XENIA — Incumbent Mike Turner is being challenged by Democrat Theresa Gasper and Libertarian David Harlow in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District. The 10th District includes Montgomery and Greene counties, as well as a portion of Fayette County.
Below are the answers to Greene County News contested race questions:
Theresa Ann Gasper
Date of birth: Feb. 10, 1961
Why are you the right candidate for this seat?
“I became a candidate for Congress because I care too much to sit on the sidelines. I am a fourth-generation Daytonian and local small business owner. I am running because we deserve a representative who understands the challenges we face and will work to raise wages, lower health-care costs, and create more local good-paying jobs.
Around here, workers used to make $30 an hour at GM; now, folks are lucky if they make half of that at Fuyao. We need a representative who is actually present in the district and cares about the voters, instead of his corporate donors.
I have worked to make my community a better place to live, work and raise a family by reinvesting in and renovating homes that have fallen into disrepair after the foreclosure crisis through my company, Full Circle Development. We need leaders with the courage to fight for us in DC, and that’s what I am prepared to do.”
What is the most important issue facing this office going forward and what solutions do you have to offer voters for this issue?
“The problems we face trace back to the lack of opportunities for working people, specifically a great need for good-paying, middle-class jobs, access to affordable health care and treatment, and reforms to even the playing field between corporations and workers. We must invest in continuing skills training and work-force development programs in our colleges and universities, encouraging businesses and workers to settle down locally. On health care, we need to incentivize marketplace competition to keep costs down.
Small businesses have to be able to enroll their employees without taking on huge cost increases. And I would advocate for federal policies that would hold pharmaceutical companies liable for the addictive and harmful substances in prescription drugs, as well as increase state funding and infrastructure for treatment and recovery.
Lastly, we have to support and maintain workers’ right to unionize and collective bargaining and raise the federal minimum wage and tipped minimum wage. In conjunction, we should close loopholes that allow corporate abuse and corporations to ship jobs overseas, undoing the harmful provisions previously passed through Congress as part of the recent Republican tax bill.”
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David A. Harlow
David Harlow is a retired chemical engineer and worked for EFTEC for nearly 30 years. He is the director of the Miami Valley Libertarians of Facebook and director of Dayvest (Dayton Volunteer Employment Team.)
He has a wife, son, daughter and granddaughter and earned his bachelor of arts in chemistry from Antioch College in 1970 and master of science in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton in 1989.
This newspaper did not receive Harlow’s candidate biography form back by press time.
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Mike Turner
Date of birth: Jan. 11, 1960
Why are you the right candidate for this seat?
“I’m running for re-election because as mayor of Dayton and now as congressman, my prime focus has always been advocating for our community. The community has real results from my work. From the Schuster Center, baseball stadium, and Riverscape, to the strength and growth at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the new jobs at Fuyao, I have played an integral and important leadership role in our community’s successes. I appreciate the honor to fight for Southwest Ohioans in Washington and further promote the growth of our region.”
What is the most important issue facing this office going forward and what solutions do you have to offer voters for this issue?
“The biggest issues facing our country are national security, the economy, and the opioid epidemic. Since I’ve been in Congress, approximately 10,000 jobs have been added at Wright-Patt. The work done at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base plays a critical role in keeping our country safe, which is why I continue to advocate for the missions at WPAFB.
In the past five years, local defense companies have seen a nearly 60 percent increase in Air Force contracts, which means even more jobs in our region. In addition, I have been fighting the opioid epidemic in Southwest Ohio since 2013 and have passed legislation to increase prevention efforts and treatment options.“
