Ohio Wesleyan Student Runs for City Council in Findlay, Ohio
Ohio Wesleyan senior Jeremy Horne wants to serve on the City Council of Findlay, Ohio, to provide a ‘younger voice’ for the leadership of his hometown. (Photo by Linda O’Horo)
On May 3, residents in Findlay, Ohio, will have the chance to vote for a City Council candidate who pledges to work better with others while providing a younger voice, says Ohio Wesleyan University senior Jeremy Horne.
“My love for and devotion to Findlay make me want to give something back to my hometown community,” Horne explains. “I think I can work well with others and reduce the friction that has been going on in and about city government.”
A politics and government and pre-law major, Horne sharpened his working knowledge about politics during his four years at OWU, serving as vice president of OWU College Republicans, president of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, and a Capitol Hill intern two summers ago for his Congressman, Jim Jordan. Horne currently serves as a student advisor for the OWU Student Conduct Board (campus judicial system), and on the Senior Class Advisory Council as senior class gift committee chairperson.
His academic advisor, OWU politics and government professor Bill Louthan, thinks Horne has what it takes to be a good politician.
“His experience at OWU has clearly paved the way for the start of a successful political career,” Louthan says. “He speaks and writes with clarity and conviction. He identifies problems quickly, proposes sound solutions, and proceeds with dispatch to implementation. He has demonstrated leadership ability, and has strong leadership potential. He has developed a tolerance for ambiguity, a disposition for diversity, a love of community, and a preference for civility. These are attributes he has acquired at OWU, and they will serve him well in public service.”
Five Republican candidates, including one incumbent, are running for three at-large Findlay council seats. The filing deadline is February 2, and no one has yet filed to run as a Democrat. If only Republicans file, the three winners of the May 3 primary will be uncontested in November.
Horne has put together a campaign team consisting of a former mayoral candidate, a retired police officer, two employees of local big businesses (Marathon Oil and Cooper Tire), and a 19-year-old student at the University of Findlay. He has some personal experience with city business—his father, Greg Horne, is Findlay’s chief of police.
If Horne wins the council position, he will be paid about $6,000 a year—so he plans to look for a second part-time job.
“I see myself working in Findlay for the common good and eventually attending law school, and possibly working in the State Legislature or in Washington, D.C.,” he says.