Why I'm Supporting John Russell for Congress

There's a special election this year in Ohio's 12th Congressional District, thanks to Representative Pat Tiberi's resigning before the end of his term. (It's a special election because it's to elect someone to serve the remainder of that term. The general election for that seat is for the following Congressional term.)

And the primary for each of them...is at the same time...on the same ballot. One of the things that means is: we have to vote for the same person twice on the same primary ballot. Strange but true.

That election is this coming Tuesday, May 8th.

From the night of Indivisible Ohio District 12's candidates' forum back in February, I knew I wanted to support John Russell. And my commitment to that support has only grown since. Here are some of the reasons why. If you live in Ohio's 12th District (Here's how to find what U.S. House District you live in), I hope you'll join me in voting for John Russell. 

1.  As he was growing up in the rural Ohio Valley, he saw people in his family and community pull together to help each other through tough times, which he says gave him the values of community and service, and he believes that such values should be written into our policies. I couldn't agree more.
2. He is committed to running a face-to-face campaign. He wants to talk to as many 12th District voters—both urban and rural—as he can. And he's taken concrete steps to do just that, including participating in candidate forums and debates, holding town halls (he has held one in every county in the district), and attending 'meet the candidate' house parties. He has also committed to holding regular town halls once he's in office.
3. He gets that as a white man, he wouldn't exactly add to the diversity in Congress—and that he doesn't have the lived experiences or perspectives of those who identify differently than he does. But he is committed to surrounding himself with a diverse group of people who do have those lived experiences and perspectives—and listening to them.
4. He is not accepting any corporate donations to his campaign. Here's what he has to say about why: "Over and over and over again, corporations hire armies of lobbyists and get preferential treatment at the expense of ordinary people who can't hire lobbyists.... If we want to challenge the status quo, and take on special interests, we need the independence given by not accepting corporate money to get elected."
5. He has been politically active for years, even before Tiberi's seat became open. John independently started a petition to get Tiberi to hold a town hall with constituents. (Note: Tiberi never did; he resigned before his term was up, and now John's running for that same seat.) John helped organize Indivisible Ohio District 12 (one of the many Indivisible activism groups that formed in response to the 2016 election), and he joined their fight to save the Affordable Care Act.
6. He has a strong grasp on the issues. In the time that I've been volunteering for his campaign, I've observed John talking with voters on multiple occasions. And I don't think I've seen him stumble once when asked about any issue. He's able to immediately speak to it and to articulate where he stands. And it strikes me as being more than just good communication ability or being personable, though he certainly has both of those as well. He really knows where he stands and what he will fight for.
7. Having grown up in and being a farmer in rural Ohio and having also worked with fellow activists in the urban areas of the district, he has broad appeal across both parts of the district. That seems to be a rare quality these days; it's  refreshing to have a candidate who can cross what has become way too much of a divide in our country.
8. Last but certainly not least, he has solidly progressive positions on the issues. Among other things, he'll fight for:
• common sense gun safety laws
• making voting easy/ier for all eligible voters
• universal health care, through a single-payer, Medicare-for-all model
• improved infrastructure
• steady, good-paying jobs
• a $15/hour minimum wage

Here's John talking more about his position on several important issues: