Friday, October 29, 2010

Union County Believes in Steve

Steve Stivers is building unstoppable momentum. This week the Marysville Journal-Tribune made the historic decision to endorse him in the race for the Ohio 15th Congressional District seat. I call this decision historic because the Journal-Tribune has never before endorsed a candidate for public office. In its endorsement the paper cited Steve Stivers's lengthy record of dedicated public service and incumbent Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy's unacceptable record of completely ignoring the people of Union County. Said the tribune, "[Kilroy] has done absolutely nothing for the citizens of Union County."

That the Marysville Journal-Tribune has broken with precedent and endorsed a candidate highlights the dire situation our country is in. The move is extraordinary. However, the explanations given for why the Journal-Tribune endorsed Lt. Colonel Stivers over Congresswoman Kilroy are anything but surprising.

The endorsement condemns, "For the past two years, the district's representative, Mary Jo Kilroy, has ignored her constituents." This is painfully obvious in Kilroy's voting record. The Congresswoman has voted in lockstep with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 98% of the time--a voting record that may pleasure the denizens of left coast San Francisco, but it doesn't work for the good folks of the Ohio 15.

She is supposed to represent us faithfully and vote our beliefs and values in Congress. Instead she has shown nothing but disdain and disrespect--and, as evidenced by the Journal-Tribune's rebuke, Kilroy's contempt is directed especially at the more Republican-leaning Union and Madison Counties. It's as though Congresswoman Kilroy shares President Obama's sentiments that we are mere hillbilly bumpkins who cling to our guns or religion or xenophobia and can't comprehend the grand liberal vision.

An examination of Kilroy's constituent outreach initiatives (to call what she's done "constituent outreach" is to expand the term quite liberally) reveals a systemic disregard for the people of this District--and especially for those outside of the Congresswoman's home county, where Kilroy maintains her only district office. By Congresswoman Kilroy's own numbers she visited Union County a meager six times during her first year in office despite a promise to keep a high profile in both Union and Madison Counties.

The Congresswoman's staff has been woefully unavailable to constituents outside of Franklin County. In a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to appear more available to her more geographically distant constituents Kilroy's staff has held "mobile office hours" sessions. Of the two best publicized sessions, the first was a fleeting three hours long and was held a brisk 5.4 miles to the southeast of the Congresswoman's district office (and thus further away from Madison and Union Counties). For the second session Congresswoman Kilroy got bold and ventured as far to the West as Upper Arlington; however, she abbreviated her staff's availability to only two paltry hours--but hey, at least it brought her staff closer to Union and Madison Counties for an ephemeral moment... even if it was only 3.7 miles closer (after all, it's the last two minutes of the 54 minute trek from Richwood that tire a person out).

Congresswoman Kilroy has also demonstrated great disinterest in reaching the citizens of Union County through local media. When the Journal-Tribune, Union County's only daily newspaper, contacted her office for an interview they went through a morass of astounding proportions which resulted in a complete snub of the paper by Kilroy.

It's as though Congresswoman Kilroy has forgotten that the people of this District earn the dollars that pay her $174,000 salary (and, of course, for the $403,981 worth of taxpayer-funded campaign mailings she's franked us with).

It's no small wonder the Marysville Journal-Tribune joined The Columbus Dispatch in endorsing Steve Stivers. As the Journal-Tribune noted Stivers is an "honest and forthright person" who will listen to all the people of the District and be their "true representative". 

Positive change is coming.

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