use of chemical, radiological, biological or nuclear weapons? Labour is so far unwilling to be drawn.

There is still time for Starmer to develop a foreign policy. It can be both realistic and just, legalist and pragmatic. It could set up his party for an ambitious and fruitful time in government. But the work must begin now.

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is a Director at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington DC and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute US Army War College.

Excerpt from:
Britain's Kier Starmer May Struggle to Work with a Republican Government - The National Interest Online

SHERIDAN Speaking at a Republican Women of Sheridan County meeting Tuesday, U.S. House challenger Harriet Hageman spoke of Wyoming as a shining city on a hill that needs to be protected.

Hageman said she worked to do this in her legal career and would do the same if elected to the House.

What we do, what were able to produce, what we believe in, our faith, our family, our community all those things are very important, and things that we need to protect, Hageman said.

Hageman has practiced law in the private sector across Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, and ran in the 2018 Wyoming governors race. A former political ally of Rep. Liz Cheney, Hageman chose to run for the House seat following Cheneys public criticisms of former President Donald Trump.

Like many Wyomingites, I supported Liz Cheney when she ran for Congress, Hageman said in a statement announcing her bid last year. But then she betrayed Wyoming, she betrayed this country, and she betrayed me.

A February Wyoming Republican State Central Committee straw poll solidified Hageman as the candidate to beat in the House race this year. Hageman received 59 votes in the poll of Republican party activists. Cheney, her next closest competitor, had six.

Hageman has received Trumps endorsement for the position, and when asked during the meeting who she would support for president in 2024, Hageman spoke kindly of Trump, along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Donald Trump exposed the dark underbelly of Washington, D.C., and he did a huge public service by doing that, Hageman said. I had some criticism of President Trump when he was running, but Donald Trump did what he said he was going to do, especially on the big issues.

Hageman was critical of about current President Joseph Biden and his administrations energy policies, which she said has led to inflation of gas prices.

Hes destroyed everything hes touched, Hageman said. Ive never seen an administration where every decision they make is not only wrong, its catastrophicI believe, truly, there is a special place in hell for people who adopt policies intended to increase the costs of housing, food and energyand thats what theyve done.

Hageman also spoke critically of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack, and their investigations into the insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol in early 2021.

One of the important things that has always set our country apart is we believe in equal protection, Hageman said. It doesnt matter who youre connected to or who you are. What were seeing with this is they have selected this group of people and they are persecuting them. It is a tragedy, and when we retake the House and the Senate, I think there will hopefully be some changes with that.

Hageman was one of a long list of Republican political candidates who made an appearance at a Republican Women of Sheridan County meeting Monday.

Joining Hageman at the meeting was governor candidate Brent Bien; Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Tom Kelly; House District 29 challenger Ken Pendergraft; House District 30 incumbent Rep. Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan; Sheridan County sheriff candidates Zach McLain and Roger Miller; Sheridan County coroner candidate Dr. Robert Byrd; Sheridan City Council candidate Andrew Patceg; and Sheridan County School District 1 board member candidate Bill Adsit.

While the offices the candidates were running for were diverse, all candidates expressed a desire to protect their constituents freedoms and protect Wyoming from the influences of the political left and others who might not have the states best interests at heart.

I feel like city councils job is to stand strong against the constant attempts to import ideas and culture that is contrary to Sheridans history and values, Patceg said. This is the arena I feel called to and where I can make a difference.

I am not running for state superintendent because I am an educational professional, which I am, Kelly said. Im running because this is my home, and I have come from places where the threats to our children have already won. Illinois. Colorado. Its not going to happen here, and thats why Im running.

Like many of the candidates at the meeting, Hageman promised that, if elected, she would fight what she sees as the federal governments efforts to limit citizens constitutional rights.

I never in a million years thought my country would do what my country has done in the last two years, Hageman said. And Im going to tell you right now, we cant tolerate it at all. We have to fight back. We have to fight back in Wyoming. We have to fight back across this country.

The candidate filing period for public office opens May 12 and will continue through May 27.

Continued here:
Hageman, other Republican candidates hope to preserve Wyoming's freedoms - The Sheridan Press

Wilson County residents who want to vote in their county mayors race and a number of other seats will need to cast Republican ballots in the May 3 primary.

Incumbent Randall Hutto and challenger Phillip Warren are running for mayor, both as Republicanswith no Democratic or independent challenger.

Circuit court clerk and several county commission seats are among other contests with only GOP candidates as early voting for the primary begins Wednesday and continues through April 28.

There is only oneDemocratic candidate in the local primary, Belita McMurray-Fite, who is running for an at-large Lebanon Special School District seat.

Wilson County has a handful of independent candidates qualifying for select seats. Independents are not part of the May 3 ballot but will face Republican and Democratic nominees for those respective seats on Aug. 4.

More: Meet the Wilson County primary candidates and your vote now is vital. Early voting starts April 13

The primary leaves area Democrats in an odd place, Bobby Francis of the Wilson County Democratic Party Executive Committee Chair said. I only vote Democrat.

Tennessee is an open primary state.

State law to vote in the primary includes:

Or:

Closed primaries, which require a voter to be a registered party member, would needlegislative action.

We encourage all citizens to exercise their right to vote at every possible opportunity, including the Republican Primary on May 3, Wilson County Republican Party Chair Brad Lytle said. We do have concerns about illicit crossover voting in our open primaries, and we encourage our legislators to consider closed primaries, limiting them to only those who are registered in the appropriate party.

Both Wilson Countys Democratic and Republican parties called for primaries to precede the county general election in August. Primaries have occurred in Wilson County, but have been infrequent overseveral decades in the county.

Francis believes intimidation stopped potential Democratic candidates from running for local seats.Francis believes the landscape under Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus is changing.

Early voting and election day voting centers will have signs and poll workers to guide voters to look at the sample ballots, Wilson County Administrator of Elections Tammy Smith said.

Voters can change their mind on party affiliation after they request a ballot, but the ballot is final once it goes through the tabulator, Smith said.

The primary has no certified write-in candidates eligible to be counted in the upcoming primary, Smith said. Write-in candidates had to be certified by noon, March 14.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

See the article here:
Is voting for Wilson County mayor and multiple other races for Republicans only? - Tennessean

In one of the final acts in a 24-year political career, the Republican chief justice of the Ohio supreme court is defying her party and refusing to let them distort electoral districts to their advantage, a move that has some fellow Republicans calling for her impeachment.

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Since January, Chief Justice Maureen OConnor has served as the decisive vote on three separate occasions blocking Ohio Republicans from enacting proposed state legislative maps. She also sided with Democrats to block an initial GOP proposal for congressional districts before going into effect in January. Those decisions have prompted chatter among Republicans about impeaching OConnor, 70, who will leave the court after nearly two decades at the end of this year because she has reached the mandatory retirement age for judges in Ohio.

OConnor has a long independent streak. A decade ago, she joined a dissent when the supreme court upheld the state legislative districts drawn by Republicans. I broke away from the mould in some peoples minds, she would later say of that decision. Party affiliation should not and people have to understand it should not have anything to do with how a judge does their job.

In 2018, she joined with the lone Democrat on the court to dissent from a ruling upholding the forced closure of the last abortion clinic in Toledo. She has backed criminal justice and bail reform, as other Ohio Republicans are pushing to make it harder for someone to be released on bond. She has called for less partisan influence in the way judges are elected in the state. In 2020, just before the presidential election, she blasted the state Republican party for accusing a local judge of colluding with Democrats, saying the attack was disgraceful and deceitful.

Shes no shrinking violet. Shes got sharp elbows, said Paul Pfeifer, a Republican who served on the supreme court with OConnor from when she joined in 2003 until he retired in 2017. No amount of public criticism is going to change her mind if she feels that shes right in the position shes taking.

William ONeill, a Democrat who served with OConnor on the court from 2013 to 2019, said she was the justice he wound up voting with the most. They were the only two members of the court who dissented in 2018 in the Toledo abortion clinic case.

She can be swayed to reasonable arguments, he said. Her legacy is already carved in stone. The stand she is taking is consistent with her entire career.

Shes also one of the most successful politicians in the history of Ohio, said David Pepper, a former chair of the Ohio Democratic party. Shes been elected five times statewide, none of which have been close. The then Ohio governor, Robert Taft, picked the former prosecutor to be his running mate in 1998 to add law enforcement experience to the ticket. Once she was elected lieutenant governor, she oversaw the states department of public safety, taking on a leading role after the 9/11 attacks. She would travel overseas with troops being deployed from Ohio, even though that doesnt typically fall within the responsibilities of her role.

She took the initiative to do that and I would say it was above and beyond what she would have to do in her role, Taft said in an interview. She was part of our team but she was also her own person. She was an independent thinker.

She was elected to the court in 2002, and became chief justice in 2010.

Now, OConnor and the court are not backing down in their refusal to let Republicans in the state get away with one of the most brazen efforts to gerrymander electoral districts to their benefit.

A new provision in the Ohio constitution requires partisan makeup of the states 132 legislative districts roughly reflect the partisan breakdown of statewide elections over the last decade, which is 54% Republican and 46% Democrat. The three plans Republicans have passed so far, and a fourth one currently pending before the court, however, would enable Republicans to win a veto-proof majority in the legislature in a favorable year for the party.

The constitutional violations of the maps that the Ohio redistricting commission continues to pass are obvious, said Jen Miller, the executive director of the Ohio chapter of the League of Women Voters, which is involved in suits challenging the plans.

Republicans have forged a sneaky attempt to enact their maps. The initial plan the court struck down in January would have given them control of 64.4% of districts. They then submitted a new plan to the court that nominally had the required 54-46 split, but several of the districts were barely majority Democratic essentially toss-ups meaning Republicans could still win them in a favorable election. After the court rejected that plan, Republicans came back with a third plan that slightly increased the Democratic majority in those districts, which was again rejected by the court. Last month, Republicans submitted a fourth plan that took the same approach.

Its a pure power play, said Paul Beck, a retired political science professor at the Ohio State University. Its almost like theyre saying we have the power to do this and so were gonna do it.

OConnor has bluntly called out the way Ohio Republicans are abusing the redistricting process. The first time the court struck down the legislative maps, back in January, she went out of her way to write a concurring opinion urging Ohio voters to strip lawmakers of their redistricting power entirely.

Having now seen first-hand that the current Ohio Redistricting Commission comprised of statewide elected officials and partisan legislators is seemingly unwilling to put aside partisan concerns as directed by the peoples vote, Ohioans may opt to pursue further constitutional amendment to replace the current commission with a truly independent, nonpartisan commission that more effectively distances the redistricting process from partisan politics, she wrote.

The standoff has left Ohio at a chaotic impasse. Unlike supreme courts in other states, like Virginia that have stepped in to draw maps, the Ohio supreme court is prohibited from making its own plan. Early voting began on 5 April without state legislative districts on the ballot. Last month, a coalition of civic action groups challenged the maps to request that the redistricting commission be held in contempt for failing to comply with the courts orders.

The hard line from OConnor and three other Democrats on the supreme court, where Republicans have a 4-3 majority, is extremely consequential. This is the first redistricting cycle the partisan fairness requirements are in effect (voters approved them overwhelmingly through a ballot measure in 2015). By refusing to accept the Republican maps, OConnor and the court are setting a precedent that signals how aggressively the justices are going to police partisan gerrymandering.

The consequence of caving would be a disaster. This has gone from a battle over democracy in Ohio to a battle over democracy and the rule of law in Ohio, said Pepper, the former Democratic party chair. No other citizens who violate the law four times get rewarded for it.

After the court blocked Republican maps for the third time, Republicans in the statehouse began openly weighing her impeachment, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Its time to impeach Maureen OConnor now, Scott Wiggam, a GOP state Representative, tweeted. I dont understand what the woman wants, state representative Sara Carruthers told the Dispatch. Ohios secretary of state, Frank LaRose, a Republican who sits on the panel that draws districts, said recently he would not stand in the way of an impeachment effort, saying she has not upheld her oath of office.

Ohios governor, Mike DeWine, a Republican who also sits on the redistricting panel, has been more outspoken against impeachment. I dont think we want to go down that pathway because we disagree with a decision by a court, because we disagree with a decision by an individual judge or justice, he said in March.

Though its unclear if the impeachment effort will move forward, many doubted it would succeed.

Both ONeill and Pfeifer, the former justices who served with OConnor said they were confident the impeachment efforts would not affect her work. What in the world is she supposed to have done that violated her oath of office?, ONeill said.

It will have the opposite effect of what theyre seeking.

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The Republican judge blocking her party from rigging electoral districts - The Guardian