CONNEAUT — Office-seekers stated a variety of opinions on plenty of issues at Tuesd ay’s Candidates Night event at the Conneaut Human Resources Center.

The local economy shared the spotlight with the Geneva State Park lodge as among the popular topics. More than half of the invitees appeared at the two-hour event, attended by an estimated 75 people.

Candidates were given time to present opening and closing statements, plus answer written questions from the audience. Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama were invited but were busy with a debate of their own the same evening. Their designees recapped their positions for the crowd.

William O’Neill, who hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, said his campaign boils down to a few main talking points: End the war in Iraq now, promote universal health care and break the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

The recent bailout legislation was needed because “Congress is not doing its job,” O’Neill said.

LaTourette did not attend and was not represented at the event.

State Rep. Deborah Newcomb, D-Conneaut, said the school funding situation will be “the most difficult part” of the upcoming agenda, but she believes Gov. Ted Strickland will make it a priority. Newcomb, a former Ashtabula County commissioner and Conneaut councilwoman, said she is a champion of senior citizens’ rights, workforce training and alternative energy.

Newcomb is being opposed in November by Tom Nizen, who could not attend because of illness. Bob Hegfield read a statement on Nizen’s behalf, describing him as a “detail-oriented person” who will fight for lower taxes.

County Commissioner Daniel Claypool and his opponent Charles Frye discussed the Geneva State Park lodge. Frye said he believes the lodge is a tremendous drain on the county’s budget, preventing officials from addressing other problems.

“Fixing our financial failures is an absolute priority,” he said. “We have to curb our debt.”

Claypool said he did not want to debate decisions made “five or six years ago” and considers job training to meet the needs of the high-tech industry a priority.

“We cannot change the past,” he said. “The most pressing issue is the economy.”

The lodge is also a sore point with Patrick O’Brien, who is challenging Commissioner Peggy Carlo this fall. “Other needs go wanting” because of the lodge, O’Brien said, dubbing the project “a backroom deal.”

“We have county government at its worst,” he said. “Let’s not be victims any longer.”

Carlo, who took office in April, said she is a longtime Saybrook Township trustee who “has a good overview of Ashtabula County.” County infrastructure and economy are priority projects, she said.