LATTA SAYS HE KNOWS WHAT HIS CONSTITUENTS WANT
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, says he does not need to hold town halls to know what is going on in his district.
He attends fish fries and pancake breakfasts, visits management at manufacturing plants, and holds multiple “tele town halls” a year.
“I know exactly what goes on in the district,” Latta said last week in a phone interview after he did not attend a candidate round table in Wood County earlier this month.
“By being out in the communities, you get a very good pulse of what is out there,” he said.
Latta, who is in his 10th term representing the 5th District, said he signs every letter that goes out from his office, and gets a rundown on all the phone calls to his office in the district and Washington, D.C. The telephone town halls, he said, provide him with a good grasp on how his constituents are feeling.
“We try to get as many people answered,” he said. When asked if he might hear different opinions if questions weren’t vetted, Latta replied, “No, I don’t think so.”
Latta had a difficult time identifying the top five concerns of his constituents, beyond energy issues.
Serving on the House energy and commerce committee for the last 16 years, he talked about the need for more energy, and continued reduction in permitting requirements, he said.
“We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to get the costs as low as possible,” he said.
Latta acknowledged the burden due to high diesel fuel prices, especially on agriculture and trucking industries. He placed the blame on Ukraine’s striking of Russian refineries – a claim made by President Donald Trump.
When asked about the impact on fuel prices from the U.S. war with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Latta said that is no longer an issue, with 80% of the oil now passing through the strait.
However, last week Reuters news service reported that shipping data showed the number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to the lowest in more than two months after attacks on tankers in the key waterway reached their highest last week since the start of the war. Crude crossing the strait fell 27% from a wartime high the week before, analysts said.
Latta said he hasn’t heard concerns about tariffs from his constituents in the past month.
“Some people like tariffs, and some people don’t think they’re helpful,” he said.
Ohio has shouldered an estimated $11 billion in tariff costs from President Trump’s trade actions since the start of 2025, the ninth-highest state. That’s equivalent to $2,274 per Ohio household, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation data.
About 75% of that affected raw materials, parts, and equipment that Ohio manufacturers buy, and the hardest-hit category is auto parts at $1.5 billion, according to estimates prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Latta refuted the criticism that Congress has relinquished its duty of providing checks and balances on the nation’s executive office. When asked about the trickle of legislation passed by Congress this year, he blamed the U.S. Senate, which has the “tightest margin in history.”
Latta, who has always been a fiscal conservative since his time as a Wood County commissioner, acknowledged the nation’s mounting debt. At the end of the Biden administration, the debt was at $29 trillion. It has now mushroomed to $40 trillion.
But Latta found no fault with the Trump administration’s spending, including some projects that critics find as frivolous, such as the $600 million ballroom at the White House. Latta said it is his understanding that private funds, not federal funds, will pay for that project.
SHAVER WANTS TO BRING BACK CHECKS AND BALANCES
By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
After teaching history and government for more than two decades, Brian Shaver is dismayed by the state of his country. So he is running as the Democratic challenger for Ohio’s 5th District.
“We have a federal government that is no longer working for the people,” Shaver said.
And that includes his opponent, incumbent Bob Latta, who has gone more than 4,000 days without holding an in-person town hall to gather input from residents of his district, he said.
“I’ve watched Bob Latta not be there for his constituents,” voting 100% along party lines, and giving away the “power of the purse” which was intended to rest with the House, Shaver said.
Shaver’s list of concerns is long – the gutting of the U.S. Department of Education, the “Big Beautiful Bill” that bestowed tax cuts on the rich at the expense of average Americans, the lack of affordability, and loss of leadership in Washington, D.C.
But his biggest worry is more basic.
“My No. 1 priority is to make sure we are following the Constitution,” said Shaver, who has taught his students about the founding document for years. “I do feel our nation is in peril.”
Unlike his opponent, Shaver said he has a “servant mindset.” While in high school, he worked at a retirement home as a dishwasher and meal server. He has been a classroom teacher in Fostoria for 27 years, where he has also served as a representative of the educators’ union.
Shaver has served 13 years on Fostoria City Council, with four years as president. And he is a member of the community’s Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce.
The Democrat is critical of Latta’s failure to hold town halls.
“He shows up in safe environments,” Shaver said of his opponent. “He says literally nothing about the president. He follows all the Republican rhetoric. He’s just trying to keep his job.”
Shaver sees the job differently.
“I’ll work toward serving the American people,” he said. “We really need to restore the trust of the people.”
Shaver believes Congress needs a refresher course on exactly what the Constitution says.
He advocates for changes such as campaign finance reform, term limits, support for public education, stronger checks and balances, transparency in legislation, and clear guardrails to prevent elected officials from profiting from their positions.
Shaver believes the Big Beautiful Bill should be rescinded to prevent more citizens from losing SNAP benefits, Medicaid and ultimately the closing of rural hospitals.
And he believes elected officials must put people before party, and should be committed to the three “A”s – affordability, accountability and availability.
Shaver said he believes the experts who are warning that AI technology is moving too quickly. He noted the stat that 70% of Ohioans are against the way data centers are coming into the state. And he argued that data centers are not true economic development. Once construction is over, the centers will offer very few jobs, putting profit over people and the environment.
Shaver also shared some of his other priorities:
- Getting insurance companies out of doctors’ offices. Health care should not be dictated by insurance firms, he said.
- Cracking down on members of Congress making money on investments, “which is a violation of the Constitution.”
- Passing bills for veterans that have been languishing in Congress.
- Working on single-issue bills, rather than throwing numerous unrelated issues into one piece of legislation.
- Teaching the real U.S. Constitution – which gives every person living in this country the rights mentioned in the document, except for the two rights reserved for citizens – voting and running for office.
