Last week, we looked at why voters should reject each and every state issue on the Nov. 7 ballot. And as long as outside political interests continue to bring such inane proposals to the Buckeye State, Ohioans should continue to vote them down. These outside political activists are costing Ohio taxpayers millions of dollars. A year ago, Ohio voters told 'em to get lost. Let's send them packing again.
This week, in keeping with the obligatory pre-election newspaper column, let's look at the candidates worthy of our consideration next Tuesday.
First, a couple of local races are deserving of voters' attention.
• Two good men are vying for one spot on the Highland County Commission. Russ Newman, a longtime incumbent, is opposed by Gary Heaton, who is making his third run for county commissioner.
Newman has the overall edge in political experience, but Heaton is his equal in public service. Both men served with distinction in the U.S. Armed Forces and both have served with distinction in their state and local careers. There are many positives in both candidates and very few negatives.
The decision for voters may ultimately come down to this: Do you want to continue with a county commission made up entirely of members of the same political party with one common philosophy or do you prefer some occasional dissension and debate?
Those who are otherwise expecting a clear-cut endorsement won't find it here. Mr. Newman and Mr. Heaton have earned the trust and respect of Highland County voters. There is no reason to believe that either would be anything less than a competent, capable commissioner. Highland County is very fortunate to have such a choice on Nov. 7.
• Voters in Highland, Clinton and Pike counties are similarly fortunate in their choices of candidates for the 86th House District.
Rep. David Daniels and his opponent, college instructor Bill Horne, are both up to the challenges of serving in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Mr. Daniels has served two terms in the House, has served as a county commissioner, a mayor and a councilman. He has business experience in the private sector and a long history of working the family farm.
Mr. Horne has touched many lives through more than two decades of teaching. He has served his country in the U.S. Army and has business management experience in the private sector.
Both candidates are fully capable of serving the three-county district.
Mr. Daniels probably gets the nod for those in favor of a limited government; while, on the other side, Mr. Horne would bring to the Ohio Statehouse an unparalleled passion for helping the common citizen. He truly is an advocate for those who do not always have the means to stand for themselves.
As with the county commission race, voters are very lucky to have such a choice in the 86th District. And think about this: voters in Clinton and Pike counties also think highly of Mr. Daniels and Mr. Horne, both of whom are Highland County residents.
If voters are having difficulties deciding on Election Day, that often proves to be a good thing.
• Now, let's move on to a couple of races that fall into the "no-brainer" category.
In Ohio's 17th Senate District, there is one and only one choice: incumbent Sen. John Carey of Wellston. Mr. Carey has been an outstanding state senator for the 17th District. He has risen to the chairmanship of the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee and he has always been readily available to voters throughout the district.
Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Carey remains a very humble individual in spite of his many personal accomplishments. At no time does he come across as self-important or the least bit pretentious. His humility is genuine; but do not underestimate him. Mr. Carey is a thoughtful, intelligent leader in the Ohio Senate and would be a great choice for Senate president. His district, and all of Ohio, will be better served by returning him to the state Senate.
Do not hesitate in voting for this John Carey. Unlike his phonetic namesake - the junior senator from Massachusetts - this John Carey has earned our trust.
Unfortunately, his office often receives correspondence from those who don't know the difference. Following Mr. Kerry's derogatory comments about today's American soldier, Ohio's John Carey felt compelled to set the record straight.
"Though our names may be similar, we have dramatically different views about the role and value of our men and women in uniform," Mr. Carey said this week. "Thousands of Ohioans have been called up as part of the War on Terror. U.S. Senator Kerry should be ashamed that he's dishonored their service, especially as they have put themselves in harm's way to protect us."
Ohio's John Carey has a strong record in support of Ohio's men and women in the Armed Forces. Anyone who confuses him with the Massachusetts senator might consider moving to Boston.
• Ohio Third District Rep. Mike Turner also has earned voters' support for another term.
The Dayton Daily News, in endorsing Turner, said "His experience and record in Congress, as mayor of Dayton and, before that, as a citizen activist, make him clearly a more qualified choice to serve this community in Washington than an opponent who not only has not held local elective office, but has never been active in the community beyond his job. Rep. Turner has served energetically, creatively and honorably."
Many Highland County residents have not been pleased with the county's inclusion in the Third Congressional District, where the majority of voters live in Montgomery County. In reality, Highland County with less than 5 percent of the votes, has less political clout in the district than her neighbors in Clinton, Warren and Montgomery counties. That said, Congressman Turner and his staff do make themselves available for Highland County concerns and issues.
The congressman, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has a strong record of support for the military. This fact is not lost on local veterans, who will remember that Congressman Turner was at the Hillsboro VFW Post 9094 on Sunday morning, Oct. 15 to thank them for their service and to wish them well on an NCB-sponsored trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The largest newspapers in or near the Third District, The Dayton Daily News and The Cincinnati Enquirer, have endorsed Rep. Mike Turner. He's earned those endorsements and deserves to be re-elected on Nov. 7.
• Ohio voters will elect a new governor on Nov. 7. Of primary concern for either Ken Blackwell or Ted Strickland will be the state's economy. As this newspaper opined just prior to the primary election, either candidate would be an improvement over the disappointing second term of Gov. Bob Taft.
However, the next governor must be the candidate with the best plan to keep Ohio's economy moving forward.
Congressman Strickland does not have an impressive record of improving the economy in Ohio's Sixth Congressional District, where unemployment is higher than the state average and household income is well below the state average. This can be attributed partly to the demographics of the region, but Rep. Strickland must share in this failure to improve southeast Ohio's economy after a dozen years in Congress.
To date, Rep. Strickland's lone idea for "turning around Ohio" has been to piggyback on Gov. Taft's Third Frontier Jobs for Ohio plan, which passed as State Issue 1 in November 2005.
Mr. Blackwell, on the other hand, has presented several initiatives that would make Ohio more business friendly. Mr. Blackwell proposes spending limitations on state government and a plan to attract new jobs by reducing the cost of doing business in Ohio. The state's tax and regulatory systems have discouraged many new businesses from coming to Ohio. Mr. Blackwell wants to reform the business tax burden and make Ohio more competitive with its neighboring states.
On a positive note, with two good candidates in Ted Strickland and Ken Blackwell, the state should be seeing many benefits of the tax reform enacted in July 2005. An Ohio Business Roundtable study released last month shows Ohio with the second-lowest business tax burden of 12 comparable states in the Midwest. These tax reforms have already produced results and have (very quietly) helped restore Ohio's "rainy day fund" to more than $1 billion.
The economic recovery is well under way in Ohio. We now need a governor with the vision to keep it going. Mr. Blackwell has presented a clearer vision for Ohio and has a proven record of public service and private-sector business success. He deserves voters' support on Nov. 7.
•••Rory Ryan is publisher and editor of The Times-Gazette.
