Democrats Rally at Annual Dinner in Belmont County
With less than three weeks left until the Nov. 8 general election, Belmont County Democrats gathered for their annual dinner Thursday evening.
Local and state Democrats were given a chance to stump for their own or another’s campaign. Many candidates addressed the presidential race during their time at the podium, attacking Republican Donald Trump for his “derogatory comments” and urging support for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“It’s clear who the better candidate is,” said Ohio Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire.
Incumbent Ohio Sen. Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, opposed by U.S. Navy SEAL and entrepreneur Frank Hoagland, served as keynote speaker for the event. Cera and Sen. Joe Schiavoni, D-Boardman, took turns introducing Gentile.
Cera railed against campaign ads that portray Gentile as anti-coal, and attacked Republican policies on charter schools, tax exemptions for seniors and unemployment compensation.
“To say that Lou Gentile is against coal is just ridiculous. How anybody can think that somebody who grew up in this area would want to see people, their friends and neighbors lose their job, is just plain stupid,” said Cera. “It’s a matter of fairness not to give away tax dollars to the wealthy but to make sure that working families are provided a tax policy that helps them raise a family, and that’s why we need Lou Gentile in the Senate.”
After saying a few words about his support for former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Schiavoni spoke about the need to bring the Democratic voice to Columbus to oppose the agenda of Republicans there.
“They (Republicans) attack him every day in Columbus in order to prepare for this election so they can take him out. … He combats that with traits that everybody would want their son to have: truthfulness, respectfulness and hard work. He’s respectful even when they’re being disrespectful,” said Schiavoni.
After taking the podium, Gentile recognized veterans in the room, thanked the United Mine Workers of America for their endorsement and began making his case for why he should be re-elected. He condemned what he called “rhetoric about coal” coming from Republicans.
“When we talk about coal, what we really mean is that we’re going to fight for the men and women who mine that coal. We’re going to make sure they have good wages, good pensions, good health care, and when they come out of that mine and decide to retire, they’ve got good benefits that they’ve earned and deserve,” said Gentile.
Gentile denounced efforts to make Ohio a right-to-work state, and promised to fight against that effort. He said he would fight to bring good-paying jobs to the area and insist on a “build here, hire here” policy. He insisted the state needs to fund and prioritize public schools, and hold charter and online schools accountable.
He emphasized the need to help veterans and seniors with tax credits and exemptions and to keep oil and gas revenue in the counties that produce the resources.
Favede, who is vacating her seat as commissioner and opposing Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, for his seat in the Ohio General Assembly, said she was very pleased with the event.
“It was a wonderful evening, a packed house. … It’s a huge election for us on so many different levels and it’s exciting to see people coming out and being engaged and involved,” said Favede.
COMMENTS