Steve Thomas (left), a candidate for Ohio’s 4th Congressional District, and Craig Swartz (right), a candidate for the 87th Ohio House District, pose for a photo during the Feb. 21 Democratic Central Committee meeting.
Alberta Stojkovic | AIM Media Midwest
At its Feb. 21 meeting, Morrow County Democratic Central Committee members heard from Ohio’s 4th Congressional District candidate Steve Thomas and Craig Swartz, a candidate for the 87th Ohio House District.
Thomas calls himself a “moderate Democrat” running for the democratic nomination to face off against Republican Jim Jordan in November. He said one goal he has is to “reach across the aisle” for important legislation in Congress as well as creating economic opportunity for people of Ohio’s 4th Congressional District.
“Thirty percent of what is produced from farms in Ohio is sold internationally,” Thomas said. “Tariffs which began in the last administration hit farmers through retaliation.”
Thomas is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a businessman who founded a software company which does business internationally.
The other Democratic candidate seeking the nomination for the 4th district is Tamie Wilson, who spoke at the Morrow County Democratic Women’s Club meeting March 5.
Swartz, of Upper Sandusky, is running as the Democratic candidate against Republican Riordan McClain for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives. Swartz is the rural caucus chair for the Ohio Democratic Party.
“Because I care about everyone in the state, I am lobbying for a public bank similar to the public bank in North Dakota,” Swartz said.
Swartz believes a public state bank would help rural and poor areas in the state and help build business in small towns. His idea is to have a state public bank with taxpayer dollars. He proposes starting the bank by using $500 million from the state’s rainy day fund. In return, the bank would fund local banks. Projects he suggests funding by the public bank are transportation and other development. He pointed to the success of North Dakota’s public bank which began more than 100 years ago prior to the Depression.
Swartz noted the newly introduced voucher system in the state for private schools is coming from the state’s general fund. The system to fund vouchers for private schools was introduced by McClain and another congressman.
In other business, Lindsey Kohlenberg gave a report on the Democratic women’s group, which meets the first Tuesday of each month. She encouraged committee members to call Jordan and “ask him to work on matters that concern our district.”
The committee also discussed ways to bring enthusiasm for local, state, and national candidates and issues. Grundy said she is still searching for a location for the county Democratic headquarters this year.
Terry Sauter told about a good experience he had visiting the Capitol in Washington, D.C. as a youth. A suggestion for the Democratic committee was to sponsor a youth group in a civic project or trip to the statehouse in Columbus.
It was reported that since all local elected officials in the county are Republican, many Democrats have registered Republican to vote in the primary. The count from the Morrow County Board of Elections Office on Feb. 21 was 16,092 registered as independents or as not chosen a party, 7,524 Republicans and 1,574 Democrats.
Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel. She can be reached at [email protected].
