What a beautiful spring!

Last fall, at the end of the bulb planting season, I bought a ton of spring bulbs for 50% off and on several chilly November days, I planted them at the front of Centerville Methodist Church. I planted the bulbs in honor of my brother-in-law, Jim Dunaway and at the four year anniversary of his passing, April 20, they were blooming gloriously. I’m glad they turned out so beautifully and that the members of the church are very happy with their appearance. Last week when I had help from a friend I took these pictures and made a slide show video. I used an organ rendition of Bach’s “Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring” as the accompaniment. I posted the video on you-tube along with this description:

My brother-in-law, Jim Dunaway, passed away on April 20, 2009, at age 72 — a great loss to our family and to the many who knew him as their pastor and friend. Jim served over 50 years in the Methodist ministry, and after his official retirement he served as an assistant minister at Centerville Methodist Church. The spring bulbs making these wonderful flowers were planted in honor of Jim, in appreciation of the optimism, love and joy he shared with everyone who knew him. Late in the afternoon, on April 21, 2013, there was slight breeze ending a beautiful day and these little flowers were clapping their hands.

Previous Posts About Jim’s Passing:

• Sometimes God Grants Us Great Favors 
• Love Is A Song That Never Ends

This is great news: Caroline Gentry and Jim Butler — candidates seeking election to represent District 41 in the Ohio House — will participate in a Lincoln Douglas style debate on Friday, November 2. The debate will be at Kettering High School on Shroyer Rd. in the Recital Hall starting at 3:45 PM.

Republican Jim Butler is the incumbent, appointed to the position last January. This is his first election. Caroline Gentry is the Democratic challenger. And this is her first election.

The program will last for one hour and the public is invited to attend.

In the 34 minute debate portion of the program, both candidates will speak four times for total of 17 minutes:

• 7 minutes      First Speaker
• 7 minutes      Second Speaker
• 5 minutes      First Speaker
• 5 minutes      Second Speaker
• 3 minutes      First Speaker
• 3 minutes      Second Speaker
• 2 minutes      First Speaker
• 2 minutes      Second Speaker

A coin toss will determine who is the first speaker.

For the remainder of the hour program, candidates will respond to questions from the audience, taking turns as to who will answer first, and with each response limited to two minutes.

I am delighted that here at the last minute, this could come together. Last February I asked Mr. Butler if he might agree to such an exchange and he said, “Sure.” From, Republican Jim Butler, OHD-41, Likes Idea Of “Lincoln Douglas” Debates With Democratic Challenger:

This may be a great year for citizens in OHD-41. Two excellent, articulate candidates, both thoughtful individuals with impressive credentials, both, I believe, well meaning and seeking to do what is best for Ohio, may actually conduct a campaign that will elevate our political discourse and cause thoughtful participation by voters. It would be a great compliment to the citizens of OHD-41 if “Lincoln Douglas” type debates between Gentry and Butler would actually happen.

And, so I’m happy this is actually happening — and between two highly qualified and very articulate candidates. It should be an interesting afternoon and I hope a lot of the public will attend. Kettering HS Principal Von Handorf showed me the Recital Hall — what a great facility — it will hold 200 people.

The original Lincoln-Douglas debates lasted three hours: The first speaker spoke for 60 minutes, the second speaker than spoke for 90 minutes, and then, the first speaker than spoke for 30 minutes. In the Lincoln-Douglas format, there is no moderator asking questions, but instead, the candidates have full discretion in the use of their time. This is a format that I wish could be used more often and hopefully this debate will be such a success that in future elections this format will be requested by the public.

Terry Morris of the Dayton Daily News recently wrote an article about the Butler / Gentry contest:

Both candidates who want to represent Ohio’s new 41st House District are young Oakwood attorneys who attend St. Albert the Great Church in Kettering and have never been elected to office.

That’s where the similarities end between Republican freshman incumbent Jim Butler and his Democratic challenger Caroline Gentry.

Butler says innovation and common sense — not higher taxes — are the way to continue the state’s economic revival. “Making Ohio the best and most competitive state in the country, which we can do, will make people want to move here. Companies will add jobs. Workers will get raises. That will provide more money for government services,” he said.

He’s been endorsed by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Manufacturers Association PAC, National Federation of Independent Businesses, Buckeye Firearms Association, Ohio Right to Life, Ohio Society of CPAs, Ohio Veterans United, Ohio State Medical Association and Ohio Farm Bureau.

Gentry said government services are in danger right now due to funding cuts to schools and local governments. “We need to invest in safer neighborhoods and excellent schools. That’s what will promote businesses and attract talented people to move here.”

Her endorsements include: Teamsters Local 957, Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters, Ohio Federation of Teachers, IUE-CWA, Dayton Miami Valley AFL-CIO and Ohio Association of Public Employees.

 

Ohio House of Representatives:

• 41st District: Centerville, Dayton (wards 9 and 20), Kettering, Oakwood and several precincts of Riverside
• Term of Office:  Two years
• Annual salary:  $60,584

Jim Butler

• Age:  39
  

  Jim Butler

• Residence:  Oakwood
• Education:  Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy; masters from the University of Maryland; law degree from the University of Cincinnati
• Employment:  State representative; Attorney at Thompson Hine
• Political Party:  Republican
• Political history:  Appointed 37th District representative, 2011
• Website:  www.butlerforohio.com

Caroline Gentry

• Age:  42
• Residence:  Oakwood
• Education:  Bachelor’s degree, Kalamazoo College; law degree from Yale University
  

  Caroline Gentry

• Employment:  Partner, Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur
• Political party:  Democratic
• Political history:  Never held elected office
• Website: www.carolinegentry.com

Rick McKiddy has a new video that reminds voters that the Republican Assembly voted to refuse $400 million in federal money that, if accepted, would have funded a high speed train in Ohio. The video says that, because of this refusal, Ohio lost 6000 good jobs.

McKiddy is seeking election to the Ohio Senate to represent District 6 and is challenging the Republican incumbent, Peggy Lehner. The proposed high speed train would have had a potential big impact on District 6, because one of its planned terminals would have been in Riverside, close to the Air Force Museum. Citizens throughout District 6 were anticipating a potential economic boom that the train could bring to the region, but Lehner voted with the Republican majority to refuse $400 million from the federal government and to stop the project. The $400 million that Ohio could have received instead went to California.

In his campaign McKiddy also is reminding voters that Lehner voted for Senate Bill 5 — the legislation that attacked public employee unions and last year was overwhelmingly overturned by a public referendum known as Issue 2. SB-5 was strongly opposed by firemen, policeman, and teachers.

McKiddy has a great life story. He started working on the assembly line for General Motors and eventually worked his way through college and became a lead negotiator for the UAW.

McKiddy writes:

The story of SB-5 helps explain why the grass roots are awakening, and it explains one of the reasons why I decided to run for this office. My opponent, Republican Peggy Lehner, was appointed to the State Senate last year to fill a vacancy. At that time, the anti-worker Senate Bill 5 was being introduced, and Governor Kasich needed support for his agenda. A Dayton Daily News article quotes Mrs. Lehner, as saying, “I have voted along with the Republican party 98.8% of the time (320 out of 324 times).”

Six Republican Senators refused to support SB-5 — it was just too far out of the mainstream — and instead, voted “No.” The final vote was 17-16. Mrs. Lehner’s vote made the difference. Ultimately, the bill was overturned after more than one million Ohioans signed petitions and voters repealed it. However, I am convinced the governor and Lehner, unless they are stopped, will ignore the votes and voices of Ohioans, and will simply go after our public sector employees one group at a  time.

The way I see it, the Republicans in Columbus are not out of control, they are in total control. Under Kasich they control all branches of State Government. They are a monopoly and are guided by an ideology that hurts the middle working class.

The Republicans have controlled the State Senate since 1985. Every bit of legislation passed during the last 26 years has their signatures on it.  While they’ve been in control, Ohio has lost over 600,000 jobs, and, unemployment and underemployment has continued to rise. The loss of these jobs has led to home foreclosures and an erosion of the tax base.

The General Assembly made things worse by giving tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy and by drastically cutting funding to local government and local schools. In the Kasich budget approved by Mrs. Lehner, communities are losing over $2 billion. Many communities will need to raise local taxes or reduce services to make up the difference. Balancing the state budget by transferring taxes from the state level, to the local level, moves more of the tax burden from corporations and the wealthy to working citizens.

The assault on working citizens has not been isolated to jobs and taxes. The Assembly attacked voting rights in HB-194 — legislation approved by Mrs. Lehner and condemned by the League of Women Voters