Albert Griggs, Jr., shown here speaking last November 11 at the dedication of the Huber Height Veterans Memorial. Griggs served as chairman of the Huber Heights Military And Veterans Commission (MAVC)

This pandemic has a lot of people saying, “We are all in this together.” Wouldn’t it be great if we had a politics that would make this wonderful notion actually real? I have a plan.

I’ve spent my career designing and analyzing systems and I’m basing my campaign for the Ohio Senate on my commitment to repair and strengthen our system of representative democracy. Everyone knows that the big reason for the dysfunction of the system is that the citizenry is divided — polarized. It is amazing the hate towards Democrats that I read on Facebook. Of course, there is hate directed towards Republicans as well.

It is true that this pandemic means we are all in this together, but if a nuclear bomb goes off, we all will be in that together, as well. The truth is we, the people, are divided — and unnecessarily so. The wonderful people in the Sixth District have much in common. We are united by patriotism, love of country and love for our fellow humans. There is a big consensus in the citizenry to work together to advance the common good. Regardless, we, the people, are divided, polarized.

In our dysfunctional system, a minority is electing our government and this minority has no reason to deal with the majority. In Ohio, this minority has taken over the whole state government system as a monopoly — fixing the rules. In the U.S. Congress, this minority is divided into two hostile and uncooperative camps.

We need a system where candidates arise from a diverse community — not from a political oligarchy or a well-funded special interest. To fix our system, there must be leadership with a plan and vision. I’ve named my campaign, “The Campaign To Build A 21st Century Democracy.” My plan is to use 21st century technology to build authentic communities.

District Six has 240,000 voters. My goal is to engage at least one percent of these citizens as voting members in a “District Six Leadership Community.” The goal is for this group to fairly represent the diversity of the district and for members of this group to be committed to leadership — committed to understanding each other and to understanding issues. I want to work with a group who has a real hunger to understand and to participate in politics.

This Leadership Community will study and debate the work of the Assembly and will partner with me — empowering me to be an effective, responsive, transparent, and creative member of the Ohio Senate. This Leadership Community will be committed to developing consensus within the group. It will write proposed legislation and will engage and inform the public. The goal is for young people to become active, creative members and leaders in this civic community and for this experience to prepare these young people for eventual election to public office.

Members of the Leadership Community will team together in their local jurisdictions to engage and inform citizens and to build community. These teams will network together on district wide projects. One big project — to engage citizens of all persuasions — will be to develop civics education opportunities for youth. I’d love to see district-wide projects dealing with the U.S. Constitution (Constitution Day, September 17) and the Gettysburg Address (November 19).

There is a hunger within every person for community. Democrats need to champion a politics of unity, a politics of community building, and dare the Republicans to do the same. “We are all in this together” is a wonderful notion. We need to make it real. I am offering leadership and vision to empower civic communities that will bring citizens together into active and meaningful citizenship. This is the vision and the plan that can flip this gerrymandered Republican district. I am asking for your vote in this Democratic Primary.

My Civil Service Career

During my Civil Service career, I managed a wide range of programs and provided leadership to organizations ranging from approximately 35 to over 3,500 government civilians, military, and contract personnel. My experience includes cross-functional positions in strategic planning, program acquisition/management, and weapon system support. I worked in staff positions at Product/Logistics Centers, Major Commands, Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), and the United States House of Representatives.

Programs I managed:  aircraft (fixed wing and rotary wing), space (space based and ground systems), Intelligence, Weather (space and terrestrial), Missile (offensive and defensive), and the integrated tactical warning and attack assessment network.  I’ve worked with other governments on very sensitive issues.  I held a TS/SCI security clearance when I retired from the government.

April 8, 2024 — four years from today — the Miami Valley will be at the heart of a full eclipse of the sun — the first full eclipse in this region in over 100 years.

Greetings. I am Albert Griggs Jr.  I’m seeking the Democratic nomination for the Ohio State Senate, District 6. I retired as an Air Force senior civilian leader. In that role, I led organizations that designed and managed complicated systems. My life has been devoted to service. I am seeking election to the Ohio State Senate to continue to serve. I believe I can win this election by providing leadership, and vision that will inspire an awakened citizenry.  (See below summary of my career of service.)

The shocking election of Donald Trump was a big wake-up call that our democracy is in deep trouble. This pandemic is a second wake-up call. The lack of preparedness of our divided and corrupt government is very disturbing. Many Republican leaning voters agree that our democracy is in trouble and that the polarization — the hatred and division within the citizenry — is a growing danger.

Fellow Democrats, I am offering the leadership and the plan that can inspire and engaged this awakened citizenry. I can win Republican votes and flip this district by showing my plan for being an effective senator of the people — all the people. I can win Republican votes by showing my plan to empower citizens and to bring citizens together in harmony. I’m calling my campaign, “The Campaign To Build A 21st Century Democracy.”

District Six has 240,000 registered voters. My goal is to create such interesting and challenging opportunities for service that at least one percent of these voters will want to become active in a “District Six Leadership Community.” The technology of the 21st century makes it possible to create a cyber space where hundreds of individuals can come together as a deliberative community.

This Leadership Community will study and debate the work of the Assembly and will partner with me — empowering me to be an effective, responsive, transparent, and creative member of the Ohio Senate. This Leadership Community will be committed to developing consensus within the group. It will write proposed legislation and will engage and inform the public. The goal is for young people to become active and creative members in this civic community and for this experience of service to prepare youth for eventual election to public office.

The goal is that Leadership Community members in every jurisdiction will organize, as a local community group, and will advance projects that inform citizens and that engage youth in civics education projects. The local groups will be networked together and will help each other to be successful.

Albert Griggs Jr. and Mike Bock — Glad to welcome Albert Griggs as a guest author today. This picture is from an event that Al hosted at the West Carrollton Library on March 7.

My campaign literature shows a beautiful picture of a total eclipse of the sun. I’m anticipating April 8, 2024 — the date when the entire Dayton region will experience a full eclipse. My goal is to do the work and provide the leadership so that, by the time of the eclipse, I can celebrate, with 2400 new friends, the light breaking through scattering the darkness. Within four years, I want to celebrate the establishment of an exemplary 21st century system of democracy in District Six, a model for the whole state.

We should learn from history. I am enjoying reading “How Rome Fell Into Tyranny,” by Edward J. Watts. Humanity suffered a great loss when the Roman republic became a dictatorship. If our politics persists in producing a divided and ineffective government, eventually, a crisis will provoke a big public outcry to end our incompetent democracy and to establish authoritarian control. If we are to preserve freedom for new generations, we must repair and strengthen our system of democracy now.

This pandemic is waking an electorate to realize that our democracy is in trouble. Worried citizens are ready to be energized by a campaign to build an exemplary 21st century democracy in District Six. Providing leadership and vision for building community and for strengthening our republic is how we can win this gerrymandered district. I have the message, the experience, and the plan. I am asking for your vote in this Democratic Primary.

See: Albert Griggs Jr. Has My Vote March 17 For The Democratic Nomination For The Ohio Senate — Here’s Why

My Civil Service Career

During my Civil Service career, I managed a wide range of programs and provided leadership to organizations ranging from approximately 35 to over 3,500 government civilians, military, and contract personnel. My experience includes cross-functional positions in strategic planning, program acquisition/management, and weapon system support. I worked in staff positions at Product/Logistics Centers, Major Commands, Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), and the United States House of Representatives.

Programs I managed:  aircraft (fixed wing and rotary wing), space (space based and ground systems), Intelligence, Weather (space and terrestrial), Missile (offensive and defensive), and the integrated tactical warning and attack assessment network.  I’ve worked with other governments on very sensitive issues.  I held a TS/SCI security clearance when I retired from the government.

Secretary of State, Frank LaRosa

The primary election plan unanimously agreed to by the Ohio Assembly will dramatically reduce voter participation. Of course, participation will be suppressed at this point, regardless. But the plan approved by the Assembly advances the worst solution to a difficult problem.

I am flabbergasted that every Democrat in the Ohio Assembly agreed to this absurd decision. I can’t understand why our Democratic members of the Assembly did not support the clearly superior plan proposed by Secretary of State, Frank Larosa. I’m hoping there is more to this story than I know.

If the goal is to encourage voter participation, the Larosa plan is preferable because this plan clearly would result in many more people voting than the plan approved by the Assembly. Just the requirement to pay for the needed postage would discourage some voters. Greatly reducing the number of days that voting is allowed would have an impact. Why did Democrats not support the better plan?

What the Assembly unanimously agreed to:

• The Ohio Secretary of State must design, print and mail approximately 7.8 million informational postcards to every registered Ohioan that explains to them how to obtain the form necessary to request an absentee ballot.
• Based on preliminary estimates from prospective vendors, it is expected that these postcards will reach registered voters in the second week of April.
• Voters who want to cast a ballot must then either print out an absentee ballot request form themselves or call their county board and ask for one to be sent to them.
• Voters must then affix their own postage and send the request to their county board of elections.
• Boards must then process the request, print the ballot and send it to the voter.
• Each voter must receive their ballot, cast their vote, and return the ballot in a postage-paid envelope, postmarked by April 27th.

What Secretary of State, Frank LaRosa, proposed:

• The Secretary of State would directly mail postage-paid absentee ballot request forms to the approximately 7.2 million registered Ohioans who have not yet voted. These forms would arrive at the homes of voters around April 27th. This plan would essentially skip the step of sending informational postcards.
• Interested voters would send their postage-paid requests back to their boards, who in turn would process the request, print the ballot and send it to the voter.
• Voters would have until June 1 to postmark their ballot in a postage-paid envelope for submission and tabulation at their county board of elections.
• This plan afforded all voters a fair, safe opportunity to cast their ballots by mail and a limited in-person voting opportunity, pending the public health emergency being lifted, for Ohioans with disabilities and those who can not receive mail.