Nestled between colorful signs promoting state and local candidates, a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, stared down the length of Chester Court at The Great Geauga County Fair last weekend.
Nestled between colorful signs promoting state and local candidates, a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, stared down the length of Chester Court at The Great Geauga County Fair last weekend.
Fairgoers passing by dared each other to take a selfie with the pair, posed coolly in front of the Republican Party tent.
A short walk down the hill, in a tent made raucous by its vicinity to both periodic pig races and a busy restroom, Democrats drew in a crowd with a megaphone, stickers and a pair of prize sheep.
Although their settings were different, political leaders from both parties acknowledged they have more in common than voters often think.
U.S. Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) is facing a challenge from Russell Township lawyer and Democrat Betsy Rader.
The race has gained national attention. In the Democratic Party tent, Rader gave enthusiastic answers to questions from a Florida-based correspondent for “Politico” magazine.
Rader has made campaign finance reform a cornerstone of her race for Congress and said Saturday a large portion of contributions to her campaign have been individual small-dollar donations from voters in Ohio. Her campaign has also received targeted fundraising from online groups supporting a list of Democrats across the country.
“I don’t know how we got on the list, but it’s great,” Rader said.
Up the hill, Joyce pointed out although campaigns make headlines, the day-to-day business of the government is still going on in Washington, D.C.
“The trouble is the national news makes it look like us against them. I think there’s really a lot more bipartisanship and people working together than you would realize … if you weren’t in Washington.”
Joyce mentioned the funeral of Sen. John McCain, which took place Saturday, as an example of the bipartisan spirit he says still prevails in Congress.
“This country was not built upon Democrat rule, Republican rule,” he said. “It was built on bipartisan agreement on bills to move the country forward.”
Joyce is especially proud of his work to recover funding for preservation of his Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was signed into law in 2016, but saw its funding challenged under the Trump administration.
He has worked to connect The Ohio State University scientists who studied Lake Erie algae blooms in the Toledo area with scientists working to combat the same phenomenon in southern Florida.
Rader gave him credit for the restoration of funds, but was quick to jab at his overall environmental record.
“He votes against the environment all the time,” she said. “He’s got a 7 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters.”
State Races
Democrat Rich Cordray, who is running for governor against Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, said environmental issues are important to voters across the state, but especially in Geauga County.
“This is a really pro-environment county. People want to preserve their way of life,” he said.
Cordray also said during his time as Ohio attorney general, his office prosecuted people who willfully polluted the environment, but Ohio has move backwards on caring for the environment.
DeWine, who came to the fair Monday, said his record dating back to his role as a U.S. senator shows he has long supported environmental initiatives, especially those concerning the Great Lakes.
His office, he said, aggressively responded to an attempt by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dump toxic sediment dredged from the Cuyahoga River into Lake Erie.
DeWine also praised The Great Geauga County Fair for its agricultural environment.
While Ohio has over 11 million residents, he said it’s important to come to events like fairs, parades and picnics because voters can bring up their concerns in a casual, conversational setting.
This sentiment was echoed by Rob Richardson, the Democratic candidate for Ohio treasurer. Although he is from the Cincinnati area, he traveled to Geauga County to meet with voters.
“There are people everywhere on both sides of the aisle and we want to engage them, talk to them,” he said. “You’ve got to show up, you’ve got to talk to people, you’ve got to engage, they have to know what your ideas are.”
Richardson said a big mistake Democrats made during the 2016 presidential election was not visiting all areas of the state.
Local Races
November will see three vying for one open seat on the Geauga County Commissioners board.
The Ohio Libertarian Party regained ballot access lost after new rules passed in 2014, and they are running a slate of candidates across the state, including Candace Loyd, a Munson Township resident and former research scientist at Case Western Reserve University.
Loyd said voters are more concerned with candidates than the parties they represent.
“I kind of hear people are sick of both parties,” Loyd said from the Libertarian party tent. “People are really interested in hearing what a third party might bring to the table.”
Loyd plans for a role in the county government, including lowering the county portion of what she calls “excessive” property tax and trimming county budgets. Loyd also wants to push for greater adherence to OhioCheckbook.com — a government transparency website that shows taxpayers exactly how their money is spent — in an effort to prevent the type of embezzlement that took place last year in the county’s IT department.
Anita Blue Marlowe, running as a Democrat, also thinks the county needs to work harder on battling corruption. However, she expressed concern over funds that have already been cut by commissioners, especially the cuts that resulted in the closure of the county home last month.
“As a retired nurse, I’m very interested in supporting women, children, families and retired people,” she said.
Republican Jim Dvorak spoke in a similar refrain, saying the election is not about politics, but people.
“I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, I just want it to run smoother,” he said.
