Those of us in Ohio District 94 have an amazing opportunity to elect Wenda Sheard to the Ohio Statehouse this November. Wenda is a true public servant who listens to the needs and issues of her neighbors. In some ways, Wenda is an unlikely candidate, content to be a grandmother, a part-time attorney and a good neighbor but she saw a need for honest politicians to represent us in Columbus. She understands the needs of our rural and small town communities and will speak out against the gerrymandered politicians, who are all about their own self-interest.

She is concerned about the higher prices we are paying for electricity in the face of the First Energy scandal that stole tax payer money.

She knows that our rural schools need their fair share of state funding because they are crucial to educating our children and provide employment opportunities in our rural communities.

The current state voucher system, which takes millions of dollars from rural schools and puts it in the hands of well-to-do urban parents so they can send their children to private schools, doesn’t work the same way in our rural communities with few private options.

She listens to the concerns of local residents about impact of storing toxic fracking wastewater in our region, while compromising our own water supplies as well as some of the locally owned oil and natural gas wells. Please support someone who will speak up for us in Columbus and not just rubberstamp the urban elite who have taken over our Statehouse.

Lesli Johnson

Athens