Two candidates vie for 16th District seat
By Jennifer Mitchell
Westshore
Published Nov. 1, 2006

Herman	Brady

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters-Cuyahoga Area sponsored the last event in a series of candidate forums at the civic center Thursday. Among the speakers were Westlake Democrat Jennifer Brady, 51, and Rocky River Republican Ed Herman, 32, both vying to represent the 16th District in the state House of Representatives. Bay Village, Fairview Park, North Olmsted, Rocky River and Westlake comprise the district.

Moderated by Sally Ebling, the forum rules were simple: No debating, no personal attacks and no more than two minutes each for an opening statement. Ebling explained that only written questions from the audience would be answered. She also asked the crowd to refrain from voicing support or opposition while candidates spoke; however that didn’t prevent cheers or boos as questions were answered.

Brady, a 25-year resident of the 16th District, is married to Ted. The couple has three children, Michael, 20; Neil, 15; and Patrick, 13. A former Social Security Administration employee, Brady now devotes her time to raising her sons. She also volunteers at her children’s school, St. Raphael School in Bay Village, and is a 20-year volunteer cook for St. Malachi hunger center.

Herman is married to Mindy Childress and works as a sales associate at RE/MAX Pros in Westlake. Prior to that, he served the Army in Afghanistan. Fluent in Arabic, Herman worked on a military intelligence task force interogating Al-Qaeda operatives. His service earned him a Commendation Medal. In 2004, he returned from overseas and made an unsuccessful attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Cleveland). Herman also is active in the Metro-West Kiwanis service organization.

Some of the biggest concerns among Ohio voters are school funding and health care costs. The audience asked the candidates about both, among other things.

As far as inadequate funding for public education, Brady cites the Republican-controlled Legislature. She said the body has repeatedly failed to acknowledge Ohio Supreme Court rulings that the way schools are funded here is illegal. Ohio public schools are mainly locally funded. What each district gets often depends on the local economy and the ability of local voters to provide tax money. Republicans at the state level also support charter schools and voucher programs, she said, which take away money from public school funding.

Herman said that first and foremost, any funding reforms he supports will be based on a “do no harm” philosophy. He used Rocky River as an example, a district that receives a miniscule amount of state funding but has taxpayers who continually support levies requested by the schools. A change “has to respect the decisions and sacrifices of people who have worked hard and saved money to move into (such) districts.”

Herman’s solution to school funding is to reform how money is collected and spent. He specifically cited the state’s Medicaid program, which he said is not managed effectively.

As the two got into stands on health care, Brady said she supported a single-payer system, as is currently being proposed in Legislature. Similar to Medicare, single-payer means that one fund, administered by a nonprofit government agency accountable to the public, would pay for medical services for all Ohio residents. Proponents of such a system say it would take a major cut out of administrative overhead and ultimately cut the cost of health care. They also say that medical decisions would be left to the patient and doctor.

Herman says the idea essentially amounts to “government-run hospitals.” His plan is that the state should consider, like Massachusetts, something that would aid low-income residents who have full-time employment to receive health care. Herman also said every child in the state should have medical coverage.

Brady’s candidacy has been contested due to improperly filed paperwork, and the battle between those who want to remove her name from the ballot and those who want to keep it is ongoing. The Ohio appellate court ruled Oct. 20 to leave Brady’s name on Tuesday’s ballot, saying she was properly certified as a candidate and that votes for her will count. However, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who is running for governor, challenged that ruling. The challenge comes after Blackwell’s assistant secretary of state broke a deadlocked vote against Brady’s candidacy on procedural grounds.

To read more about the platform of each candidate, visit their Web sites at www.bradyforhouse.com, for Brady, or www.neopolitics.com, for Herman. The League of Women Voters Cuyahoga Area also has complied a list of the candidates and the ballot issues at www.lwvcra.org.