By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As a physician treating leukemia patients, Bryan Hambley is troubled by an inhumane health care system and a state government unwilling to make it right.
So last year, when Ohio citizens tried again to rid the state of gerrymandered districts, Hambley organized medical professionals across the state to fight back and join the “Citizens Not Politicians” movement.
When that attempt failed, Hambley decided to take his efforts to the next level and run as the Democratic candidate for secretary of state. On Friday afternoon, he stopped by Grounds for Thought in Bowling Green to meet with BG Mayor Mike Aspacher and local citizens.
“We have to create fair districts in Ohio,” Hambley said.
To do that, Ohio needs a secretary of state who will rule fairly as a member of the redistricting commission, and guarantee accurate language on state ballot issues, Hambley said. That’s been missing in Ohio, he added.
The secretary of state is the tie-breaker on the state’s redistricting commission, made up of an even number of Democrats and Republicans. In recent years, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose has consistently ruled for maps that continue to favor Republicans.
The secretary of state also approves the ballot language for statewide issues. Hambley attributes the loss of last year’s redistricting effort to the “confusing and dishonest ballot language.”
In the past, it was the job of conservative or liberal secretaries of state to write clear and concise ballot language, he said. “It was not used as a political weapon,” Hambley said.
Hambley is also concerned about preserving voters’ rights in Ohio. He objects to efforts to limit or eliminate ballot boxes in all counties.
“This just adds more hurdles to people voting,” he said. “It should be easy for people to vote.”
He also opposes changes to voter registration rules that will make it more difficult for citizens to vote.
“Everyone agrees we need accurate voting rolls,” but the proposed changes disadvantage people who tend to be Democrats, he said. “This will make it harder for certain people to vote – especially women who change their names when they marry. That’s a bad idea.”
Hambley supports the creation of an “independent redistricting commission” proposed by the League of Women Voters as a fair way to create balanced districts. Such commissions are used successfully in other states.
“This isn’t pie in the sky,” he said.
Hambley knows he faces an uphill battle, trying to unseat a Republican in Ohio. So far this year, he has made 95 campaign stops in the state, lodging with supporters along the way.
“We think we have to meet people where they’re at,” he said. That means talking to potential voters in state parks, coffee shops and backyard barbecues.
Hambley, age 40, is younger than most state candidates in Ohio. And as a physician, he has no political experience.
What he does have is experience with systemic problems in health care that will be exacerbated by continued disregard by politicians of gerrymandered districts.
He’s seen how outrageous health care costs are bankrupting families, health insurance denials are delaying urgent chemotherapy, and rural hospitals and nursing homes are closing and leaving communities without quality care.
“And yet, Ohio’s government has been silent on these and other vital issues. A rigged and unresponsive legislature prioritizes politicians over citizens,” Hambley said.
Gerrymandering leads to an unresponsive government, he said.
“I care a lot. I’m worried about the direction we’re going in,” Hambley said. “I worry a lot about the rhetoric” and about the state budget cuts hitting those most in need. “That budget is going to hurt a lot of people.”
