Paulding man enters Ohio House race

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A second person has entered the race for the 82nd District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Christopher Elder of Paulding filed his petitions to run on Tuesday. The petitions were filed with the Putnam County Board of Elections, the most populous county in the 82nd District, which also includes all of Paulding and Van Wert counties, along with the southern half of Defiance County. Elder is running as a Libertarian.

“I am excited to offer constituents in the district a different option from the normal status quo,” Elder said while announcing his candicacy. “I believe your personal liberties are yours, and the government’s involvement needs to be limited and transparent.”

Elder also noted his key issues in the upcoming race:

• Ranked choice voting: Allowing greater freedom for voters to be satisfied with members elected to public office.
• Abolish property taxes: Why must Ohioans continue paying copious amounts on something they already own? Seeking alternative community ways to fund local services is the answer, not paying a subscription fee to live in your own home.
• Increased citizen control of government: There is currently no option in Ohio to recall elected officials like the Governor or members of the Ohio House. When your public officials fail you, you should be able to remove and replace them. Otherwise, it’s like buying an item from a store with a “no return” policy. 

Currently, just one other person has filed petitions to run for the Ohio House seat – incumbent Republican Roy Klopfenstein of Haviland, who is seeking his third term in office. The filing deadline is 4 p.m. today. If no one else files, there will be no primary run-off and both Elder and Klopfenstein will square off in November.