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McClafferty to run for council Will fight Streetsboro age restriction of 23 to run for seat

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January 6, 2009

By Miles Jung-Kilbreath
Record-Courier staff writer
STREETSBORO " Twenty-one-year-old resident Brett McClafferty wants to take another shot at running for a citywide office, and says he's willing to fight the city's age limit requirement in doing so.
McClafferty announced in a Jan. 3 news release he plans to run for an at-large City Council seat in the May primary election.
However, a charter amendment passed by residents during the November 2007 election requires anyone holding office to be at least 23 years old. McClafferty said if his candidacy is denied, he will file a legal complaint in federal court to get the charter amendment declared unconstitutional.
"The age requirement is not only arbitrary, but it is in complete contradiction to the message the nation is trying to send to our youth to become involved. It promotes apathy, and is extremely offensive to young individuals risking their lives overseas serving in the armed forces," McClafferty stated in the press release.
McClafferty lost the May 2007 prirmary mayoral election by a single vote to former planning director Linda Kovacs.
The three at-large council seats are held by Art Scott, Pete Buczkowski and Julie Sanders. If more than five residents file with the Portage County Board of Elections to run for the seats, there will be a May primary. The top five vote getters in the primary would then move on to the November general elections.
The Portage County Board of Elections said that no one has yet filed for the at-large council seats. The deadline for candidates to file petitions is Feb. 19.
McClafferty said he is Chairman of Young Citizens for a Better Ohio, a non-partisan political action committee of more than 150 members, and is in a law undergraduate program at Cleveland State University majoring in Urban Studies.
"The arbitrary limitation on political candidacy based on post-18 age requirements is an unreasonably restrictive device which violates the Constitution of the United States. What possible reasonable governmental interest can be advanced by the limitation?" said McClafferty's attorney Avery Friedman.
Mayor Tom Wagner said he would wait to see if McClafferty files any legal complaint before the city decides how to proceed. He said the city "has to follow the charter" and not allow McClafferty to run for council.
"We can't make any special exceptions," Wagner said.




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6.
    Posted by Tessio Antilago January 6, 2009
I agree that Mr. Mcclafferty would be better suited in state and national politics as an attorney or whatever he wishes to be, but I think his credentials already has surpassed the other elected officials in Streetsboro. Besides Bridget Pavlick and Emeryld Bradley, none of the other councilmen including Mayer Wagner have any formal education... I mean Tom Wagner was a mechanic at Ford for 30 years... Politically McClafferty is as astute as anybody, I believe.

5.
    Posted by retired public servant January 6, 2009
if at 18 you can go to war you should be able to run for a city council job. i think these people are afraid this young person might show them they really are incompetant and he might expose corruption.remeber be nice to your kids they pick your nursing home!!

4.
    Posted by Vydunas January 6, 2009
The kid is right. If the voters want inexperience, they should be allowed to vote for it. It's not a civil rights issue though; there's Constitutional precedent in the minimum ages for House, Senate and the Presidency. And his lawyer is off-base when he discusses "arbitrary limitation on political candidacy based on post-18 age requirements". We have an arbitrary limitation on drinking alcohol based on post-18 age requirements; is he telling me that the young can't be trusted with booze, but CAN be trusted with power over other people's lives?

3.
    Posted by CmdrKJon January 6, 2009
I love the heart and desire of young Mr. McLafferty and hope he truly wishes to make a difference. If he wishes to run for office, that is his right as a citizen. I am an opponent of any age restrictions for legal adults. If you are old enough to serve this country in the military, you should be able to run for office or buy a drink.

That being said, Mr. McLafferty should concentrate on building his resume and credibility. He would be far more likely to win the elections with more credentials.

2.
    Posted by Tessio Antilago January 6, 2009
Tom Wagner understandably has to err on the side of the City Charter, but this provision will for sure be reversed. Even if the voters passed it, and the ballot issue was confusing, it still doesn't justify the age discrimination behind it... I bet if slavery was on the ballot in Bermingham, Alabama in 1940 it would have passed as well... doesn't make it right though

1.
    Posted by BoroPride January 6, 2009
Why is Tom Wagner who is a 100 year old man trying to disrespect Mr. McClafferty whose the greatest thing that has come threw Streetsboro politics...

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