LOGAN — The Hocking County Democratic Party hosted a meet and greet event Saturday afternoon at the Bowen House on Market Street.
Those in attendance for the day included candidates at all levels of government. Locals included Marc Snoke for Hocking County Recorder; Rhonda Wykle for the clerk of the court of common pleas; Bill Shaw for engineer, who is slated to run unopposed after his primary victory in March; Janie Harris for treasurer; and Maggi Berry for commissioner.
David Donofrio of Franklin County attended to tout his credentials for Ohio School Board District Six. Also present was Samantha Meadows, who is looking to fill the U.S. House seat for Ohio District Two, set to be vacated by sitting Representative Brad Wenstrup.
The Logan Daily News got the chance to speak to a few of the candidates, and ask what they believe sets them apart in their respective races.
Meadows took the opportunity to talk about her campaign’s slogan: “freedom, opportunity, and justice.”
To the southern Ohio native, freedom encompasses women’s reproductive rights and especially, worker’s rights. She has received backing from the Ohio Association of Public School Employees and the United Mine Workers of America, among other labor unions and activist organizations.
Her stance on labor ties in with her second key word, “opportunity,” which means bringing industrial work and labor back to struggling communities in rural Ohio. Her third, “justice,” she said encompasses a broad array of human rights issues facing a country that has neglected the needs of poor and disenfranchised groups.
This is Meadows’ second shot at the district; the first time around, she admits, she “got trampled.” She thinks her experience will give her a better shot to turn the historically red district blue, and said “it’s a better opportunity than ever,” given that Wenstrup is retiring.
“My opponent,” David Taylor, who won the crowded Republican primary with 25% of the vote, “is doing exactly what I hoped he would,” she said. “I’m here, working tirelessly to meet new people, and he’s coasting as if he’s already got the campaign in the bag.”
David Donofrio’s state school board run is in a more forgiving district for a Democrat, as he noted over two-thirds of its constituents are in Franklin County.
Donofrio talked about his passion for public education, and what he sees as a troubling decline in Ohio’s educational system.
“The culture war issues being raised by major politicians and advocacy groups like Moms for Liberty is absolutely intertwined with the continual shift of educational funding toward private school vouchers,” he argued. “It’s an intentional gambit to reduce people’s trust in public education.”
Donofrio’s hope is to stem the tide of resource diversion to private schools, such as the controversial “classical charter school” covered in the Logan Daily News last year.
On the local side of things, Marc Snoke for county recorder jumped into the conversation, agreeing wholeheartedly with Donofrio’s points.
Speaking to his own credentials, Snoke went on to tout his business background in starting a staffing company as more than adequate experience to take on his opponent in November, Teresa Salizzoni.
In an aside conversation, Donofrio and Snoke talked about the necessity of making the public more aware of local government positions and what their purpose is.
A county recorder, for instance, may not be familiar to many citizens. The position requires a thorough and accurate recording and archiving of all land transfers and conveyances in the county, making it difficult for the average voter to parse a candidate’s credentials for the office.
Snoke told the Logan Daily he ran because he wanted to give voters a choice in November, and because of what he sees as an increasingly toxic political climate in Hocking County.
“I’ve always lived my life with integrity and honesty,” he said, a pointed jab at the number of scandals that have embroiled the rival party in the last year.
Email at rmorris@logandaily.com
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