By Dani Kington
Athens City Council member Micah McCarey will run for Ohio House District 95 after the Democratic Party nominated him to succeed Lish Greiner, who withdrew from the race.
McCarey to challenge Republican incumbent Don Jones (R-Freeport).
Finding a candidate
Athens County Democratic Party Chairwoman Lauren Dikis said she and other party officials in the county have begun searching for a successor Greiner in delayed April, after Greiner notified the party of her intention to withdraw from the race.
Dikis said the party “conducted an extensive effort” to select candidates, though McCarey was the only person to file.
McCarey said he thought he would be a good candidate to replace Greiner, in part because of his leadership experience, including on the Athens City Council.
Dikis said she was “personally thrilled and also as our party chair, thrilled that Micah has decided to run for office,” describing him as “an incredible public servant.”
Greiner said in a Facebook message: “I am thrilled to have retained my spot on the Democratic ticket. If I had not filed my petition to run when I did, it would have been a close race with only an incumbent Republican on the ticket. I am incredibly excited about Micah’s campaign. I can’t wait to support him and get involved in his campaign!”
McCarey vs. Jones
McCarey said his priorities in the statehouse will include “funding high-quality programs” in the areas of education, the environment, the environment and economic development.
McCarey said his focus on education will be ensuring “that teachers themselves are heard about the resources they need to help their students” and ensuring funding for those resources.
Jones had a background in education and miniature business, having taught agriculture in Harrison County for more than two decades.
“I fight for education almost every day, so I don’t understand what else they are looking for,” Jones told the Independent.
Most recently in the field of education, Jones has served as a major sponsor Ohio House Bill 432which passed the Ohio House this month with bipartisan support. The bill makes it easier for individuals to become licensed career and technical education educators.
Last year, he was the lead sponsor of House Bill 12, which proposed sweeping changes to the Ohio Department of Education. While the bill stalled in committee, the state’s two-year budget absorbed her proposal to create Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. He was also the prime sponsor of House Bill 103 in committee, which establishes social studies standards in Ohio based on “American Birthright,” which National Council for the Social Studies says: “use outdated language, have clear political motives, and promote content and approaches to social studies and history education that are not consistent with those recommended by experts in the social studies content areas.”
On the environment, McCarey said he would emphasize better environmental protection, particularly as it relates to drinking water. McCarey said he learned about the importance of high-quality water infrastructure in part through chairing the Athens City Council’s Municipal Services and Safety Committee, where he saw technological improvements to the city’s water treatment plant.
McCarey said he would focus on “just making sure we have the technologies in place and funding communities that don’t already have the technology to protect our drinking water sources from contamination.
McCarey said environmental protections in state law are necessary to ensure residents have unthreatening drinking water.
Jones said: “When it comes to caring for the environment, I don’t think my decisions were reckless.”
The Ohio House of Representatives is currently considering Jones bill bill to provide state-guaranteed loans and property tax exemptions for in-state gas pipelines.
Oil and gas incidents are common in Ohio: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources investigated 1,500 incidents over the same period, from 2018 to early September 2023; 26 of those occurred in Athens County. ODNR also recently shut down fracking injection wells in eastern Athens County due to concerns about local drinking water.
In the area of economic development, McCarey emphasized broadband infrastructure, as did Jones in previous interview with The Independent.
McCarey said, “I want to invest in strategic plans” to give different communities “a sense of the economic development opportunities they are pursuing, where they are running into trouble and how state legislation can help them overcome those challenges.”
But Jones said his focus on economic development would be workforce development because “we have more jobs than people to take them.”
In addition to the priority areas, McCarey said he would focus on human rights, particularly the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and the right to bodily autonomy.
McCarey is the director of Ohio University’s Pride Center and has served in other leadership roles in initiatives related to LGBTQ+ communities, which he says reflects the priorities he believes the state Legislature should have.
“I’ve heard a lot of citizen concerns about LGBTQ protections and bodily autonomy,” he said. He specifically addressed concerns about access to gender-affirming health care and dynamic support for existing protections like marriage equality.
McCarey also said he recently received a scholarship from LGBTQ+ Victory Institutethat supports LGBTQ+ leaders in public service.
Jones said he and McCarey can “agree to disagree” on LGBTQ+ issues.
“My votes reflect my position,” Jones said.
Jones has record supporting socially conservative legislation; for example, he co-sponsored House Bill 68, which prohibits transgender girls from participating in women’s sports and prohibits gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The implementation of the bill is currently blocked by court order, until the legal dispute is resolved.
Ohio restricts transgender rights
Jones said, “I think I represented my district pretty well.”
He urged voters to consider his legislative record, including recent bills he sponsored that have reached the Ohio House of Representatives: the aforementioned teacher licensing and gas pipeline bills, and Bill restrictive activities related to feral pigs.
McCarey also asked voters to take his experience into consideration.
In a press release announcing his campaign, McCarey referenced leadership experiences such as completing the Athens County Foundation’s Leadership Athens Program, the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service’s Leading in Appalachia training program, and his work with the Strong Cities Network, which combats extremism and polarization.
In his press release, McCarey’s campaign also noted his work on the Athens City Council, citing “legislation regarding the planning, design and construction of a new Athens Fire Department headquarters and the adoption of legislation expanding local protections against discrimination based on hairstyle or texture.”
Ohio’s 95th District election will be held on November 5. To participate without using an absentee or provisional ballot, Ohioans must register to vote by October 7. Voters can register online. 🔥
