Simply stating that he wants to bring honesty and common sense to the state legislature, Duane Grassbaugh announces his candidacy for the 90 th District seat of the Ohio House of Representatives.
Duane Grassbaugh, 35, is a lifetime member of the Ohio Farmers Union and is the president of the Knox/Licking County Farmers Union. He is a lifetime farmer, currently working as the dairy herd manager at his family farm, Grassydell Farms, in Howard. He spent six years as a member of the Knox County Dairy Services Unit, and has been appointed to a term in Ohio ’s Water and Sewer Commission, a state-wide agency that manages relations between public waterworks and farmers’ property interests. Grassbaugh received a degree in dairy science from Virginia Tech in 1994.
Grassbaugh’s campaign will focus primarily on healthcare, education, and the economy. “We all know these are problem areas in Ohio ,” said Grassbaugh, in a telephone interview, “I intend to do something about them.” As an important, symbolic step, Grassbaugh stated that he will not participate in the state legislature’s health insurance program until he is satisfied that all Ohioans will have access to affordable healthcare. Grassbaugh points out, “It just isn’t right that I, if elected, will enjoy a benefit that my employers, the citizens of the 90 th District, are not able to afford for themselves.”
“Jobs are our number-one priority,” Grassbaugh contended. “We want to bring jobs into Ohio by promoting our state as the ‘ Silicon Valley ‘ of renewable energy. The opportunities for that kind of progress in Ohio are just remarkable.” Grassbaugh believes that the state government has downplayed the problems in the economy for too long, and it is time to take action and make changes in government that will positively affect the economy. “To fix these problems, the first thing we have to do is admit there’s a problem.”
This sentiment holds true in Grassbaugh’s position on education: “I know there is a better way to fund public education in Ohio . There have been enough committee meetings, enough studies—it is time to put a bill in the legislature that will actually start school funding reform.”
“It is time for change,” said Grassbaugh, “to bring new blood and new life to the legislature. I will work for change, to improve the lives of the citizens of the 90 th District and all of Ohio . I feel that if I’m elected, it is my job to make my employers’ lives better. As a public servant, my employers are the people of Ohio , and their well-being will come before my own. That’s a promise.”
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