Meet Republican state rep candidates
The public is invited to attend a Meet the Republican Primary Candidates event on Saturday, Jan. 20 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Faith Harvest Fellowship, 9464 Lincoln Way E., Orrville.
The candidates being introduced will include all five Republican contenders for state representative of the 77th District to replace Scott Wiggam, who is term-limited and cannot run for re-election. The primary election is March 19.
The candidates include the following:
—Meredith Craig, a native of Smithville who currently lives in Wooster with her husband. She has spent her professional career working in and around the Ohio Statehouse and will prioritize fiscal conservatism while ensuring Wayne County has a voice in every public policy discussion.
—Dennis Finley, a Stark County native who has lived in Wayne County since 1985 and has served the community as a teacher, school board member, Mental Health and Recovery Board member, and most recently as Dalton mayor, which has given him insight on weaknesses in the system that need to be addressed.
—Bill Albright, a combat veteran and public policy professional who lives in Doylestown, will take his experience serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to fight for conservative values like lower taxes, right to life, protecting farmland from foreign investment and defending children from the “woke” agenda within schools and sports.
—Josh Hlavaty, a graduate of Ashland University with a bachelor’s degree in political economy, is a part owner of his family’s 20,000 bird layer farm and Trophy Hollow Lodge, a 100-acre hunting preserve and event center. He resides in Wooster and is running for Ohio House to take Wayne County values to Columbus.
—Francis Grande, born and raised in Wayne County where he still dwells, grew up working on his family farm, which helped him to understand the importance of Wayne agriculture. Later earning his law degree, his passion and priority is protecting Wayne County families from ideologies infiltrating the educational system and protecting Ohioans from having their tax dollars wasted on things that don’t serve their best interests.
The format of the event will be a total of 20 minutes per candidate. Each candidate will receive the same eight questions and have 2.5 minutes to answer per question. All segments will be timed to ensure punctuality, and each candidate will be asked to wait outside of the meeting room while the other candidates are speaking. This is not a debate. Wayne County Republican voters are invited to come hear from these candidates, ask questions, and meet and mingle briefly afterward. There will be no external recording permitted.
The event is hosted by the Wayne County Freedom Keepers.