Gerrymandered districts let politicians ignore rural voters
A common notion about gerrymandering here in Ohio is that, as practiced by the party currently in power in Ohio, it gives rural voters (because they tend to lean Republican) disproportionate influence at the expense of Democrat-leaning urban voters. As a lifelong rural resident and Ohio farmer, I can tell you that Ohio’s distorted districts aren’t working for my community, either.
In my 30 years of policy and advocacy work, I’ve seen the needs and interests of family farmers ignored, time after time, by state and federal officeholders. Why are politicians able to do this and still get re-elected? Because their gerrymandered districts pretty much guarantee that the nominee for the party that did the gerrymandering will win. And with so little competition in general elections, the most extreme candidates are free to serve ideological agendas and/or their biggest financial contributors with little thought for the people they’re supposed to represent.
Two issues on which I’ve worked for years illustrate the problem. One is the need for a law mandating “country of origin labeling,” or COOL, for agricultural products. While just about every sweater, dish or pair of shoes we buy clearly indicates the country where it was made, the same isn’t true for much of the food, especially beef and pork, imported to the U.S.
Almost all the beef consumed by Americans – 85% – is processed by one of four giant transnational corporations. The biggest of these, JBS, is based in Brazil and buys much of its cattle from there and other countries outside the U.S. But because we don’t require accurate country-of-origin labeling, the meat, once it’s processed, is packaged and labeled as a U.S. product.
The market dominance and pricing power of these conglomerates hurts the ability of U.S. beef or pork producers to command a good price for their product and robs consumers of the chance to express their confidence in domestic production by choosing U.S.raised meat.
Another issue on which farmers’ interests have been ignored by their supposed representatives is known as “right to repair.” It affects consumers of all types of tech products: Manufacturers refuse to share the software needed to fix their products, forcing consumers to deal with a limited number of “authorized” shops or – perhaps the real goal – to junk the old phone or computer and buy a new one.
This is frustrating enough for ordinary consumers, but for a farmer in the short window of harvest time dealing with a breakdown of a half-million-dollar piece of equipment like a tractor or combine, it can be devastating. Large ag conglomerates are buying farm-implement dealerships and underpaying employees, creating a severe shortage of repair techs authorized to work on certain types of equipment.
In years past, I could have gone to any number of independent mechanics within 10 miles of my farm for immediate service. Now, with farm machinery loaded with proprietary technology, I’m beholden to an understaffed corporation that may or may not get to me in time to save my harvest.
Right-to-repair bills have been introduced in the Ohio General Assembly with little success.
One called the Digital Fair Repair Act has been sitting in an Ohio Senate committee for nearly a year with no hearings or vote. And even if senators do act, it won’t help farmers; lobbyists for manufacturers already have persuaded sponsors to strip agricultural equipment from the bill.
This is a mark of an unhealthy democracy, and I strongly support the Citizens Not Politicians effort to bring real redistricting reform. The centerpiece of CNP’s proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution is a truly independent, 15-member commission with equal representation by people who align with the two leading parties and those with no party affiliation. The commission won’t include current or former politicians, party officials or lobbyists, and it will be required to operate in the open.
Our democracy is challenged on many fronts, but one we can do something about is the way we create districts. I believe the CNP amendment is Ohioans’ best chance yet to achieve the true democracy we deserve. For voters in rural Ohio, it could bring the first truly responsive representation we’ve had in decades.