(Publisher’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series focusing on Ohio Rep. Jack Cera (D-96th), his experiences in the state legislature, and how the lawmakers feel about the future of the political process.)
His 1982 victory was only by 126 votes, and he spent a total of $8,600 on his Ohio House campaign. His opponent, Republican Bob Ney, was the incumbent, and he spent about $12,000.
In today’s dollars, that’s the equivalent to $22,117 vs. $32,366, but that is still far less than the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent these days on state and national races across Ohio and the country.
“Wrap you head around those numbers,” Ohio Rep. Jack Cera (D-96th) said. “Now, these people running for a House seat in Ohio are spending at least $150,000, and that’s low anymore. And if it is a targeted race for whatever reasons, it’s going to be much more than $150,000, and that is just ridiculous to me. That needs to stop.
“I know 1982 was a long time ago, but what I have seen take place since then has been amazing to me in a very bad way. Now that we have all of this technology at our fingertips, the amount of manipulation and misinformation about this candidate or that incumbent haas soiled the process,” he explained. “We did mailers when I first got started, and when I would go to my office in Columbus, I would have a bag full of letters waiting for me from the people who received those mailers.”
Termed Out
Cera has been a member of the Ohio House for 23 years, but at the end of this year his service to the 96th House District will conclude. While he will miss the job and all of its duties, Cera hasn’t liked what he has witnessed in politics for more than a few years.
He’s not a divider, never stooped to name-calling or spreading misinformation about an opponent, and Cera relied on his performance and voting record when campaigning for the district’s seat in the state legislature.
“I have been in favor of limiting campaign spending for several years because it’s the money that causes most of the problems,” the lawmaker explained. “And that problem is on both sides, and most of the campaigns have been as nasty as can be. Those people feel as if they can say anything they want whether it’s true or not, and that’s no way for the voters to pick the best person for the job.
“That’s why I am glad that I am done,” Cera continued. “Candidates have lied about their opponents for a lot of years, but these days it is everyone. We don’t have too many candidates who just stick to the issues, but I have found myself voting for those who do because that’s what is most important. At least it should be the most important thing to the voters.”
The voters, though, fall for the gimmicks and cast votes accordingly.
“I think there is so much information out there that most of the voters don’t take the time to look into those things to determine what’s true and what’s not true,” Cera said. “Those voters need to dig into it and learn about the issue, but I guess it’s easier to hear the negatives about someone and automatically believe it. It’s those kinds of things that make it difficult to vote for the right person.
“I was just happy not to get caught up with things like that so I could go out and talk to the people during my campaigns,” he said. “That was really the best part of the job for me, and I hope now that I’m done because of the term limits in Ohio, that my constituents believe I did a good enough job for them.”
Blue + Red = Purple?
Compromise in politics was a valuable part of the process when Cera was initially elected, and it spawned his frustration with each legislative session because he was rendered mute by the Republican majorities in both chambers in Columbus.
And that meant that the residents of the 96th District were not defended, and that deeply troubled the native of Bellaire.
“Anymore, everything is so ideological instead of simply making sense, and I just don’t get why everything has to be politicized these days, “Cera said. “The people are the ones who are being left out, and that’s not why I decided to run all those years ago. Now, it’s about calling people names instead of solving problems.
“It’s a very big problem, and it doesn’t seem that anyone knows the solution,” he said. “It’s all about the money; I’m telling you, and until the money is taken out of it, the problem won’t go away; it’s the money, not the voters, that everyone cares about anymore. That doesn’t bode well for the future as a state or as a country”
As a Democrat, Cera was a member of the majority party only for a few years, but even then he welcomed the bipartisan effort inside the statehouse.
“I’ve always been able to work with people on the other side of the aisle because that whole party power thing wasn’t what was important to me,” he explained. “And that seemed to make a lot of sense for a lot of people in both political parties, but we have definitely seen that go away. If there’s a bill that would impact your district, you were able to work with the other side on amendments, but that doesn’t happen very often now.
“If you are in the minority party now and you propose a bill, most likely that bill will never be heard or see the light of day,” Cera added. “That wasn’t the case during those 23 years, but it is now, and that just means the people in those districts suffer.”
