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David Esrati and Cory Booker

It’s selection day- vote like our country depends on it

Posted on March 19, 2024 @ 6:30 am by David Esrati

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Yesterday I got to meet an inspiring leader who’s trying to make our country better. Upbeat, positive, and his key message is that we’re American’s first- and this divide isn’t helping anyone. He’s also a personal hero of mine- ever since I watched the documentary “Street Fight” back when it first came out. (if you decide to rent and watch- get the SD version- it was shot old school BetaCamSP).

Senator Cory Booker was an uplifting, enthralling speaker- and he leads with a vision- instead of with fear. He’s everything an elected leader should be. And it reminds me, that one time he ran for President, and I could have voted for him, except, this is America, and we have less choices for President in an Ohio primary than Russian’s did in their election.

Booker talked about planes, trains and automobiles- and no, it wasn’t a Steve Martin speech. He talked about how he was sitting next to some folks on a plane in economy class- and they asked if he was a pro athlete. Booker, who played wide receiver at Stanford had to confess, no, he was just a lowly Senator- who mighta, coulda, woulda have been a pro athlete in an alternate reality. When they found out he was on the blue team, the walls went up. They told him they were Trump all the way- and then, he made a funny. He said to us, his mother always told him you don’t have to jump into every argument you’re invited to. (Advice I really needed – apparently my momma failed me). He decided to pivot, he said, “President Trump signed two pieces of legislation that I wrote” and bridged the divide. By the end of the plane trip- he’d won them over.

The train trip had him riding Amtrak from DC to Jersey- and trying to not be noticed. A conductor figured out who he was- and shared a quote with him on a slip of paper. It was poignant and powerful, but, I wasn’t taking notes and couldn’t run tape. Turned out the conductor had graduated high school without being able to read. He’d lost a job over it- and had taught himself to read later and gotten the job with Amtrak and could provide for his family. Hopefully, Cory, or his staff- or one of the others in attendance can flush this point out in comments.

The automobile story is too long to share, but it was a talk about race, racism, sprawl, discrimination, the law, a commitment to try to better society, even if only with a few hours a week of your time. How someone made a difference- and then it spread. It was a lead up to his powerful close- talking about the Margaret Mead quote- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” He urged our small group, to all pitch in, to help make sure our country chooses democracy over demagoguery. He talked about the power of us- as in USA- which was kinda odd, because my campaign video is titled “The Power of U.S.” and I hope you watch it before you make your choice for Congress tomorrow.

The Power of U.S. – elect David Esrati to Congress in OH-10

The event was a fundraiser for Sherrod Brown. Booker was along to sweeten the deal- and while Brown can hold his own, Booker is an amazing story teller. He works a room- taking selfies with everyone like a pro. The room was full of people who either love me or hate me. I made sure to be extra nice to those who I’ve written about on these pages- often not highlighting their best sides. By stroke of fate, I was at a table with my least favorite Dem party chair- Mohamed Al-Hamdani and his lovely fiance, with whom I had a very nice conversation. Mayor Mims was also at the table as was Judy Dodge. In fact, the rooms poorest folks in attendance were the politicians- including Booker, Brown and me.

The sad thing is, a majority of the people in my district won’t vote tomorrow. And, only about half of those who do, will be selecting the choices for the rest of you on the November ballot. Although in the Desiree Tims/Derrick Foward race for State Rep in the 38th house district- the election tomorrow is the election. Same goes for two Republican judges races as we have back room deals making sure no judges ever have to run against anyone ever again. Please choose wisely between Jacqueline V. Gaines and Jennifer A. Petrella for Domestic Relations Court, and Chris B. Epley vs Robert Hanseman in the Judge of the Court of Appeals? 2nd District- because the undecideds and the Dems don’t get to weigh in.

And, that’s the problem. By the time the primary rolls into Ohio- we have no choices for President, even though most of the country doesn’t like the last two standing. How is this a democracy? Who are we kidding? Russians had “4 choices” for President, although voting for 3 of them came with a potential Siberian relocation. If we ever want to people to take elections seriously, we need to have a national primary, same day, ranked choice, all parties. Then once the fields are narrowed, an election in November. But for that to work, we need a true voter information system, a donor registration system (because you should always be able to follow the money) and a much more accurate way of keeping tabs on if the people we elect actually vote the way they promise (accountability through better reporting). It’s why I started my non-profit, the Modern Policy Institute, and one day, I’ll have enough time and money to make these things a reality.

For now, I just wish we had Elections Not Auctions.

Yesterday I did something I wasn’t proud of- I mass texted prospective dem voters asking them to watch my video, to research the candidates and to think before they vote. A ton of them immediately opted out. Quite a few told me they weren’t happy with the unsolicited text. Some said some pretty horrid things.

It’s not easy to run for office. Most would prefer to go to the dentist than subject themselves to the scrutiny, the attacks, giving up time and income with a dream of serving our country. I have to say, that listening to Cory Booker today, reminded me of why I aspire to represent you. And listening to Rose Lounsbury (running in the 36th Ohio House district) and Desiree Tims, gives me hope about a new generation of leaders stepping up. There are still people who believe that this is a calling worthy of the tradeoffs.

To close- I’ll share a few responses from the 12K people I intruded on today:

“You have my vote David and you’ve ALWAYS had my vote through the many years.You can count on my vote.”

“Yes. I will never vote for Mike Turner again. Good luck, but I think Mike has been in long enough his name will get him elected, plus all the maga people that are crazy. You will have my vote and probably my husband’s, as well”

“You’re an asshole David remove my number from your lists.”

“Stop. You’re an awful person and I wish you the worst.”

“I’m not voting. Our government is a joke. The most corrupt fraternity in the world.”

“I’m 9 years old”- the name attached to the number, was our local party chairman.

I’ll be out picking up my signs starting at 7:30 pm when polls close. I’ll get the rest on Wednesday. Please choose wisely.

Polls open at 6:30 AM.

Why Dayton needs to vote no on Issue 6 part 2

Posted on March 13, 2024 @ 7:03 pm by David Esrati

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The first thing you should always do when looking over something “too good to be true” is to follow the money.

I failed to do that in the last post about this sneaky way to funnel public money into private hands without real governmental oversight, I’m going to begin to fix that now.

Let’s be clear, the signs are true- “no increase in taxes” – but, the allocation has changed. It’s still 50% for the services you should get from your regular income tax- because they waste the first 2.25% of your income tax on things like handouts to the Arcade developers or the flying electric car billionaire. So telling you that this extra tax pays for roads, public safety and a pittance for housing- is actually saying- we can’t quite pay off our friends and family with the money we already take- now we need more.

The other half of this additional tax- is to fund the “preschool promise”- but before, it was a fixed amount- and any thing extra went into the general fund. Now it all goes to the pre-school promise- and funds it in all those other communities that DON’T have an income tax to support it: Huber Heights, Jefferson Twp., Kettering, Mad River, Northridge, Trotwood-Madison, West Carrollton get a free ride. And remember- pre-school is free at DPS- and they have 5 star pre-schools.

Here’s the first clue that this is the rich screwing the poor. From “their”Neighborhoods for Dayton’s Future” PAC campaign finance report: 17 donors contributed $151,450. No, that’s not a typo- that works out to an average donation of $8,908.82

Does that sound like the poor people of Dayton are behind this campaign?

Here is who funded it.

Donordateamount
University of Dayton1/17/24$20,000
LWC Inc1/24/24$5,000
Robyn Lightcap2/9/24750
Greater Dayton Hospital Association2/9/24$50,000
Economy Linen2/9/24$5,000
Charles V Simms Dev Corp2/9/24$2,500
Care Source2/10/24$30,000
Al Wofford2/13/24$500
CenterPoint2/14/24$5,000
Sandy's2/14/24$5,000
Kim Jarvis2/15/24$500
Jane A McGee Rafal2/24/24$200
Matthew & Irene Joseph2/24/24$1,000
IBEW PAC Voluntary Fund2/24/24$5,000
Michael and Susan Riordan2/24/2410,000
Dayton Dragon's2/24/24$10,000
Staffco Construction2/27/24$1,000
total$151,450

I think it’s obvious who most of the donors are- either city contractors like Sandy’s or LWC, non-profits who don’t pay property taxes like UD or GDHA, or CareSource who have staff that might want help paying for pre-school.

You’ve got the political crowd- Commissioner Joseph, and Economy Linen (the Feldman family- who got given the old McCall’s site for next to nothing for their new plant). Charlie Simms who is a developer.

Michael Riordan is the CEO of Premier Health.

Jane A McGee Rafal works for Learn to Earn- and the Dayton Foundation (who sent out a mailer from their “Preschool Promise Levy Fund” today. Robyn Lightcap is the executive director of the Preschool Promise.

I’d really like to know why the workers of the IBEW PAC are handing out money like candy- $5K to the Preschool Promise and $10K to a Preble County carpetbagger running for Congress.

I’m a bit pressed for time, so here’s a few other things to consider. The campaign is being managed by Gen Murphy- a woman who runs a company called “GEN MURPHY & ASSOCIATES” that has no website- and she floats in and out of the backroom of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. She hires “Burges and Burges” for $75K out of Cleveland to do work and media buying, and $19,500 to a design and web firm in Avon Ohio, Cromwell and Company (who has a holding page for a site)- obviously, she doesn’t think too much of all the local marketing talent. It’s all in the handwritten campaign finance report. For her efforts, she paid herself $20,684.79

But, wait, it gets better, but the in-depth look at this will take a little longer. Robyn Lightcap director of the PreSchool Promise- is married to Scott Siegfried- who is the Chief Innovation Officer of the Miami Valley Child Development Centers. Guess who the PreSchool Promise hands money over to? And, it gets even better- one of the former trustees of MVCDC is our old friend Adil Baguirov (now known as Al Baguiro) but we’ll save that story too.

Just know, it’s always about the money. And while they promise this costs all the folks who live outside Dayton and come in to work here- let’s be clear on who it really benefits. The “Preschool Promise” money is just a way to make sure your money takes care of the “Monarchy of Montgomery County” and makes fools out of the taxpayers.

Vote NO on Dayton Issue 6

Why Dayton voters should vote NO on Issue 6

Posted on March 7, 2024 @ 11:14 pm by David Esrati

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At the South Dayton Democratic Club candidates forum, I sat and listened to multiple democratic candidates rail against school vouchers, charter schools and public dollars being funneled away from our public education system. Oh, and yeah, they are still questioning why our school funding formula is still unconstitutional since 1999.

So why is the Dayton City Commission trying to pull a fast one on the poorest tax payers in the region- telling them to continue to tax their income an extra .25% to fund “safety and the pre-school promise” claiming it “won’t raise taxes” and getting away with it?

Let’s get real. The “Pre-school Promise” organization is yet another quasi-governmental organization being handed public dollars to redistribute to private businesses. And, while they support these districts: Dayton, Huber Heights, Jefferson Twp., Kettering, Mad River, Northridge, Trotwood-Madison, West Carrollton- ONLY DAYTON TAXPAYERS PAY.

If that wasn’t enough to guarantee your no vote, I’ll add some interesting facts for you to also consider. Dayton Public Schools has an amazing pre-school program already, it’s “5 Star” all the way. Any Dayton resident who wants to send their kid to a 5 Star rated pre-school can do it any day of the week. Most of the pre-schools that the “pre-school promise” gives away your tax dollars to, are NOT 5 star pre-schools- ie- they are not as good as the DPS offering.

Secondly, if DPS was given this money directly, there would be no additional overhead of Ms. Robyn Lightcap ($131,545 in 2023) and the rest of her crew hiding out in another quasi-governmental slush fund- the Educational Service Center, where retired school administrators go to double-dip.

With every additional “organization” you have overhead- a website, accounting, office support, tech, and with this org- a ton of money on advertising. How does this help our kids? How does having 61 “pre-schools” (glorified day cares) beat having one run by professional educators- with 28 existing buildings across the city- which could use the money for transportation, expanding hours, and a continuation of a relationship with families in our community somehow make better sense? It doesn’t.

The “Pre-school Promise” which gets half of issue 6 revenue, is yet another way for tax dollars to go into the pockets of the folks who support our culture of corruption. I’m not going to waste my time turning over all the stones to do what a semi-competent news organization would be able to uncover in just a few weeks, but trust me, handing tax dollars to private, unregulated businesses is never a good idea.

By tying the other half of the revenue from Issue 6 to public safety, road repairs and a tiny housing initiative, you are buying into the BS that we don’t have the money to do the things our government is supposed to do- while we can find $10M to pump into the arcade (again) or donate money to a billionaires dreams of building flying electric taxis.

The poor of Dayton are being told- “but we collect a majority of the money from people who live outside the city, but work in the city” so you are getting more than what you put in. In case you didn’t notice- except for the hospitals and a few other businesses- what’s left of our office workforce is now working from home eschewing a trip to an office in Downtown Dayton. We’re building hotels, hassling AirBnB owners, and subsidizing housing projects left, right and center again- with the poor people being able to contribute more of their shrinking income because we have way too many governmental organizations in Montgomery County in the first place.

If it wasn’t already really late in the day, I’d be looking at who is funding the robo-calls and texts I’m getting- the multiple mailings, etc. and how much money they are spending to get this bad tax bill to stay in operation. Trust me, they are spending more than I’m spending on my congressional primary for good reason- come fall, and the presidential election, it may not pass.

What’s even more concerning is that they haven’t put a charter amendment on the ballot to fix their illegal petitions that they’ve been using for decades- the ones that have helped them keep folks off the ballot. The BOE ruled last year, that the lack of charter language to include the date on the petitions makes their clause about date of signing invalid. Those needed to be fixed before either the next scheduled election in March of 2025, or before we see Mims, Shaw or Joseph indicted for their parts in the failed FBI “Culture of Corruption” investigation that only prosecuted Black men.

I urge you to put on your thinking cap about why Dayton should be the ONLY municipality taxed to support the “Pre-school Promise” – why the other 7 cities get a free ride. How a woman without a PhD in education- was making what Dr. Lawrence was getting paid as Interim Superintendent of DPS is worthy of your charity? How this is supposed to help Dayton Public Schools perform better? Considering that our new superintendent has done more in 6 months to improve test scores than Dr. Lolli did in 6 years.

And if you need a final nail to hang this quasi-governmental cesspool on the cross of bad ideas- here’s a little factoid from DPS when asked how much their 5 star pre-schools get from this tax:

“Preschool Promise does not pay DPS for enrolling students in preschool programs. However, they do pay fees on behalf of parents of out-of-district students. This fiscal year, the District received $1,000 in total from Preschool Promise.”

DPS public information office, 7 Mar 2024

So, people of Dayton pay an extra .25% of their income to subsidize parents who don’t live in the district to send their kids to our free pre-schools.

Isn’t that fresh?

UPDATE

13 March 2024- I had some time to do some digging into the money trail. Read it and weep. https://esrati.com/why-dayton-needs-to-vote-no-on-issue-6-part-2/20092

Beavercreek Children's Festival

Working together is how we win

Posted on March 6, 2024 @ 11:16 am by David Esrati

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Maybe you’ve seen a sticker on a light pole or basketball court pole, that says “Esrati wants you to THINK before you vote.” Maybe you haven’t- but if you are reading this, you are taking a step to being better informed about our political landscape in Dayton and the surrounding areas.

Yesterday on the way into the main post office on 5th street to buy more stamps for mailing campaign postcards, I ran into Michael Harbaugh, who is gathering signatures to run as an independent candidate against Mike Turner (and possibly me if I win the 4 way Dem Primary on Mar 19, 2024). We had a friendly conversation- and talked to some voters together. I was amazed he hadn’t been chased off for campaigning on federal property- I’ve been chased off so many places it would make your head spin. I had warned him early on about how unless he collects signatures matched to voter rolls, he may get a pass rate of as low as 40%- see Jo Love, etc. I also told him the process for gathering notarized affidavits on how to challenge signature disqualifications if he comes up a few short. I had to get 50 signatures to run as a member of the Democratic party- he has to get almost 3000.

The question is, why would I help him?

Because I believe in elections decided by voters, not people in a back room or billionaires buying their candidates. I believe the more people running, the more choices voters have, the more likely they are apt to show up and be heard.

That’s why I video political and community forums and put them online. It’s why I write this blog. It’s why I livestream. It’s why I do things like invite all the other Dem candidates to attend the Inaugural Beavercreek Children’s Festival this Friday with me- to talk to voters and get them excited about voting on Mar 19th. I also invited the South Dayton Democratic Club to come- to talk about “Democrats 101” and their oath, and the Democratic Party in Greene County to attend- all free, paid for by my campaign.

Some candidates were very gracious:

“Thanks David, I already had something on the calendar for this day but this is very kind of you.”

-Jyl Hall

and..

What a wonderful gesture on your part. I just came back from Findlay, OH (a lot of rain) and saw your E-Mail. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend…. Sorry about having to miss this wonderful opportunity…

and in a following e-mail “DAVID: You’ve been really nice to me…especially getting me started. As you know, the main reason I’m running is because I’m upset at what’s happening at Wright-Patterson AFB. The other issues I picked up along the way are from talking to the Ohio Democratic Veterans Association and folks’ concerns about Social Security. (private). Thought you should know…you really have been a great help.

Joe Kuzniar

I won’t share my communications with the Dem Party in Greene County- they were less than gracious. Although, they are still welcome to attend and spread their message.

The “Fun Family Event”- from 4:30 to 8pm at Trebein Elementary, 1728 Dayton Xenia Rd Xenia, OH 45385 United States (update- I just found out they have 2 tiers of entry- not happy about it 4:30-5:30PM VIP Entry / 5:30-8:00PM General Admission)is described as place to explore local kid focused resources and summer camps, as well as food trucks, entertainment and activities. Face painting will be available at my booth- just inside the registration entrance. Other organizations participating are the YMCA, Greene County Public Library, Dayton Dragons, Jeff Wyler Hyundai, the National Museum of the US Air Force, the School of Rock, Verizon, the Greater Dayton School, Greene County Career Center, etc. Over 47 organizations.

I’ll have petitions to sign for the redistricting initiative, volunteer sign up forms, voter registration forms, my t-shirts for a $25 donation, and literature. I’ll also be looking for people on main streets to host my large yard signs.

The way I understand winning political power- requires an all hands on coordinated effort to win at every level. They say “all politics is local” and they are right- every voter, who is motivated to go vote for one candidate- may also vote for others. It’s a lesson our local parties haven’t learned yet- that primaries are good- and so are choices. Please come out, bring the kids, to this free event – and meet the candidates.

Because, in the end- it is “The Power of U.S.” that wins.

South Dayton Dems host candidates forum

Thoughts on the candidate forum

Posted on February 23, 2024 @ 7:13 am by David Esrati

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This is by no means a substitute for you investing some time and watching the video, nor is it an in-depth analysis of every candidate or what I heard. There were at least 2 journalists from the Dayton Daily news there- both wet behind the ears youngsters, and you can get their reporting here (no guarantee of it working or being public). For the Dayton Daily- it’s actually a decent article.

The crowd was one of the biggest I’ve seen for a candidates forum, however if you assume each of the 13 candidates brought a mini-entourage, this could again be more of the “Friends and family effect.” This also means, short answers, and no questions from the audience. That they cut off the semi-promised closing 1 minute statement was cruel. In the future, penalize the folks who committed to come late by cutting off their closes or something like that. If some folks want to leave early, that’s what the video is for. BTW- I, as always, the candidate who is accessible, filmed it, put it together, spend the extra time to add the chapters so you can skip to exactly where you are interested and was at my office until after 10pm last night doing it. In less than 12 hours it has 70 views.

Filmed by David Esrati

I had offered to livestream it with multiple cameras and also broadcast on WRCX 40, but that idea was shot down. I also provided the only working wireless mic. If I had ever been in charge of sound for the Dem Party HQ before, I would have brought out a complete PA with multiple mics- their sound system is a hot mess with cheap gear.

I’m a huge believer in both forums and primaries. Forums give you a chance to sharpen your presentation, to prepare for the eventual show down with a Republican, and to build relationships with voters. The South Dayton Democratic Club, once again shows how it is superior to the Montgomery County Democratic Party (just go and compare sites for starters).

However, the questions that were asked of the Congressional contingent were hardball questions without enough time to get into the nuances. There is little chance of a freshman rep being a major player on arms supplies to Ukraine or Israel, working on a cease fire in Gaza or relief. Our existing congressman, Mike Turner’s latest effort to spur support for Ukraine involved leaking government secrets and committing crimes that if anyone from WPAFB had done it- would have landed them in the pokey. Note, only this candidate issued a statement and posted an article. The second question about immigration was a republican gotcha question, where we already know that Republicans in Congress have stonewalled any solution so to keep the issue going so their messiah, the criminal, can scream “build the wall” at his rally’s.

Unfortunately, this seems like the only forum we’ll have. Greene County Dems were in attendance last night, and the Clark County Dem party chair already made his choice behind closed doors on the Ohio Dem Party screening committee, where he endorsed a carpetbagger from outside the district to be their “endorsed candidate.”

This “endorsement in primaries” thing is counter-active to free and fair primaries. If voters really want choices, besides the “Coke and Pepsi” of standard party candidates, parties need to learn to facilitate forums, not meet in back rooms and choose for you. Last time out, I faced a 4 way primary, and came out on top with minimum effort only to be denied any access to the tools and data the party has to run against Turner. They defacto backed him and won’t own it. Numbers tell a different story. Nan Whaley who also ran statewide with their support and $9M did worse than I did in OH-10, her home district, and I ran on $40K while recovering from rotator cuff surgery to boot.

I am going to share my observations of each race briefly, but I encourage you to go to each candidates website, to ask them questions, to do your homework on each one. I have wondered why I need to pass a background check to be considered for guardianship, but candidates don’t have to take one to run for office (George Santos anyone?). I also always tell people to follow the money, and generally the person with the most small donations is the right one. Times are tough, and when you can get working people to part with $5 or $10 a month, compared to getting $3,300 from an out-of-state billionaire (like Turner with his 27 of them last time) or big checks from the union your hubby is in, generally means you won’t be represented. I believe in a donor registration system for all political races, with verified donors and real time reporting.

I’m going in order of the video- so you can follow along:

For County Commission: Judy Dodge was separated (but not far) from her Siamese twin Debbie Lieberman on the dais. She has been in local politics so long, that she doesn’t even have a website for her campaign. Her opponent, who has pulled petitions many times but usually doesn’t turn in, Yuossef Elzein had prepared answers for somethings, and decided to pipe in during my answer to the weapons question. The winner of this race will face the winner of the Jordan Wortham vs Kate Baker Republican Primary. Elzein didn’t impress me with his answer on solutions for cheaper housing. As someone who has worked since 1986 in a distressed neighborhood that is now fully gentrified (see update on my “Neighborhood cancer” article from yesterday) I can tell you that he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about or the absolute absurdity of trying to bring back neighborhoods that have been hollowed out. The good news is, we already know Dodge doesn’t have a clue either- having done nothing so far. Elzein’s denouncement of solar is totally unfounded and downright scary, We need better candidates with deeper insights working on these problems.

For Congress: Obviously, I’m biased. Tony Pombo‘s idea that as a newbie with no online history he’s somehow safe from being maligned by Turner or the press is naïveté defined. His answer to immigration- based purely on importing cheap labor is crude and borders on mean. Joe Kuzniar, although well meaning, thinks we should pump more money into the military as we approach a trillion on paper or exceed it with the aid to Ukraine and Israel. I have the utmost respect for Joe and his effort to give voters choices, but at 81, he’s already served his country proudly and the last thing we need is another octogenarian in Congress. Amy Cox is a piece of work, she lives in Eaton, not in the district. Her last run against Rodney Creech, she was a placeholder on the ballot. Her 2020 effort, for an open seat in an R district brought her a 9 point loss against a weak opponent. Watch how she so carefully avoids the hard questions. Dig into where her backing from the party is coming from.

Whoever comes out of this, faces the Mike Turner machine where no one has come within 10 points ever. Another candidate said “We need a woman to run against him” to me- ignoring the string of women who have run and failed, including Desiree Tims who raised $2M, outspending Turner, and still losing with Joe Biden and full party support in 2020. I strongly believe that I’m the only one who can at least damage Turner- as a veteran, as someone who knows him from his political start and as someone he detests.

For State Senate district 6, this is an odd opportunity. The district was redrawn by Republicans to favor a Dem, tossing their boy Niraj Antani to the wind. The winner will face Republican Charlotte McGuire in what should be a pushover easy race.

Why Willis Blackshear Jr left his guaranteed house seat is because he was only eligible for one more 2 year term- and this is a guaranteed 12 more years without having to work in the real world. He was given his house seat and has never had to run a competitive race. Despite having more money, the race is probably between Jyl Hall and Jocelyn Rhynard– a new Kettering Councilwoman who is the daughter of former Congressman Tony Hall and 2nd term Dayton Public School board member Rhynard. While this is the first time I’ve really heard Blackshear Jr. in public and his answers were fine, his campaign site looks like it was done in 2004 by a high school student and the women are much more dynamic. That said- Hall beats around the abortion issue and Rhynard is a strong campaigner.

In the 38th House District between Desiree Tims and Derrick Foward you have a professional politician vs a community leader. It was painful to watch Foward struggle with the crud that’s been going around which I’ve had for over a week- his voice was shot. When it got really bad- I gave him one of my cough drops. Needless to say, if you want to watch a polished from central casting candidate- Tims is picture perfect. After the primary, this race is over- there is no Republican running and if an independent turns in, it would be an uphill fight.

The 36th has newcomer Rose Lounsbury going against an old political name Chuck Horn (junior?). They will be facing Republican Andrea White who outspent her last opponent 10-1 and narrowly won. The district is considered a toss-up at this point. Lounsbury is charismatic and has a million dollar smile and very strategic in her answers, Horn is a fun sideshow act, but doesn’t seem to be a serious candidate but serves a purpose in getting people to discuss and debate the race. Lounsbury is a personal coach- and former teacher, her poise, her presentation is something any potential candidate should study- me included.

I’ve got links to the League of Women’s voters videos in the pre-forum post: Real democratic club conducts real forum. You’re invited.

I’d love to hear your feedback. And please remember, I’m the only candidate that provides this kind of access and feedback. Choose wisely. Early voting is now open.

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