Mike Larsen says he'll be a lawmaker available to the voters

SANDUSKY — Democratic candidate for Congress Mike Larsen says unlike U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, he will hold town meetings and make himself available to voters. Larsen, 59, a resident of Plain City, just outside of Dublin, in Union County), hopes to unseat Jordan in the fall election, although first he has to win the Democratic primary against two opponents. His opponents in the primary are Shannon Freshour and Jeffrey Sites.Larsen, who's running for the Fourth District U.S. House seat which stretches across much of Ohio, including portions of Erie, Huron and Sandusky counties, appeared Thursday on "Between the Lines Live," the Register's public affairs program. The show is available for on-demand viewing on the Register's website and YouTube channel.Larsen told Register managing editor Matt Westerhold he disagrees with Jordan on many issues but also has a problem with how Jordan deals with constituents.He explained that after he moved to Ohio after working in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, he assumed the local Congressman held regular meetings with voters, as many lawmakers do. He called Jordan's office and asked when the next local town hall meeting would be."The staffer said, 'We don't do those'," Larsen said."He never meets with his constituents. He never has town hall meetings," Larsen said. "That is a big reason I am running."Unlike many other lawmakers, Jordan doesn't seek federal funds to bring broadband internet to small communities in the district, Larsen said."We pay our taxes, and we don't have somebody in Washington fighting to bring some of that back for us," Larsen said.Jordan has never written a bill that was passed into law, Larsen said.A spokesman for Jordan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the claim.On the issues, Larsen said he believes health care is a right and wishes the Affordable Care Act had included a public option.Larsen said he has no problems with most forms of gun ownership but believes weapons meant for the battlefield, such as the AK-47, should not be sold."I think more and more gun owners side with me," he said.Larsen explained that he has backgrounds both in government and in show business. He worked as communications director for U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Congresswoman but also was a stand-up comedian and a TV show producer and scriptwriter in Southern California before he moved to Ohio in 2017 with his wife, actress Tina Gasbarra.Larsen appeared more than once on the "Tonight" show as a comedian. He was a producer and writer for "Two Guys & a Girl," "Ellen," "The Drew Carey Show," "Grace Under Fire," "Rodney," "Reba," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Whoopi."His first appearance on the "Tonight" show was in 1994; when he finished, show host Jay Leno praised him and Larsen sat down on the couch next to "Star Trek" actor William Shatner.Larsen told Westerhold that he remembers admitting to Shatner that he wasn't a "Trekkie." "Neither am I," Shatner said.Larsen told Westerhold he is a progressive Democrat in the primary, and his campaign has attacked one of his opponents, Shannon Freshour. Freshour wrote on her website that she has a varied background, saying, "I am probably the only person in history to intern and work for Senator Ted Kennedy, current Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway, and the Blue Dog Coalition." The Larsen campaign responded by attacking Freshour and attempting to tie her to Conway.Freshour issued a statement saying the criticism is ridiculous."I am a proud and lifelong Democrat and will always fight for a woman's right to choose, equality for everyone, better wages for our working families, access to universal pre-k schooling, and universal health care," she said. "If the worst that said about me is that a quarter-century ago I interned for a then-unknown Republican pollster one semester in college, so be it. It pales in comparison to the real economic and social struggles our fellow Ohioans face daily."My campaign will always be about defeating Jim Jordan and protecting those in our state who need a champion -not tearing down my fellow Dems."Congress candidate Mike Larsen visits the Register for a segment of "Between the Lines" on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020.