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Tuesday, February 26, 2008, C-T

Candidate filing for Livingston County offices began at 8 a.m. sharp today (Tuesday) in the clerk's office on the second floor of the courthouse. All current officeholders whose terms are up for election this year filed for re-election and two races have already emerged on the Democratic ticket. Those races are for collector/treasurer and west district commissioner.

Martha Peery, 55, was the first to file for the collector/treasurer post, challenging incumbent Deanna Kepner, 49, who filed just after Peery. Peery, of Chillicothe, served as the Chillicothe Township collector from 1991 until the end of the 2006 tax year when the state abolished the position of township collector for all counties with township forms of government. She is currently employed with the county clerk's office. Kepner, of Chillicothe, was appointed to the collector/treasurer post in January 2005 when the position of collector/recorder of deeds divided into two separate offices. Kepner had run for the office in November 2004 and began her official elected term in April 2005.

For the office of west district commissioner, Toi D. Swartz, 51, filed her candidacy and will challenge Kenneth Warren on the Democratic ticket. Swartz served as township collector for Mooresville Township for eight years and owns and operates TJ's Hair House in Mooresville and also a cleaning business. Warren, 66, filed his candidacy shortly after Swartz, and is seeking his third term as west district commissioner.

Also filing today were incumbents Ken Lauhoff, 63, Chillicothe, a Democrat, seeking his fourth term as east district commissioner; Steve Cox, 43, a Republican, seeking his third term as sheriff; Steve Ripley, 46, a Democrat, seeking his third term as assessor; Sherry Parks, 51, a Democrat, seeking her second term as public administrator; and J. Scott Lindley, 55, a Democrat, who has served as coroner since 1980.

The filing period closes on at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 25. Candidates' names are placed on the ballot in the order of their filing.