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Beatty’s
seat 3-way fight
By Michael Edwards
Contributing Writer
Columbus Post
For the first time in
nearly three decades, the residents of Ohio's 27th House District
will have someone whose last name isn't
Beatty
to represent their collective concerns. Term limits will conclude
House Minority Party Leader Joyce Beatty's service at the end of
2008. A Democrat, Beatty leaves behind a seat that her husband,
Otto, elected in 1979, held before her for nearly two decades.
The 27th House district encompasses a considerable portion of Columbus'
north and east sides.
(See the graphic illustration of the map area on 2A). It extends
to the Olentangy River to the west, Morse Road to the north, Mifflin
Township to the east and East Broad Street to the south.
A further demographic review of the five zip codes within the district
(43211 Hudson/Cleveland; 43219 Airport/Mifflin-area; 43213 Etna/Hamilton
roads; 43229 Morse/Karl roads; and 43203 Mt. Vernon Ave/E. Broad)
reveal that the average resident is likely to be a black female,
making approximately $30,000 annually and within a sales, service
and/or management sector. In addition, she is a high school graduate,
likely working toward a college degree, who has lived in her current
home for at least five years or more.
Overall, one-third of the residents of the district have never
married; however as you head north, another 1/3 are currently married
with
two children at home. The unemployment rate is about average with
the city and state except as you move toward the southern portion
of the district along the inner-east side of Columbus, where the
percentage of citizens living below the federal poverty rate is
a staggering 41 percent, in contrast to the northern position of
the
district with a nine percent level.
On March 4, the Democratic party will have a three-way primary
race between H. Lee Thompson, a local attorney; Carlton Weddington,
a
Columbus School Board member and Liaison Officer for the Franklin
County Department of Job and Family Services (FCDJFS); and Mayo
Makinde, a Clerical Specialist in the Research, Planning and Evaluation
unit
with FCDJFS.
H. Lee Thompson
• Biography: 62, licensed attorney since 1975; member of the board
of trustees, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers (Ohio Association for
Justice); special counsel, Ohio attorney general. 1978-1980; former
executive board member, Birth Trauma Litigation Group of American
Association for Justice; former referee and hearing officer, State
Employment Relations Board; licensed private investigator.
•
Campaign Focus: Job creation. “Ohio needs “employer tax
incentives that are accountable and reportable by employers and employees.
If a bargain is breached, then repayment is required,” said
Thompson. Thompson states that he wants to continue the work in House
to reduce health care/prescription drug costs, as well as payday
loan interest rates and fees. In addition he has proposed to increase
childcare tax deductions for working single parents and families.
Thompson also proposes to expand access to early childhood education
in Ohio by expanding nutritional and medical screening eligibility.
•”
We need to bring economic justice to the State of Ohio and to the
people of the 27th district,” said Thompson. “My passion
for this community, my trial experience and ability to negotiate
in the best interest of the district, I believe, is the mixture needed
to make that happen.”
W. Carlton Weddington
• Biography: 37; member of Columbus Board of Education since January
2006. Prior posts held include Manager for the Franklin County Clerk
of Courts, former Legislative Aide to Les Wright, Columbus City Council;
former Near East Commissioner and Caseworker/Staff Assistant for
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Houston, TX.
•
Campaign Focus: Education. “We have to find a better means
of funding public education and continue to find better ways to hold
charter schools accountable.” Weddington also proposes to work
with the current administration to expand health care opportunities
for seniors, the uninsured and children. Citing the growth of urban
blight in the district, Weddington emphasizes that economic development
and stemming foreclosures are a priority. “It's not enough
to bring jobs into the community, we need to bring and retain high-paying
jobs within the district”
Mayo Makinde
• Biography: 26; bachelor's degree in general studies, emphasizing
social behavior science, from Western Kentucky University; former
volunteer, Ohio Legislative Black Caucus; volunteer youth coach.
•
Campaign Focus: Working-class access to government. Citing the need
to bring health care and family values to the forefront, Makinde
stresses, “We need to find a better system where we prevent
people from going into the prison system, rather than just using
more tax dollars to build more prisons.” Makinde believes he
is an agent of change. “Right now, everyone is tired of all
the politics as usual. People want to get more active in politics,
but they're afraid. I can build a bridge between the political system
and the people. I am just a medium for them to get their word to
the Statehouse because I am not a political insider...I am a common
man seeking to make the future brighter for the upcoming generation.”
The contest winner will take on sole Republican candidate James
Hunter in November.
Regardless of who wins the democratic nomination, residents should
expect to see more of their representatives within the district.
All three have pledged ongoing community forums to solicit feedback,
proposals and to stir insight to take back the statehouse floor.
In 2006, Beatty won 87.4 percent of the vote against Republican
challenger John Edward Jufko.
For more, please subscribe to the Columbus Post.
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