OH-15: Hilliard Councilman Brett Sciotto to consider bid
I heard this rumor about a week ago, but I let it fly because I was tired of posting names that didn't go anywhere. However, the Dispatch has picked it up and has a quote that he is considering the race. Sciotto attempted to win the GOP's endorsement for state house district 23 in western Franklin County. He lost to Mayor Cheryl Grossman of Grove City in what was by all accounts a very contentious endorsement fight. In fact, Sciotto considered running against Grossman anyway without the party's backing.
If half of what I've heard about Sciotto is true, then Mary Jo Kilroy should crush him. Rumor has it that he is an incredibly dirty politician with some questionable business connections. He also supposedly has a very nasty personality. From what I was able to gather from the GOP endorsement proceedings for the 23rd, there were folks on their team who had serious concerns about the guy. More will come if and when he announces his bid for the seat.
Here is a bit from the Dispatch piece that I believe subtly reinforces what I've already heard:
Though some top GOP officials are not mentioning Sciotto among the top-tier possibilities, the Hilliard councilman and president of political consulting firm American Strategies says he’s being encouraged by state Sen. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, former GOP county commissioner Dewey Stokes and Hilliard Mayor Don Schonhardt to get into the race against Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy. (emphasis added)
I know it's splitting hairs, but there's a big difference between "backing" and "talking to." All Sciotto says is they have talked about it.
Also, the phrase is "skeletons in his closet" for a reason. It's easy to initially back someone only to find out later you need to run away screaming. So there's really no telling if he'll be a major liability down the road. Hell, look at Arlene Shoemaker. If I'm not mistaken, she was a client of Sciotto's company in 2004. Do you think they really expected to find out about that 200k tax bill she was ducking?
Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
- Saul Alinsky, "Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals"
Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
- Saul Alinsky, "Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals"