The Athens County Democratic Party held its annual Spring Dinner on Saturday at The American Legion, 520 W Union St., where about 150 people raised approximately $15,000 for the party.
The attendees included state Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Athens, and keynote speaker Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who will presumably be the party’s nominee against Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, in the November election.
In addition to raising money for the party, the event introduced some of the local politicians who would be running for office.
In his speech, FitzGerald said that Ohio needed a governor who was more representative of the people and that Kasich’s depiction of a “miracle” economy in Ohio was a myth.
“Nobody that’s in touch with the real world would ever say the economy in Ohio is a miracle,” he said. “If you’re interacting with a very small group of people who are doing very well because the stock market has doubled in the last few years, then it might seem like a miracle to you, but… if you really represent your constituents and you know what they’re going through, you would never say that.”
FitzGerald also advocated for public education reform that would place more emphasis on students’ individual needs rather than national standards and argued against increasing privatization of services such as prisons.
“We have a lot of really big state elections,” said Caitlin Roberts, an OU senior and President of OU College Democrats. “I’m really excited to see how they turn out.”
After his speech, FitzGerald said that he appreciated the contrast of cultures in Athens and that the region would be a key to Democratic success in the fall elections.
“It has a unique relationship between the college and the town, “ FitzGerald said. “The citizens in this community are very issue-oriented and very well-informed on the issues and engaged.”
Phillips took the opportunity to throw her support behind FitzGerald.
“I don’t think that anyone thinks this is going to be a wave year,” she said. “I think it’s really going to be about who’s going to get out there and do the work and listen to people.”
In addition to ticket sales, the event raised funds through a live auction of various baked goods, a silent auction of items donated by candidates and officeholders, and a 50-50 raffle. People also were given the opportunity to sign up as volunteers for some of the candidates’ campaigns.
“We’ve had a pretty packed house,” said Kathy Hecht, chair of the Athens County Democratic Party and Athens city auditor. “People have been very supportive. We had a lot of people who don’t typically come and I hope that they get more involved.”
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