Date:
Friday, October 22, 2010
Marysville Journal-Tribune
If it's good for Marysville and Union County ... We're for it!
160th Year of Publication WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 75 Cents
EDITORIAL: Elect Steve Stivers for seat in Congress
Two weeks ago, we wrote an editorial about how important - no, crucial is a better word - the upcoming election is for survival of the American republic. We said that the people of this nation must return the government in Washington D.C. to a representative form once again. And to do that, they must elect candidates who will listen to those who put them in office.
The voters of Union County have an opportunity to help in this process. They can elect Steve Stivers to represent the 15th District in Congress.
For the past two years, the district’s representative, Mary Jo Kilroy, has ignored her constituents. She has voted her party line on nearly every bill, contrary to the wishes of the people in her district. She has done absolutely nothing for the citizens of Union County.
Stivers promises to be a true representative and to listen to the people. For example, he sees how the health care bill has driven costs through the roof instead of lowering them, and vows to support efforts to change that.
He feels that tort reform should be put at the top of the list in health care reform, something that was not present in President Barack Obama’s bill. He also wants incentives for healthy behavior to be made part of such legislation.
He has indicated that if elected, he hopes to establish some kind of office or office hours in Marysville as well as elsewhere in the district so people will have the chance to voice their opinions and bring problems to either him or a member of his staff. This is something that Clarence Brown Jr. did when he was the district Congressman.
In addition to ignoring her constituents, Kilroy has also snubbed Marysville and Union County. She has rejected invitations to speak at “meet the candidate” gatherings and once failed to show at a political meeting when she had committed to be there. Her visits to this area in the past few years have been quite limited.
Stivers, on the other hand, has been here on many occasions, during both the campaign two years ago when he lost, and the current one. A couple of times he has even stopped by during coffee hour at a downtown restaurant.
He has experience in government serving for six years as state senator. He has a master’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University, and is a lieutenant colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard, having been stationed overseas for a year in a Mideast combat zone. He is married and he and his wife have one child.
This is a milestone for us. Although we have supported various local tax levies, we have never before endorsed a candidate for office. That’s how strongly we feel that a message must be sent to Washington D.C. that the people are not going to be ignored any longer.
Steve Stivers has promised to listen to the voters. He appears to us as a sincere, honest and forthright person and we trust that he will fulfill that promise. But if he doesn’t, we will be back in two years to let you know.