MiltonNews DAILY – The Miami County Republican Party Convention took place today, Sunday March 21st, from 2pm – 5:30pm at the Milton-Union High School gymnasium. The convention was preceded by a lunch that started at 12pm and allowed the delegates the chance to break bread with the candidates and speak with them candidly about the issues that are important to us all as residents of Miami County, Ohio and the United States of America. The Miami County Republican Party Convention is modeled after the Republican Nation Convention. It allows 500 ordinary citizens of Miami County the opportunity to determine the best person for each office up for election.
The invocation was given by Fr. John MacQuarrie, pastor of The Church of the Transfiguration in West Milton. He began by stressing the importance of the support needed to defeat the Health Care vote currently going on in Washington in the US House of Representatives. State Representative Richard Adams recognized several people for their 25+ years of support of the Miami County Republican Central Committee and the William M. McCulloch award was presented to Raymond L. Landis. The Milton-Union High School Band, under the direction of Mr. Duncan, was present to provide music for the event.
One of the main themes of the convention that became clear as I spoke with the delegates and candidates, and then listened to the speeches, was the Heath Care vote that was taking place in Washington today. Congressman John Boehner was scheduled to speak in person but was unable to do so as he felt his place was to be in Washington leading the last minute efforts to help destroy the “ObamaCare” Bill, as it was called numerous times by Ohio Attorney General Candidate Mike Dewine. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Mr. Dewine for a few moments and he told me “If the Obama Heath Care Bill passes, as Attorney General I will file a suit challenging the constitutionality of the bill.” Dewine is running uncontested in November against Richard Cordray.
Congressman Boehner was able to “attend” via a live Skype feed and delivered a speech which called the Health Care Bill an “unconstitutional train wreck.” He stated that we also need to curb spending and control taxes while creating a smaller, more accountable government. Boehner won the endorsement of the Miami County delegates receiving 346 votes over his opponents Tom McMasters and Manfred Schreyer, who received 1 vote and 21 votes respectively. Delegate Logan Rogers stated “As much as we miss John Boehner’s presence here, we are glad he is in Washington taking care of more important issues.”
Tipp City’s own Bill Beagle won the support of Miami County with a vote of 254 to 114 over his opponent. He spoke of the need to “live within our means, get our kids a great education and stop putting off the tough decisions that have to be made”.
Judge Mike Hall also won the votes of the delegates with a count of 276 to 92. He told me he has 10 years experience trying criminal cases and has presided over 25 murder cases and over 4000 felony cases in Montgomery County. He was excited to be in West Milton and to see the great turn out and support for the Republican candidates. He is running for the 2nd District Court of Appeals nomination against Judge George Reynolds. He humbly accepted the endorsement and promised the crowd that he “will make you proud of me”.
State Auditor candidates Dave Yost and Seth Morgan both gave inspiring speeches before the roll-call vote determined who would receive the Miami County endorsement. Mr. Yost told me he wants to “change Ohio because we are going in the wrong direction” and he wants to be a mentor to all county auditors. Seth Morgan comes from a conservative Christian family and stated that his wife Deborah has reminded him numerous times that “it’s not your fellow council members that elected you, it’s the people” and that he will keep that in the forefront of his mind while working in Columbus. Mr. Morgan was declared the winner of the vote right before the convention was adjourned. He accepted the endorsement stating, “We have a lot of work to do.”
I also had the opportunity to speak with Senator Jon Husted who is running uncontested for Secretary of State. He is from Kettering and is running because he believes Ohio can be better. The Secretary of State is also the Chief Elections Officer. He has promised the citizens of Miami County and Ohio that if elected he will “not let ACORN or anyone else come into our state and ruin our election”. He believes in “preserving the integrity and honesty of our elections to help restore the American people’s confidence in the system”.
The Republican candidates are off to a running start for the November election and are ready to help change the direction of Ohio and America. The delegates left the Convention with a true sense that the issues at hand, including healthcare, taxes and the needs of small business owners, will be dealt with by competent men and women who are fighting for and will continue to fight for the people of our great state and more importantly our great nation.
