Parma Dad Running For US House Of Representatives

A few weeks ago a woman knocked on my door for the "Karpus for Congress" campaign, it was freezing, so she stepped inside. Standing in my foyer she began telling me about Ronald Karpus III a congressional candidate. She told me he was born and raised in Parma, a graduate of Parma Senior High School, and that he was a husband and they had 6 kids. My mouth about hit the floor as I repeated "did you say 6 kids?" the woman laughed and nodded. She further explained he was a member of the Democratic party and a blue collar worker.

At this point I expected her to ask for my support or a donation... instead she said "We're out canvassing today to find out \what issues are keeping voters in the district awake at night?". I explained that I was on a fixed income and my monthly medications were more than my mortgage payment ever was. She took some notes, we chatted for a few more moments then asked me if Ron or his wife could give me a call. I of course said yes and she wrote down my phone number. 

Two days later my phone rang, that voice on the other end introduced herself, and that a volunteer for her husband's campaign had brought them a message about my situation. She listened intently, only asking questions when I paused after a thought. She asked me "What would make your healthcare coverage work better?", as in what specific changes could help make my life just a little easier. I explained the drug costs have continued to increase, and that when the pharmacist tells me to download an app to compare prices, I'm ashamed to tell her I don't know how. We talked for a little while longer, only ending the conversation when the sound of kids filled the background, I assume after coming home from school. Before hanging up, I asked her why she was asking, and she told me "Ron knows what the big problem is, but the only way to fix it in congress is to understand what parts specifically are failing Ohioans."

My granddaughter was over this weekend and she was asking who I was voting for. She wanted to talk presidential races, but I wanted her to help me find out more about the dad from Parma. I had already found his website, but I wanted to see if there was more information I couldn't find. She pulled up a video of a bald man giving an interview on a radio station and said "Gram, this is your guy?". We watched the video together, and I was struck by two things, his ideas always came full circle. By that I mean, he knew he needed buy in from both sides of the aisle to move his policies along. The second was that he corrected the host and wanted to inform the listeners that he had a primary opponent. What novel ideas I thought! His interview was comprehensive, he answered questions from Healthcare, to Social Security and even immigration.

This man is a dad from a working class suburb that truly grasps the gravity of where our country is headed if we don't intervene. My granddaughter helped me with this, because I wanted people to know that one of our neighbors is fighting to make our lives better, and to me that matters.