Election Day
Election Day is two weeks away. Early voting has been going on for two weeks. Several people have asked me who are our candidates. Sadly, in many parts of the County including my township and school district, there are none. I’ll talk more about that below. One positive note is that we have a couple of people who are Democrats running effectively unopposed. Both are running in races in which there are the same number of candidates on the ballot as there are positions being elected. Another positive note is that we have four outstanding candidates running in contested races.
Emily Mason and Jara Bonner are running for the Milford Board of Education. There are eight candidates for three seats. All the current conservative tropes have surfaced in this race from “critical race theory” (which is not taught in Ohio public school) to “American exceptionalism.” If you vote in the Milford school district, vote for these two women who care more about the children than ideological catchphrases. Please also do not vote for anyone else. This is a field race, meaning that all candidates are running against each other and the candidates with the highest vote totals are elected. In a field race, even one like Milford, a vote for any other candidate helps put them ahead of Emily and Jara.
Chad Quick is one of five candidates in a field race for two seats on the Union Township Board of Township Trustees. Chad is a former United States Marine and is currently a chaplain with TriHealth. His opponents include two incumbents, who never met a developer they didn’t love, and John Becker. Becker was term-limited out of the Ohio House of Representatives, where he failed to introduce any legislation that passed in eight years and lost the Republican primary for county commissioner last year. Becker’s still looking for a position that will give him a salary and benefits paid for by taxpayers. Please don’t vote for any of the four Republicans. If you live in Union Township, vote only for Chad Quick for township trustee.
Last, but certainly not least, Cheryl Richards (who produces this newsletter) is running in a surprisingly crowded field for Moscow Village Council. Cheryl is a long-time resident of Moscow and cares deeply about the village. If you vote in Moscow, please vote for Cheryl Richards for village council and please don’t vote for anyone else.
Those of us who don’t live in the Milford School District, Union Township, Moscow, the West Clermont School District (uncontested), or Williamsburg Township (uncontested) have no one to vote for. As I mentioned above, that leaves most of us with no one to vote for. This is an ongoing problem. Every election, we see many offices on our ballots for which there is no Democrat running. People need to step up!
Even without anyone to vote for, I still encourage you to vote. While no one keeps a record of who you voted for, the Secretary of State and the Board of Elections do keep a public record of which elections you vote in. This is important data for the Democratic Party to identify people highly likely to vote. Pull a ballot, even if you send it through the scanner with no votes cast.
One person who is stepping up is Brian Flick. Brian, a local attorney, recently announced he will be a candidate next year for the Ohio House of Representatives from the newly gerrymandered District 62. District 62, as currently drawn, covers Milford, Loveland, Miami Township, Union Township, and Stonelick Township. His opponent will likely be current District 65 Representative Jean Schmidt, who ran her last race with money from disgraced former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. That illustrates the problem. Whether you live in District 62 or not, please support Brian. We need to get honesty and integrity back into Ohio state government.
There are races next year for which we still need candidates. Ohio House District 63, as currently drawn, covers all of Clermont County not in District 62 and a large part of Brown County. Incumbent Republican County Commissioner David Painter is expected to seek re-election next year. We cannot allow Republicans to run either of those races unopposed!
Vaccines Save Lives
Vaccines save lives is a simple statement that is indisputably true. However, that message is getting lost in the right-wing ideological noise around Covid 19. Longtime CCDP supporter Carl Zugelter has paid for “Vaccines Save Lives” yard signs. There are two up on my road. If you want one, CCDP has some. Just let me know, and we’ll get you one.
Stay safe.