Brigid Kelly, the Norwood Democrat in her third term in the Ohio House, made it official Tuesday – she will run next year for the Hamilton County Auditor's office, held for the past 32 years by Delhi Township's Dusty Rhodes.
And she will go for it, apparently, with the backing of Rhodes, a conservative Democrat who announced last week that he wouldn't be running for re-election.
Kelly is nowhere near the conservative that Rhodes is, but Rhodes previously told WVXU that Kelly, a Xavier graduate and former Norwood city council member, would be a good choice to take over for him.
"She's as honest as the day is long,'' Rhodes said of Kelly.
Kelly, who also works for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, will forego a fourth and final term in the Ohio House to run for county auditor.
"I am running for auditor to be a consumer watchdog for the people of Hamilton County,'' Kelly said in a prepared statement.
She has never run for countywide office before, but her 31st Ohio House District includes a large swath of Hamilton County, including Amberley Village, Clifton, Corryville, CUF, East Walnut Hills, Oakley, Silverton, St. Bernard, and parts of Avondale, Hyde Park, Mt. Auburn, Northside and Walnut Hills.
Republican party officials see Rhodes' retirement as an opportunity to take back an office they held for decades until Rhodes took over in the wake of a Republican scandal in the office.
