The Truth Staff
Lucas County Recorder Michael Ashford and his wife, Ruth, threw their annual picnic, the 22nd such affair, on Saturday, July 11, at their home on Collingwood. As usual the numerous guests were treated to a barbecue (highlighted by the host’s delicious potato salad) in the beautiful garden setting that Ruth has created and cultivated over the years.
An additional treat for the guests was hearing from the elected Democratic officials and candidates who each spent a few minutes explaining his or her record and background to the enthusiastic partisan audience.
State Reps Michele Grim and Erika White spoke, as did Probate Court judicial candidate Tom Puffenberger and candidate for House of Representatives District 44 seat David Fournier.
Grim, who is on the ballot this year to keep her seat for House District 43, spoke of the need for Democrats to turn out to vote for Dr. Amy Acton in order to win the gubernatorial contest for the first time since 2006.
“The race is a tossup,” she noted as it was recently changed by pollsters from the original “lean Republican” category. She also emphasized the necessity of not only returning Democratic incumbents such as herself and White, but also to elect candidates, such as Fournier, who can increase the Democratic total. Democrats currently have only 34 House seats which means the Republicans have a super majority, leaving Democrats practically powerless with a Republican governor.
White, House District 41, followed up on Grim’s remarks by emphasizing the need not only to fight but also to work in order to create not just a blue wave but to also plant “blue roots” so that stability can be achieved. Stability – roots – can be achieved, she noted, by getting young people involved on all levels. That should be the Democratic Party’s hope for the future.
Fournier is the Democratic candidate for the District 44 seat to replace Republican Josh Williams, who resigned to run for Congress. Fournier is a first-time candidate, an attorney, whose primary focus is on restoring quality to the public school system – a quality, he notes, that has been crippled by the impact of school vouchers.
Fournier’s chances to flip the seat have improved recently as an independent candidate has qualified for the November general election. The Democratic hope is that the Republican and the independent will split votes on the right.
Puffenberger is an attorney with the county prosecutor’s office and is on the ballot for Lucas County Probate Judge. The probate court, said Puffenberger, “is about helping families,” and that is his inspiration to run for the position, to ensure “that families are treated with dignity.” He also had some words to say about the voting process that Democratic operatives should be prepared to advise voters about.
“Go down the ticket,” he said. The highly publicized positions – executive and legislative branches – are at the top of the ticket. Voters should be advised to go all the way down to see the less publicized choices.
General election day is November 3. The deadline to register to vote is October 12; early in-person and mail-in voting begins on October 13.