Candidates for Secretary of State

Nina Turner

Democratic State Sen. Nina Turner competes with Republican incumbent Jon Husted and Libertarian candidate Kevin Knedler in the race for Ohio Secretary of State.

Turner is a former Cleveland councilwoman.

She served as the mayor of Cleveland’s Executive Assistant for Legislative Affairs, and the Director of Government Affairs for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

According to information on Turner’s website, “in these roles, Nina developed a reputation as a fighter for working families, good schools, and government that worked for all people,”

Turner was elected as the first women to ever represent Cleveland’s Ward 1 on city council.

She was then appointed to the vacant 25th Ohio Senate seat and two years later, she was elected to a full term.

Nina is also a professor of history at the Cuyahoga Community College.

“As a first generation college graduate, she takes great pride in helping young people achieve their dreams through education,” according to the candidate’s website.

Turner said that voting should be simple, accessible and secure.

Candidates Nina Turner and Jon Husted hold contrasting opinions, as Husted supports uniform voting hours while Turner proposes maximum access to the ballot.

“What better way to get our young people engaged than to pre-register them?” tweeted Turner Oct. 28. “The greatest way to ‘grow’ voters is to start the conversation”

During a visit in Athens June 2014, Turner spoke about “visiting college campuses and utilizing social media to get young people engaged in the electoral process,” according to The Athens Messenger.

The article said that Turner addressed “issues directly impacting today’s current and future leaders, such as growing student loan debt” and said that “if young people are concerned about such issues, they can make a difference in the ballot box by electing those who will inflict change in policies.”

The Kent Stater was unable to reach Turner for any information about this topic.

Jon Husted

Republican incumbent Jon Husted is seeking re-election as the Ohio Secretary of State.

He is in the race against Democratic State Sen. Nina Turner and Libertarian candidate Kevin Knedler.

Husted is a former Ohio House speaker and state senator from the Dayton area.

He is a graduate of the University of Dayton.

In 2000, Husted was elected to public office as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, before being elected as Speaker of the Ohio House.

According to his official profile, as speaker, he “led the passage of the Ed Choice Scholarship — a school choice option for children trapped in chronically-failing schools — and the creation of the Choose Ohio First Scholarship to encourage Ohio students studying in the STEMM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.”

Husted assumed office in Jan. 2011.

During the four years that he served as secretary of state, Husted said he has improved the technology and services provided to voters, including statewide mailing for all registered voters.

“On the election front, the goal has been very simple. It’s to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” said Husted  at an endorsement interview at the Northeast Ohio Media Group Oct. 9.

Husted said he broke the record for 2013 for the amount of days it takes to set up a new business.

Better customer service, shorter wait times, lower cost of doing business has contributed to more job creation in Ohio, said Husted.

Jon Husted’s key goals for the Ohio Secretary of State include enhancing “economic growth and job creation using technology and customer service practices that save businesses time and money,” according to his official profile.

Husted visited Kent State Sept. 5. to discuss the importance of democracy with the Kent State College Republicans in the Student Center’s Governance Chambers, according to a Sept. 6 article in the Daily Kent Stater.

He talked about Military Ready-to-Vote program and answered students’ questions.

“Even when you get frustrated with things and even when it doesn’t feel like you’re having much of an impact, that’s the time to work harder — not the time to quit,” Husted said. “Because every generation of Americans has had to face a difficult time in their lives — either economically or globally or politically — because that’s what self-governance is about.”

Husted also supported Kent State’s football team multiple times through Twitter.

“Enjoyed visiting with the Kent State football team and coaches tonight – let’s get a win tomorrow against South Alabama,” he wrote on Sept. 5.

Kevin Knedler

Libertarian candidate Kevin Knedler competes with Republican incumbent Jon Husted and Democratic State Sen. Nina Turner in the race for Ohio Secretary of State.

Libertarian candidate Kevin Knedler has been the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party of Ohio since 2007.

He has also served on the Libertarian National Committee and was the recipient of the 2010 Samuel Adams national LP award for activism, according to his official profile.

Born in Union County, Knedler has addressed issues concerning voter freedom and ballot access.

Knedler said he has been in Kent in Oct. 2012 for the Gary Johnson rally in Streetsboro.

“I made a point of walking your campus the next day and also studying the events of May 1970,” said Knedler in an email interview.

Knedler said he was 15 years old during the May 4 events.

“As secretary of state, my plans are to increase awareness of the election process, especially to the younger voters, who represent our future,” he said.

Knedler said that this effort will include an increase in social media, more speaking events at universities and colleges.

He said the office of the Secretary of State would have an open door to ideas to increase voter participation, which could include a college liaison who could reach out to all universities in the state to provide information on elections.

“I am running for election because I am concerned with the constant posturing for political gain, at the expense of the citizens of Ohio,” Knedler said. “I will be an independent voice, not beholden to special interests or the two major political parties. I will put the citizens of Ohio first.”