As activists working to protect Athens County from a possibly imminent onslaught of industrialized shale oil extraction, we wholeheartedly endorse Mike O’Brien for county commissioner. Mike is the only candidate who has taken strong and clear leadership on this issue. He sought out the views and concerns of community members working on this issue, visited and wrote about Wetzel County, and called “for a statewide moratorium until a full study of its effects on the environment and human health has been conducted.” He has been working with a legal team researching ways in which the County Commission can take proactive protective measures.
Mike has taken strong and clear positions, from “fracking” to LGBT rights to a no-kill dog shelter, which will allow his constituents to hold him accountable. Mike opposes logging and drilling on state and federal public lands. Mike opposed the weakening of the county resolution by commissioners insisting on unanimity. He states that “some issues are just so important that you just have to take a stand and act.”
Mike has a background in manufacturing and business as a job skills trainer, local business owner, and former member of SEIU. He has been an active community volunteer and organizer, working to repeal Senate Bill 5, and serving as a 2008 Democratic National Convention delegate, member of the Commission on Religion in Appalachia Hurricane Mitch Assessment Team, and a Neighbors Helping Neighbors board member. (http://www.athenscountyvotes.org/)
If you have any questions, please call Mike (592-6261).
We urge those who seek a strong progressive and environmental presence on the commission to vote for Mike O’Brien on March 6.
Heather Cantino resides in Athens, Nancy Pierce resides in Guysville and Roxanne Groff resides in Amesville.
