Local congressional candidate meets community at town hall
DAYTON — Those questioning whether their vote counts, Theresa Gasper said, should look to Ohio 12th Congressional District election in August.
That’s when Republican Troy Balderson edged Democrat Danny O’Connor by nearly 1,600 votes out of about 203,000 cast for the open seat.
“If three more people per precinct would have voted (for O’Connor) he would have won,” Gasper said Saturday at a town hall meeting at Omega Baptist Church in Dayton. “Two point six (more voters per precinct) and he would have tied. OK?”
Gasper, a Beavercreek Democrat, is seeking in November to be elected to the 10th Congressional seat held by Dayton Republican Mike Turner, who has served in Washington since being elected in 2002, when the former Dayton mayor was elected after longtime Democrat Tony Hall retired.
Gasper also cited two presidential campaigns in which Democrats came up short — the 2000 race and the 2016 contest — in stressing the importance of voting.
“So your vote matters,” she said.
About 60 people attended the town hall forum, which touched on topics ranging from income inequality, the closing of Good Samaritan Hospital and the future of health care, and ways to improve Dayton Public Schools to other issues such as how best to revitalize west Dayton and improve relations between minorities and police.
One Democratic ward leader told Gasper “one very big problem” involving “the black community” needs to be addressed.
“We are that community who votes for the Democratic Party nationally – and probably statewide and even locally – who vote for the Democratic Party at the highest rate than any other group,” he said. “But the Democratic Party comes and asks us for our vote when it’s time for the elections and then you forget about us when it’s time for issues.”
A round of applause followed.
The forum was part of “a listening tour,” Gasper said.
“I feel like too many of the people are feeling unheard, they’re feeling ignored, they’re feeling invisible – quite honestly,” she said. “So my point is to do less talking and more listening to find out what their concerns are. I have no intentions of coming in here and pretend like I have the answers to all of their questions.”