In smaller towns across Ohio, politics is generally a more pragmatic than partisan exercise, often a needed break from Washington and Columbus.

The maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is pretty much the accepted rule. Conversely, if something is broken and needs fixing, folks want it fixed — and if local leaders aren’t up to the job, voters opt for change.

This November, fresh, new candidates represented change in Ohio hometowns from Norwalk to Coshocton to Ironton. In those three cities, incumbent mayors lost their races to upstart candidates who stand ready to make real, positive changes for their communities.

In Ironton, Sam Cramblit won his election by running to be a public servant, not a politician. He wants to fix problems and pursue a better direction. That’s what we need at every level of government, from Washington, D.C., to Columbus, to here in Lawrence County.

Cramblit took a chance on getting something done. However, it won’t be easy. Over the past decade, politicians in Columbus have taken away resources from local communities. Those actions created budget shortfalls that local governments were forced to remedy by raising local income and sales taxes on ordinary folks — or by making cuts to public safety and maintenance.

And, despite a lot of promises, too little has been done at the federal level to create good-paying jobs, make health care more affordable or address the opioid epidemic. Communities across Ohio need help — but it seems like politicians in Washington and Columbus have forgotten places like Ironton.

Ohio Democrats have not forgotten about communities that are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession and we are proud of our newly elected public servants like Cramblit. He’s ready to fix what’s wrong and build on what’s right about Ironton, and we stand ready to reverse broken promises and bad policies at the state and national level that have made things far more difficult for cities like this one.

At the end of the day, elections aren’t about parties or politics — they’re about people and getting to work to make things better.

David Pepper

Chairman, Ohio Democratic Party