I pretty much grew up on this website. I first visited here on Election Day 2004 to see the exit polls showing John Kerry’s lead. I was 17 years old then, angry about our disastrous war in Iraq, and very concerned that our economy would never work for the middle class again. After reading the exit polls post, I saw diaries written by others like me and I was immediately hooked. Ever since, I’ve religiously read this website. I followed the Paul Hackett 2005 Special Election race, the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections, and everything in between,. Meanwhile, I grew up in real life from high school senior to college and law school student to husband and soon-to-be dad.
During that time, this community inspired me. It taught me the intricacies of public policy and American politics. It helped me to understand the deep emotion and personal pain that so often comes with political issues. And, over the past couple of months, my experiences in life, particularly the deep fears created by the 2016 Election and my upbringing on this site, have led me to throw my own hat into the ring. Yes, this long-time Kossack has decided to go beyond lurking and posting by running for State Representative here in Ohio’s 14th District, which covers the Far Western part of Cleveland, Brooklyn, Brook Park, Middleburg Heights, and Parma Heights.
The problems we see nationally are felt even more intensely here in Ohio. Whenever there is a national recession, Ohio is the first to catch the cold and the last to get rid of it. Indeed, Ohio’s economy has been sick for more than a generation as the state has lagged the national average for job growth and family income for more than 50 years. Of course, Ohio Republicans, like their national counterparts, offer the same ineffective solution for this illness: more and more tax giveaways to the richest Ohioans. We can, and must, do better.
The Ohio Republicans follow the same path as D.C. Republicans when it comes to our schools. They worship at the false altar of privatization and voucherization while taking money from the public school system and public colleges. They promised that following their path would magically lead to better schools. But, the exact opposite has happened as in the past decade, Ohio’s schools have dropped from 5th in the nation to 23rd. Meanwhile, chronic underinvestment in higher education has left Ohio at 45th in the nation for college affordability. We can, and must, do better.
In addition to following the D.C. Republican playbook on the economy and education, Ohio Republicans also divide Ohioans on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation while failing to invest in our state’s most marginalized populations. Ohio Republicans pass voting laws that make Jim Crow blush and they refuse to even consider equal pay for equal work legislation. In Ohio, an LGBT person can get married on Saturday and then fired on Monday because of who they married. We fail to protect Seniors from elder abuse, endangered children from child abuse, and everyone from the ravages of opioids, which hit here harder than anywhere else in the nation. We can, and must, do better.
When announcing his campaign in 1968, Bobby Kennedy said, “I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done and I feel that I am obliged to do all that I can.” Those words match my feelings to a T this week. Ohio cannot continue down its current path because far too many families are being left behind. I am running to create a New Ohio that has a revitalized economy with more jobs and higher wages; a renewed public education system that has affordable colleges for working families; and a reinvigorated population that is treated fairly and equally.
The journey I’ve started this week is in many ways a culmination of my experience here at Dailykos. But, ultimately, my journey is ongoing and I need your continued help. Please visit my website, www.raleyforohio.com, and contact me at raleyforohio@gmail.com to offer your insight and to become a friend of the campaign. If you’re in Northeast Ohio and looking to be on the frontlines of creating progressive change at the state level, please join me. I need not just your boots on the grounds but also your talents and your financial investment in our campaign. And, for those Kossacks who are further away, please continue to inspire and educate me.
Thanks! And, I hope to hear from you and to see you on the trail soon.