On Saturday, the Wood County Democratic Party Central Committee voted unanimously to name Aidan Hubbell-Staeble the Democratic Candidate for District 3 State Representative, which covers all of Wood County.
This position was vacant due to the resignation of Daniel Gordon from the race. Hubbell-Staeble will be running against Republican State Rep. Theresa Gavarone.
“Aidan brings innovative ideas, proven leadership abilities and would be a great representative for us down in Columbus,” stated Mike Zickar, Wood County Democratic Party chairperson.
Hubbell-Staeble is a lifelong Bowling Green resident and former president of the Bowling Green State University College Democrats. A member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union through the Kroger Company, he is completing a bachelor’s degree in political science and philosophy at Bowling Green State University.
Aidan Hubbell-Staeble
His work in the community includes annually volunteering for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Bowling Green and coaching an indoor youth soccer team.
“I’m excited for this opportunity and pledge to earn Wood County voters’ trust and to never be a rubber stamp,” said Mr. Hubbell-Staeble. “Our legislature could do a better job planning for the future of our state, and I’m looking forward to working very hard in a bipartisan way to make this vision a reality.”
Hubbell-Staeble’s platform includes a focus on affordable quality housing to attract young families, supporting Medicaid expansion and increasing oversight of for-profit charter schools.
“I believe that our state legislative body should be representative of our citizens,” said Hubbell-Staeble. “We don’t need more business owners or more lawyers, we need more people with a stake in how our government is run.”
Hubbell-Staeble is getting in the race late, taking over after Gordon withdrew from the race earlier this year.
“I’ll have to work for every vote I get,” he said.
Though young, Hubbell-Staeble has years of experience in political campaigns and issues.
“I’ve been volunteering for campaigns that I believe in for years,” he said.
His first effort to have an impact was his involvement in the One BG Campaign when he was just 13 years old. That campaign defended anti-discrimination ordinances in Bowling Green.
Since then, Hubbell-Staeble has campaigned and collected signatures for Democratic candidates like Barack Obama, Ted Strickland and Kelly Wicks. Most recently, he was working on the campaign for Mike Galbraith, who is running for Congress.
“I’m not the kind of person people are used to running,” Hubbell-Staeble said. “I’m not a business owner. I’m not a lawyer.”
His life experiences so far have helped form his political viewpoints.
One of those believes is in affordable health care. Hubbell-Staeble said his mom had cancer, and his family had to file bankruptcy due to medical costs.
Another belief is in living wages. At his present job at Kroger, he works with a man who cannot support his family on his paychecks.
“I just don’t believe people should have to work all day, every day, and still be poor,” he said.
And another is affordable housing. Hubbell-Staeble said it took months to find an acceptable home in Bowling Green.
“Finding something that wasn’t pretty decrepit was way harder than it should have been,” he said.
