Congressman shares life story, discusses current events at town hall

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, was in town Friday morning for a town hall and lunch event at the Ironton Senior Center.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” the congressman said as he addressed the group of about 25 people. “My mother turns 84 this year, and if you want to talk about someone keeping me in line…”

The event was conducted informally, and Johnson said, since he was not sure what to expect, he would start by telling them about his background.

Johnson was born in Roseboro, North Carolina and grew up on his grandfather’s family farm, where he said there was no indoor plumbing and they had to plow the field with mules.

“People would always ask ‘Why don’t you borrow a tractor?’” he said. “And we would tell them ‘You don’t understand. We had to borrow the mules.’”

Johnson said that working on the farm helped to instill values in him.

“Every day was a work day, and every day was a survival day,” he said, stating the family had to get the chores done in order to eat.

Johnson joked that as a child, he was the manager of a rural utility.

“I had to make a sure the coal bucket on the back porch was full, and I had to take care of the wood pile,” he said.

Following his graduation from high school, Johnson entered the U.S. Air Force. He said the experience made up for the lack of his father growing up.

“I wouldn’t trade a million dollars for a single day of my service,” he said. “The absence of a fatherly role was replaced by men of character.”

He served in the Air Force for 26 and a half years, and said he still has his uniforms in the closet.

“Can you still wear them,” one of the women asked him.

“I can — well, most of them,” he said, stating he kept them to remind him of where he came from.

Johnson then told the group about his work as a self-employed consultant and his marriage of 12 years to his second wife, LeeAnn, with whom he has a 12-year-old son.

Johnson said he first met her shortly after his divorce while both were working in a church production, he as a singer, and she as a dancer.

While the two became friends, she was engaged at the time, and it was not until, several years later, when she was single again, and after both had moved around the country a few times, that he was able to reconnect and convince her to meet with him, where he proposed to her.

Johnson said his wife recently accompanied him when he met with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whom he has endorsed.

He said that he approached Trump before a rally, offering him advice on the campaign, and that the real estate tycoon pulled three chairs aside, where he talked with the Johnson’s about the campaign and issues facing Ohio.

Johnson said that, prior to the meeting, his wife was not a fan of Trump, but, after the talk, she was convinced he was “a totally different guy” then she had expected and was won over.

“The Donald Trump you see on TV is not the Donald Trump you meet in person,” Johnson said. “He’s engaging and personable.”

He said Trump represents “a unique opportunity” for the U.S., being the first major candidate to be nominated who is an outsider without a history in either politics or the military.

It was at this point that one of the seniors near Johnson, Carolyn Schmeisser, of Ironton, interjected, wanting to know why the candidate has a history of making controversial comments.

Johnson said one reason Trump employs such a style on the stump is because he has “such disdain for the media,” who Johnson said are “out of control” and tell the public what is important, what to think and who to vote for.

“He says a lot of things that are crazy to me, too, but he is an expert at stealing headlines,” Johnson said.

Schmeisser jumped in again, asking “But do we need that?”

Johnson again said that Trump comes off much differently one on one.

“The guy you meet in person or in the boardroom is not who you see on TV,” he said, and asked the group to consider the political leaders Trump has surrounded himself with such as former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who he said were capable and would advise him as president.

Johnson praised Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, whom he said is a “close friend” who was one of the first major names to back his first run for Congress in 2010.

The discussion then turned to the perception of gridlock in Washington, and Schmeisser asked why one party, the Republicans, “blocks everything.”

Johnson said this is not necessarily the case, and pointed to legislation, such as the effort to keep the Guantanamo Bay detention camp open, which was passed and signed by the president.

He said that obstruction runs both ways and said that the Republican House has passed several bills which were not considered for a vote by the Senate, when it was headed by Majority Leader Harry Reid while Democrats controlled the chamber prior to 2015.

He then brought up legislation aimed at combatting the Zika virus, which he said Democrats in the Senate “refuse to support.”

A House version of the legislation has been passed, but it has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats object to provisions added by Republicans regarding issues, which they said are aimed at restricting Planned Parenthood and cutting financing from the Affordable Care Act.

Johnson urged people to contact Ohio’s Democratic U.S. senator, Sherrod Brown about the impasse.

Schmeisser mentioned the economic crash of 2008, stating that when President Bill Clinton left office in 2001, the country was “in good shape” and that recession began under his Republican successor, George W. Bush.

Johnson said that the policies that led to the crash had their roots in the Clinton years, and that the crash came about following an “eight-year lag.”

Johnson said that while there is gridlock and that the nation has “an imperfect system, but the best system on the planet.”

He offered his view on the polarization in the country and said that Americans are divided because they no longer have a shared purpose.

Johnson said that from the founding of the country until the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, which led the U.S. into World War I, Americans saw themselves as “Ohioans first” or “Virginians” first.

He said the view of having a common enemy in the two World Wars united Americans, which lasted through the Cold War, but the nation has fractured since.

“We’ve taken our eyes off what it is to be Americans first,” he said.

As the talk wrapped up, Schmeisser asked Johnson why Trump has not released his tax returns to the public.

“I don’t know – the same reason Hillary Clinton won’t release her emails,” he said, which drew laughter and applause from many in the room.

Johnson then suggested that they start the meal, concluding by telling the seniors, “Your generation has a lot to teach us. Don’t stop sharing your voice.”

He then led the gathering in the Pledge of Allegiance and the prayer, in which he praised the seniors for “the wisdom that they bring.”

Johnson then helped distribute the meals to the group, before joining a table to eat.

Following the meal, he spoke on the issues of Social Security and Medicare, and advised the group not to be swayed by ads claiming Republicans wanted to end the programs “as we know them.”

He said that the wording was key and that any changes proposed were aimed at strengthening the programs, which he said were needed to keep them solvent. He compared it to a family that phases out unneeded expenses when faced with a need for a tighter budget and asked those concerned to call his office for updates on the programs.

Schmeisser said afterward that it was the first time she met the congressman. She said he came across as intelligent and praised his knowledge of history, but said she felt more opportunity and encouragement should have been given to ask questions and that she would have preferred a focus on current events.

She said she has met both Bill and Hillary Clinton in person and took issue with his view of Trump.

“Don’t tell me that he’s a different person when he’s not on TV,” she said.

Johnson said he does many town hall events a year, “more than I can count” and that the forums are crucial to his work.

“It’s the only way to stay informed on the issues and what concerns people,” he said. “It’s important to get out and talk to the people. It’s what the job requires.”

The Ironton Senior Center’s next event will be a picnic, to take place at the farmers market at noon on Aug. 23.