Submitted by DANIEL GORDON
Bowling Green City Councilman Daniel Gordon has announced he is filing petitions this week to run for State Representative in Ohio House District 3, comprising Wood County.
“Serving on City Council for the better part of a decade has given me a front row seat to see that decisions made by the state legislature have made our lives worse here in Wood County, and I refuse to sit by and watch that continue,” Gordon said. “We deserve better, and I’m going to offer all of us a real choice and a new path.”
Gordon singled out the state legislature’s decision to cut millions of dollars from the Local Government Fund — which is vital to ensuring Ohio cities, towns, and villages have the money needed to maintain services — to close a state budget shortfall. Cuts to the fund have forced local communities in turn to cut needed services and raise fees or taxes to protect schools, fire, police, and social and mental health services. Despite state politicians’ promises that these cuts would make the state healthier, Ohio has consistently lagged behind other states in job creation and economic security, and risks another recession. And Gordon says he knows why.
“The legislature has been fiscally irresponsible,” Gordon asserted. They can’t fix the roof by knocking out the foundation. They couldn’t pay off the money they lost spending on pet projects and rewarding their corporate friends, so they took our taxpayers’ money instead. And they have nothing to show for it. We got ripped off, and the worst part is they keep doing it. Not on my watch.”
“I’m going to get our money back,” Gordon promised.
Gordon sees the state government’s funding cuts as a pattern of assault on local communities. “These folks go to Columbus and preach about “small government,” but then go and pass bills to give themselves more power and restrict ours at the local level,” he said, referring to so-called “preemption bills” which demand new restrictions on what mayors and city councils can do in Ohio. “I believe in local control. If I’m elected, we’re going to take back our municipal authority. That power belongs to us, at the local level, where we know best how to run our communities.”
Economic policy is Gordon’s chief focus. “People are working harder than ever, but wages aren’t keeping up with our productivity. They’re stagnating. Every hardworking Ohioan deserves a job that pays a living wage. We don’t treat working people right. It’s why people can’t afford to pay their medical bills. It’s why young people are leaving Ohio in droves. I want all of us to have the freedom to live our lives without having to worry about how we’re going to make ends meet.”
Gordon notes that these problems do not come out of nowhere. “Budgeting is about priorities. What you fund well is what you care about. So why does Ohio rank last among all 50 states in funding programs to fight against abuse of children and the elderly? Why does the legislature continually fail to support higher education, or fix the unconstitutional funding mechanism for our public schools? Why do they continually fail to raise enough money to fight the opioid epidemic?”
“It doesn’t have to be this way. These problems are not inevitable. They’re the result of bad choices made by the state legislature, and we can fix them by making better choices. That starts with electing leaders who will do the right thing. My promise is that I will fight for all of us, not just some of us. No one gets left behind. I will work hard every day to make life better for you and your family, and I will never let you down.”
Gordon is confident his proven track record of getting results in office will serve him well in the Statehouse. His legislative accomplishments include having worked with Mayor Edwards, members of Council, and various community partners to create Ridge Park, the first public park in Gordon’s district; begin implementing policies to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety; and pass legislation protecting vulnerable members of our community. Gordon is particularly excited to help finish the Community Action Plan, which will help revitalize local neighborhoods, keeping the promise he made when he first ran for Council in 2011.
Councilman Gordon has served on City Council since 2012 and began his fourth term last month. In 2017 he was a finalist for the NextGen Public Service Award in the category of Courageous Champion, which recognizes “a public servant that is blazing the path for their generation in government with courage and determination at the local, national, or international level.”
Gordon is a native resident of Bowling Green and graduated from Bowling Green State University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree and his Master’s degree in Public Administration, focusing on Public Policy. He manages the office of Inner Peace Homes, Inc., a local nonprofit agency providing foster care and adoption services for Northwest Ohio.
