Three seek Ohio House GOP nomination

FREMONT — As they pick their nominee for the Ohio House, Republican voters in Sandusky and Seneca counties have an intriguing list of candidates. They include a Baptist preacher, an environmental engineer and a county commissioner. They are running to be the GOP nominee for House District 88, the two-county district currently represented by state Rep. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, who is leaving the House and is running for the Ohio Senate. The GOP nominee will oppose a Democratic candidate, Chris Liebold, of Fremont, on the November election ballot. The primary is March 17. Early voting has started at county election board offices. Gary Click The Baptist preacher in the race is Gary Click, 54, pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple. He's been endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party and says, "Every mayor in the district who is endorsing has endorsed me." A 1990 graduate of Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan, Click has been at Fremont Baptist Temple since 2006 but has been in the ministry for about 30 years, previously pastoring a church in Indiana. "It seems trite to say I want to make a difference, but I have a life history of making a difference," he said. He said being a pastor has taught him to work with people in all walks of life. "Pastoring a church is not just Bible studies and preaching," he said. "When I came to this church, they were ready to close their doors. I took a pay cut when I came here, but I saw potential." Click said the church has been revitalized and paid off its mortgage. "Those are all problem-solving skills I will take with me to Columbus," he said. Click said his issues include being strongly pro-life and opposed to abortion. He also said Ohio has too many regulations and too many taxes imposed on the businesses that create jobs. "I don't believe the politicians create jobs. I believe we stifle jobs," he said. "The best thing we can do is get out of the way." Click said he also wants local governments and schools to make many of their own decisions. Click's endorsement by the Ohio Republican Party has not gone over well with his two primary opponents, Shayne Thomas, a Seneca County commissioner who lives in Tiffin, and Ed Ollom, an environmental engineer who lives in Fremont. Thomas said the chairmen of the Sandusky County and Seneca County Republican parties have both said the state party should have stayed out until a Republican candidate was chosen. "Traditionally, Republicans aren't endorsed in an open primary," Thomas said. "What's troubling is there wasn't a screening process. I would have loved to have been given the opportunity to go down and make my case," he said. "I have a history of being loyal to the party, contributing to candidates." Shayne Thomas Thomas, 51, worked as a banker for about 20 years before making his first run for public office in 2016 and being elected a Seneca County commissioner. He graduated from Seneca East High School in 1986 and also has degrees from the University of Toledo and the University of Wisconsin's Graduate Banking School. Thomas said when he gets to Columbus, "bringing back resources and control to local government is going to be a priority." Thomas said he will stand firm to oppose restrictions in gun rights, such as red flag laws, restrictions on transfers of guns within families and limitations on the type of firearms people can own. "That's just not our culture," Thomas said. "It's a case of an individual's freedom." Ohio lawmakers should work to limit the size of government and keep taxes low, he said. Thomas said he's particularly interested in reducing tax burdens on small businesses. Dentists, body shop owners and other small businesses are the people who tend to be "vested in the community," he said. Ollom, referring to the state Republican Party's endorsement of Click, said, "No one is entitled to this position." "Gary Click is from Indiana," Ollom said. "I'd rather see a lifelong community resident serve." Ed Ollom Ollom, 47, who lives in Fremont, says he's a lifelong resident of the community who grew up on a small farm. He is an environmental engineer for a Morgan Advanced Materials plant in Fostoria. He explained that it's an old Union Carbide site, and he works to clean up soil and groundwater contamination. "I am willing to take a pay cut to serve this district," Ollom said. "I am the only one on the ballot who can say that." He said he has made money. "I would like to dedicate the rest of my life to my children and my community," said Ollom, who has four children. He said that, because of his qualifications, he expects to serve on committees dealing with energy, natural resources, public utilities and the environment. "I will be significant from Day 1," said Ollom, who said he opposes industrial wind turbines in local communities and is concerned about gas pipelines which try to do a "bait and switch" on the amount of tax revenue they are promising to local schools. Ollom said, while he is mounting his first race for public office, he has been active in his community, serving as chairman of the Seneca County Local Emergency Management Planning Committee and secretary of the Seneca County Homeland Security Committee.