West Unity Debate: Hilltop H.S. 10/10/06
by Ben McCullough for State Representative
BEN MCCULLOUGH’S OPENING STATEMENT
Good evening, and thank you for your invitation tonight. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Ben McCullough, and I am running for State Representative of the Ohio 74th District. I am a 2005 Graduate of Edon High School in Williams County, where I was actively involved in baseball and basketball. I have also served in elected leadership roles in a number of organizations within and outside school, including class presidencies, American Legion Buckeye Boys State, and the National Defense Leadership Council in Washington, D.C. I am currently a sophomore at Wittenberg University, majoring in political science with a minor in international relations.
Speaking of political science… as a major in the program, I’ve been thinking about the courses that you take when you begin. There’s national government, comparative politics, and of course Poli. Sci.101. Now if you’d told me one year ago that I’d actually be doing what people have written about in these textbooks, I wouldn’t have believed it. But after being in this race for many months now, I’ve found truth in three lessons I’d like to entitle: “My Life in Poli. Sci. 101.”
Lesson 1: In politics, everyone has their own advice to give. This is probably the first thing you learn, from the very moment you let someone know you’re considering running for public office. There is, of course, good advice and bad advice. Luckily, we’ve received a great amount of aid and support from some very dedicated people since the beginning, and for that I’m very grateful. And yet, with all the positive advice you receive, you also get some that might be inconsistent with your intents or beliefs. I have been advised, for example, to stand with the party in not just endorsing but molding my message after that of a certain candidate. But I did not run to become the State Representative of a certain person or ideology: I’m here to represent everyone. Besides, why should I tell you how to make up your mind, or be told how to make up my mind, when the only race relevant to me is State Representative? For that reason alone I will stand firmly with the voice of the people on November 7th, and not judge a candidate nor a person prior to then. No candidate should be based on statistics or odds: they should be based on the voice of the people. And this, my friends, is all the endorsement I need.
Lesson 2: Certain issues can make you or break you. And that’s been the unfortunate, accepted reality that we’ve been on the wrong end of for the past decade. But here’s an example how, right here and now, we can change it. What are the kind of issues you’re used to seeing? Elections have become a competition of who is the most immediately favorable, rather than the one who will stand up and take on a challenge. Winning a popularity contest because of a letter next to your name stops right here, right now. What about the most basic needs that we all share? Like: where is the money going to come from to give our children the kind of education they deserve? Or, will we focus on agriculture or industry as our economic base in Ohio? Or, how long will farmers continue to have to rely on subsidies, or face selling their land and abandoning feeding the American Dream?
Aren’t these the kind of issues that affect hardworking Ohioans like you and I? I am proud to be the single candidate in this race who offers you a comprehensive vision – the Roadmap to What’s Next. I’d encourage everyone to visit my website at www.BenforOhio.com to see where I stand.
I believe the day has come to stand up for or children and offer them a 21st century education. Average Ohioans must compete on the world stage today, and I am prepared to finally meet our duty to fully fund our public schools to give our kids what they deserve! Make no mistake: no one understands education more than a current student. People in the Statehouse need a wake-up call. It is one thing to administrate a school, but quite another to be the one sitting in the desk and actually seeing his friends suffer from the inaction of the Ohio legislature. The time is now to fully fund our public schools!
Second, I believe in an innovative economy: a marriage of agriculture and industry into a system that benefits both. The best way we can accomplish this is through using our strengths, like our strategic location and family farms, to initiate the economy of tomorrow. I envision a birth of renewable energy in Northwest Ohio. With our agricultural base, we can initiate industries like ethanol and biofuels in our area: industries that, all experts agree, will form a backbone of American energy independence. It is time to become dependent on the Midwest, not the Middle East! With this economic solution, thousands of new jobs can be created: skilled and technological jobs that will keep the bright students of Northwest Ohio here. I also stand with the current workers in all industries, and will support this base as we build upon it into the future.
So how do we pay for initiatives like these? I will not raise taxes, for this solution is short-sighted. Instead, I would advocate for the creation of an independent board to review state spending, top to bottom, and report back to the state and the public. I’m tired of getting caught up in needless bureaucracy and the “run around” of government when I ask a simple question like: “where does the money from license plate sales go?” Boards like this in Texas and New Mexico, and even the federal governments, have saved the states millions and even billions of dollars: monies which could be redistributed to make Ohio a leader in the nation, not a follower.
Why settle for being just “OK” when we have the potential to become extraordinary? Ohio can… Ohio must… OHIO WILL become a source of innovation in the United States again! We must have the courage to ask: “what’s next?”
Try something new: now it’s our time to shine. Thank you.
BEN MCCULLOUGH’S CLOSING STATEMENT
I’d like to thank my opponent, all candidates, and the Sons of the American Legion in coming together to support this vision and participate tonight. I’d most of all like to thank all of you for listening. I am certain your choice has become clear for who is truly deserving of being entrusted with your confidence as your next state representative.
As you’ve seen, I’m one student who has done his homework. I understand our problems, and I offer a comprehensive vision to solve them. And as a student, I want to let you know I remembered I have one more lesson to share from Poli. Sci. 101…
Lesson 3: Take nothing for granted. You know, the everyday voters don’t get enough credit. For years now, we’ve felt that the party’s role is to inform a voter about what is right and wrong, when in fact voters are already very well educated about where they stand on things that affect them directly. It is time that, once and for all, we stop looking at voters as statistics, but instead as the knowledgeable citizens they are. Another point: am I running just to “take back” this area? Take it from whom? This is not the area of Republican majorities, or conservatives, or Democrats, or any other group. This is Northwest Ohio. This is our home – the home of all of us. There is nothing to take back when it already belongs to you in the third row, or the farmer on the other side of the aisle from Hicksville, or the woman across the street many miles away in Delta. This is our home. Is it really impossible, then, when we ask if we can succeed? If we believe in “What’s Next?” If we believe we can win for the good of all these people?
I am running to become your next state representative because I believe in the people of this area, their abilities, and their potential. I believe in the future, because it shines with promise. I believe that all of us, as Ohioans, can do better to make a difference. My name is Ben McCullough, and yes, we have a great challenge before us. But just ask yourself one more question: what satisfaction do you get from something easy? In the words of legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes: “anything easy ain’t worth a damn.”
