This is my note giving advice to Rob Klepinger, Democrat seeking election to the U. S. Congress to represent Ohio’s 10th District — Montgomery and Greene Counties. Rob is challenging the Republican incumbent, Mike Turner, congressman for the 10th (formerly the 3rd) for 12 years. Rob is 46 years old. He currently is employed as a high school chemistry teacher at a public high school. He has worked as a teacher for the last twenty years.

Rob Klepinger, Democratic candidate seeking election to congress to represent Ohio’s 10th District

Motivation is tough to discern, but, as I study your campaign, it seems to me that what drove you to seek election to the U. S. Congress is your passion for democracy. Your banner on Facebook says “Congressman For The People,” and in your you-tube interview with David Esrati you indicate that your big motivation to seek election to congress was your frustration at the thought that the incumbent, Mike Turner, might run unopposed.

There is wide-spread concern that our democracy is failing to solve problems and failing to plan for the future. If you could communicate your passion for democracy, your concern that our democracy is failing, you could gain the attention of a lot of “persuadable” voters who believe that the dysfunction of Washington — the ineptitude, corruption and partisan posturing — is caused by the dysfunction of our democracy. Many of these “persuadables” are looking for a point of view that offers an alternative to partisan posturing.

The 10th District would make a great battleground for a pro-democracy movement. Your message should be that a person elected to the U. S. Congress has the big responsibility of providing leadership to the District that he or she represents. You should show how your experience as a teacher has given you a lot of experience in leadership and make the point that an effective teacher is an effective leader.

Importantly, to gain credibility you must show a plan for leadership that, if elected, you will implement. You could post that plan here on DaytonOS. Such a plan would show, for example, how the work of congress would be made transparent and understandable. It would show a strategy to encourage public discussion and public education about matters of civic importance. Such a plan of your intentions would make a vivid contrast to the record of Turner’s behavior.

In summary, here is my unsolicited advice: In these last few weeks, make your message the fact that you are passionate about democracy. People are attracted to passion.  Make a plan for leadership that will be compelling in its imagination and scope. Post that plan here on DaytonOS.

See:

• Rob Klepinger’s League of Women Voters interview recorded at Dayton Access Television
• Rob Klepinger’s answers to Dayton Daily News questions for its “Voter Guide”

If Ohio law has any meaning, the Ohio Election Commission (OEC) should immediately remove the current TV attack ad that slimes Democrat Roland Winburn — representative for District 43 in the Ohio House. It claims that Winburn, “Ripped us off.” This ad is nonsense — laughable in its extreme efforts to confuse and misinform listeners — it degrades the whole political process and provokes new levels of cynicism.

Winburn’s opponent is Republican attorney Jeff Rezabek. His website says, “Jeff shares our principles.” Does Rezabek approve of this trash produced by the OHROC that slimes Winburn and completely misrepresents the facts? You’d think Rezabek would be embarrassed by the blatant dishonesty used by the ad. Winburn should build on Rezabek’s claim of “principles” and should call on Rezabek to disavow this ad.

Any adolescent running for a middle school office would be disqualified if they dared to campaign using such a low stunt as used in this TV ad. Does the public have no protection in how our public airways are used? Ohio law says that it is illegal to broadcast campaign messages that are untrue. Where is the OEC?

The ad says that Winburn, “failed to pay his own taxes on time while voting to raise our taxes by 800 million dollars.” It is laughable that in the OHROC’s effort to slime Winburn that this is the best they can do. The website referenced in the ad, rippoffroland.com, quotes from two Dayton Daily News articles.

• About the failure to pay taxes, the DDN says, “Winburn missed by four days his July 2012 payment on a local property he owns. Winburn paid $463.18 in past due property taxes and penalties and said he is not sure why he forgot to make the payment on time.”
• About voting to raise taxes by 800 million dollars, the DDN says, “(In 2009) Gov. Ted Strickland proposed and the Democratic-controlled House passed House Bill 318, which would delay this year’s 4.2 percent income tax cut in order to raise the money necessary to fill an $851 million hole in the state budget. A number of business groups support the plan as the best of a host of bad options for balancing the budget. Senate Republicans say the plan amounts to a harmful income tax hike.”

The ad makes four accusations all together — all purporting to prove that Winburn, “ripped us off.” In addition to the two above, it accuses Winburn of taking “an illegal tax credit,” and that he cut funding to local schools. The “illegal tax credit” charge is a rehash of an accusation made in the 2012 campaign that was thoroughly discredited. Winburn has been completely exonerated of any wrong doing. And Winburn has always supported funds for schools.

Here is the transcript of the ad:

What do we get as Roland Winburn as our state representative? Ripped Off.  Winburn took an illegal property tax credit and failed to pay his own taxes on time while voting to raise our taxes by 800 million dollars and cutting state funding to local school. Less money for education, less money in our pocketbooks. Stop letting Roland Winburn rip us off. Learn more at rippoffroland.com

It is shocking that an organization that represents Republicans already elected to the Ohio House — The Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee (OHROC) — would admit to creating and promulgating this trash TV ad. You’d think official Republicans would want to distance themselves from an ad this shameless. It will say a lot about the character of Winburn’s opponent if he refuses to disavow such immoral advertisement.

It is true that because of the Republican agenda, a lot of taxpayers are being “ripped off.”  But not by Winburn. His record shows that Winburn has opposed crazy tax changes made by the House Republicans that balanced the state budget by cutting funds to local communities and changed Ohio’s tax structure so that those taxpayers least able to pay taxes are paying at a higher rate than those taxpayers most able to pay.

Winburn has opposed these Republican “rip offs”:

• Every new property tax levy to support local schools will cost home owners 12.5% more
• Most homeowners over age 65 will not qualify for the “homestead exemption” for their homes.
• Drastic cuts in state funds to schools and local governments mean that to continue service, more and more taxes will need to be approved at the local level.
• Sales tax will increase on all items.
• Decreases in the state income tax, for average or below average income earners, will not be nearly enough to cover these increases in taxes at the local level. The total percentage of income paid in Ohio taxes will increase for most taxpayers.

The chart below is posted at Policy Matters:

Of the total 360 precincts in the county, only 132 precincts (37%) — shown in yellow — are participating in the May 4 Democratic Primary to elect a member of the MCDP Central Committee. The first task of these elected members will be to act as a voting delegate to the reorganization meeting where the leaders and the direction of the party for the next four years will be determined.

The map shows that many of the 228 precincts without a candidate — shown in shades of blue — have a lot of Democrats. One question the party needs to address is why the suburbs, where many of Democrats live, there has been little effort or success in meaningfully organizing the local party.  If you click on the map it will enlarge to reveal the name of each precinct.

According to the board of elections, Montgomery County has 33,265 registered Democrats and most of these vote in Democratic primaries. The above map is the same as the first map, minus the yellow indicator of precincts with candidates. It shows each of Montgomery County’s 360 precincts and shows by color how many Democrats live in each precinct. If you click on the map it will enlarge to reveal the name of each precinct.