OH-3 Join me as I collect signatures.
Last time I ran for Congress I made a commercial that showed you the houses of my opponents- which don’t look like, or have the kind of mortgage that most of the citizens in Ohio 3 have. I called it “Represent” and it’s very important to me.
It’s important because the whole concept of the House- with its short 2-year terms- was for real people to take leave of their “day job” and go “represent” the people. The founding fathers would be disgusted if they now knew it cost a million dollars to run for Congress- and that it had become a cesspool of career politicians. The idea that there were barriers to entry- like fund-raising and non-stop campaigning- would be abhorrent. The idea that political districts would be gerrymandered to give preference to one party or another would be unthinkable. Yet, that’s the world we live in.
I believe in a return of the House to the people. I won’t, and never have, accepted money from special interest groups. And although I welcome endorsements, my positions are absolutely clear- they appear on this site- over the last four plus years- in black and white, for all to discuss. There is no dodging of the hard “hot button questions”– just my thoughts on what has interested me. I believe in smaller government, that provides and supports equal opportunity to all in this country- especially for small businesses in government contracting (it’s time to come up with a GSA schedule EZ- and cut the average response to a proposal from hundreds of pages of boilerplate to a few meaningful pages of a contract). I believe in closing the Wall Street Casino and opening back a real financial market- where true investors- not gamblers, make real choices about a companies’ bottom line- and buy a true stake in the company (Apple – and every other business on the exchange- didn’t change the way it did business yesterday- but its stock price fell like it got hit with a recall or something).
I believe in a public option- and single payer. I don’t believe we could do health care without doctors- but I know for sure we could do it without the “mob”- the insurance companies- who’ve inserted themselves like crooks asking for a “scrape” of your health care costs- to pay for million dollar paychecks. It’s posts like this- that separate me from every other politician- and let me tell you- it’s not good for business either in this small-town minded city.
I’m not going to recap every position or idea. But, I am going to promise you a new kind of representation- one where you really know what’s going on with your Congressman- every step of the way. So, join me as I walk to collect my signatures- and hear my own mother, Nina- age 82, call me nuts for doing this. These are the people who are recommending me to represent you- not the special interests, not the big money political action committees and they are the reason I do this- although the handicappers wouldn’t give me (or anyone else) a 100-to-1 shot at beating Mike Turner this fall.
But, isn’t that what a democracy is about- having choices?
If you’d like to sign your name on video- please call me at 937-228-4433 to set up a time to stop by the office. Thank you for your support. Remember, you must be a Dem or undeclared- you must be a resident of Ohio 3, and you must believe that I belong in the “House of Representatives.”
I hope you ask the fundamental question of why it takes so much money to win. I mean, there has to be an incentive to be a winner of this race, right? And there is, the manipulation of public funds, the licensing and control of people’s lives can allow some representatives to direct business and economy, making this a very valuable position. When the position has become valuable, the competition and hence the money willing to be spent becomes increased.
And why? It is primarily because we have so many freedom inhibiting programs now. When a car dealership can be told by someone “I am going to vote for cash for clunkers” or real estate “I will vote for home subsidy”. The list goes on. We have allowed our government officials the ability to place regulations, limit freedoms and direct and control public funds. I cannot even find a constitutional basis for this. There is plenty of philosophical basis, that which is grossly erroneous in calculation.
David, I wish you luck, but I would not vote for you. Not because of your lack of clarity or conviction, but because you will still vote on government programs that differ from Mike Turner’s, but they will be more government programs non the less. Your feeling of limiting free market capacity on executives and financiers for miscalculated reasons. Somehow you feel that you could have a government regulated market and yet have freedom? Exactly how does a society have freedom of self without freedom of economy? These are mutually exclusive events and I am afraid that you have demonstrated your nature to be just like Mike Turners. The only difference is the methods and justifications chosen to step on my freedom.
I would vote for you if the republicans were in control of congress. For I feel it is my firm duty to either vote libertarian, or when the scales are not so good, vote for whatever will gridlock the government to try and prevent their destructive nature.
Either way, I bid you luck.
your company doesn’t make enough money to let you buy a bigger house, so that makes you more qualified to represent us in Congress compared to someone who was a lawyer, former mayor for a decade and Congressman for 4 terms? umm ok
@Michelle- if you are measuring people by the size of their house, or their bank account- I feel sorry for you.
He was Mayor for 8 years, He lost to Rhine McLin- which should tell you something. He’s not faced a serious opponent in a district that was gerrymandered for him. You really don’t know much about how these things work, do you.
@Robert- I believe in smaller government, and less loopholes. I don’t believe in earmarks, or corporate welfare. And while Turner voted against the bailout- he’s not offered a single solution to the financial mess. Thank you for supporting my run- please vote for the Libertarian candidate.
David, I wouldn’t vote for you either. Sorry, if anything I am honest. I mostly disagree with your very liberal, Democratic agenda. With that said, you are thought provoking and you do earn my respect for tenacity. I really don’t care much for Turner either but I do not blame him for moving out of the city of Dayton for much greener pastures, and a school district that is capable of teaching his children. I know this post will get thumbed down and therefore be largely ignored, I am ok with that, I just thought that I would share my opinion in a civil way unlike much that you will find on DDN. I wish you luck in your desire to fight the machine, it is admirable that in this sit down world you are willing to take a stand.
David you don’t believe in smaller government.
You also have a slogan of Taxes are Good.
Run. But be honest. To a fault, please.
A few people on DDN are givin’ you some love. Good luck, just stay honest. We all know you want bigger government and want to tax the hell out of anything and everything.
I like your represent video a great deal and it takes a lot for me to like something. I also like that you dont live in a big ass mansion. I’ll sign for ya.
@ not the DDN Jeff- Turner is moving back to the city- to Performance Place. Not exactly a working mans home.
I do believe in smaller, SIMPLER government. Simple tax codes, simple bureaucracy, simple processes- and the idea that we don’t let government play favorites by handing out our tax dollars to private corporations without getting some goods or services in return.
@ Gene- Taxes are good- they buy us civilization. Roads, Schools, Trains, a Military- wake up.
@Lynn- Unlike Turner- I bought my house, my office and my rental cottages- for $14,500, $4,400, and 2x $19,500 and fixed them up- investing in the change I believed could happen.
Turner bought ready made mansions- even his home on Linden was pretentious, and has done nothing to reinvest in the city he claimed he represented.
Thank you
While taxes may be needed, and you point out things we use them for, you also want taxes to fund an unlimited social agenda. You just want to tax the rich and businesses, yet you want them to employ people. Fact is that we don’t need more roads (aren’t you against sprawl?) and maintaining them under our current government is a joke, we get screwed and pay double and triple for “fixing” roads, hardly good use of tax money. We don’t need trains at all, what a waste of money. We need a smaller military and get out of expersive wars.
Schools have proven to be a waste of money. Dayton spends more per student than suburban areas, yet the results are pathetic. I think DPS need to do more with less. Why? BC they piss money away. New schools are not teaching our kids. Keep building but it does no good.
We need to hold people responsible for having kids, we need to tax less so those who provide jobs will grow their businesses, we don’t need a train that travels 45 miles and hour which will never be used, and we don’t need a bloated military.
Turner was the best Mayor this town has seen in 50 to 100 years. Stop ragging on him and promote your ideas, your HONEST IDEAS of LARGER GOVERNMENT. You LOVE TAXES, use that in your campaign slogan. No worry, I will remind everyone that TAXES ARE GOOD.
@Gene- Turner wasn’t the best Mayor- he left the city with a whopping bill, a demoralized staff and very little real legislation of note. He didn’t reduce government, or work toward regionalization. He didn’t look to stop sprawl, deliver services more efficiently- and he mocked me when I talked about ending busing and returning to neighborhood schools- or busing regionally.
I thank you for your vote in November in advance. And, btw- how’s Turner’s blog?
how’s Turner’s blog?
You mean this one — http://www.miketurner.com/blog/? It’s fairly current and kept up-to-date (last post dated 5/15/2010, 35 entries this year). It’s got an attractive enough layout with functional aids such as a calendar of posts and a tag cloud. It’s even got some posts written in first person, although whether Turner wrote even those posts himself is debatable. Every post has a “Leave a comment” link although no post seems to have any comments published (nor does his Facebook page have any posts by others or comments). To sum it all up, his blog is that of a successful politician (at least if one defines political success in terms of gaining and retaining political office).
Of course Turner’s blog is a different animal than is yours, David E, but you’re not a successful politician (I say that not intending to give offense, and if you look at Merriam-Webster‘s definitions 2a and 2b of “politician” you may not take offense), and so it’s no surprise that your blog would be different. All of us who visit your blog and comment on it can debate what purpose your blog serves and whether Dayton is better or worse off for your blog’s existence, but that you say some of things you do on your blog and that you let us say what we say on it are strong evidence that you have different goals than Turner.
@David Lauri- Thank you.
Full disclosure, David. The Old Bandito had Dr. John Mitakides as a family dentist for a score of years, and there is no more competent, caring and likable healer walking God’s green earth. And ya’ gotta’ assume that if your political rival Jane Mitakides lives in a modern, roomy and expensive abode, a lot of that money came from her dentist hubby. So isn’t it unfair to critique Jane’s home because of the success of her dentist husband, who the Old Bandito contends, deserves every penny he’s ever earned? What is with this class envy-class warfare stuff anyway, David? Using your criteria, perhaps we should go over to the homeless enclave on the old railroad overpass crossing South Patterson Boulevard and convince some of those urban outdoorsmen to start a petition drive. Fact is El Davido, Americans love the wealthy and successful, be they athletes, rappers, movie stars or captains of industry. Ever see a television show called “Lifestyles of the broke and obscure….”?
@bandito So Congress is only for “rich and wealthy”? That’s truly “representation.”
If you had to listen to Jane talk about her positions- you’d feel punked too,
@bandito So Congress is only for “rich and wealthy”? That’s truly “representation.” If you had to listen to Jane talk about her positions- you’d feel punked too. (David Esrati)
You are correct in one assertion David; despite the obvious and tremendous respect for the Mitakides family (face it David, they are one cute and devoted couple) Jane would not get the Old Bandito’s vote if she were running for commissioner of the Ohio Department of Redundancy Department. Nosireee, David, tax and spend liberal Dems are merely part of the pollution rather than part of the solution. But financial success can often be a barometer of the types of character traits we seek in office holders, so why shouldn’t wealth be a factor, though not the only factor, in choosing electable candidates? It’s tough to campaign, as you well know David, while simultaneously hittin’ that time clock on a daily basis. But the Old Bandito’s gripe about representation isn’t about money but vocation. The over-abundance of lawyers in elected office, from the county level to the White House, has turned this country into a place with millions of laws but reduced us to almost lawlessness. Anything that dilutes and diminishes the power of barristers in our government would enhance the personal and fiscal freedom of us all….
Ever see a television show called “Lifestyles of the broke and obscure….”? (Ice Bandit)
Sorry, David, but there is a long running TV show about the poverty stricken and unknown. It’s called “Cops”….