This is the final day five of our week long spotlight on union members who have decided to run for the Ohio House of Representatives.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
It should be noted that the districts listed below are new as a consequence of the legislative redistricting process that happened last year.
House district 88 - Bill Young (D)
Bill is a member of OEA and an award-winning Social Studies teacher. He will be facing incumbent Rep. Rex Damschroder in November. Damschroder was absent for the vote on SB5, but did vote for the budget bill which contained many similar provisions as SB5, while also deeply cutting education funding.
House district 95 - Jim Drake (D) and Charles Daniels (D)
This is the only race where two union members will face each other in a primary.
Jim Drake is a member of OEA. Jim is a twenty-year veteran high school teacher, He worked in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education to implement the Ohio Entry-Year Teacher Program, and served as both vice-president and president of the St. Clairsville Education Association.
Jim is a member of the Ohio Foreign Language Association and has served on the OEA’s Fund for Children in Public Education State Council, Legislative Committee, and is the current chair of the Organizing Strategy Committee. He currently teaches Spanish at St. Clairsville High School. You can learn more about Jim, here.
Charles Daniels is a member of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA). You can follow Charles on Facebook, here.
Incumbent Jack Cera (D) is running for reeelction in district 95, so the incumbent of current District 93, Republican Andrew Thompson will be the primary opponent of the eventual Democratic primary winner. It will be no surprise ot learn that Rep. Thompson was a big supporter of SB5 and the budget which passed the buck to the schools and local governments.
House district 99 - John Patterson (D)
John is a member of OEA. since 1983 John taught U.S. History at Jefferson Area High School. While at Jefferson, John has coached girls basketball, boys baseball, golf, and for the past 12 seasons, boys’ cross-country. During this he has been very active in the Jefferson Area Teachers’ Association, and has been the chief negotiator for his union since the late 1980′s.
He will be facing incumbent Casey Kozlowski in November, one of the few Republicans to buck party pressure and vote against SB5. He did however for the budget.
You can learn more about John, here.
Monday we will turn our attention to union members who are running for the Ohio State Senate.