Athens City Councilman Micah McCarey hosted an official inaugural party on August 22 at The Pigskin, 38 N. Court St., to celebrate his candidacy for Ohio’s 95th District representative. The party’s theme was “Back to School” to honor those who work in education.
“Education has always been very important to me,” McCarey said. “My hometown of Oberlin, Ohio, is a small college town with a strong commitment to education and inclusion, and my life at Ohio University, 15 years of professional experience and 21 years overall, reinforced my value of education.”
A big part of his campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of school funding and increase teacher salaries throughout the 95th District, McCarey said.
“As I grew up and thought about our society, I thought, ‘Shouldn’t teachers be the ones who get paid the most?'” McCarey said. “Aren’t they doing one of the most important jobs when it comes to shaping young minds and characters?”
While McCarey seeks to engage educators in the campaign through his platform, he is also directly involving OU students.
Kiandra Martin, a senior studying social criminology and law, is vice president of the Student Senate and is supporting McCarey’s campaign through student relations. She said McCarey supported her in the race for Student Senate president last semester and she is more than thrilled to be involved in his campaign.
“I’m definitely the biggest supporter of our OU Campus Student Engagement,” said Martin. “I’m so happy for him and super glad we have so many participants today.”
Other students involved in his campaign include Lauren Sagers, a third-year student studying sociology and criminology who previously served as minority affairs coordinator for the Student Senate, and Julianna Rittenberg, a final-year student studying political science.
“I think Micah fits the definition of someone who should be in our government,” Rittenberg said. “He just genuinely cares about people instead of trying to climb the corporate ladder.”
A key aspect of McCarey’s campaign is encouraging student involvement, said Cody Sigmund, deputy campaign manager. Although McCarey will represent many people, there is one group of people he knows very well – college students, Sigmund said.
“We really hope we can get college students to register to vote in Athens because that’s your home most of the time,” Sigmund said.
McCarey represents a variety of different groups and can bring them together because he listens carefully and cares about the individual, even if they are different from him, Sigmund said.
“I grew up as a gay boy in Appalachia, and it’s really, really important to have representation in the centers of power. Micah not only embodies that, but I think he embodies a kind of human interaction that is desperately needed in our legislature,” Sigmund said.
Other goals McCarey hopes to achieve with his program include the five principles of sustainability, which emphasize partnerships and prosperity, including creating partnerships with small businesses and helping them develop new resources.
“I have direct experience, especially through my work as a city council member, and have seen some of the challenges that small businesses face in obtaining government grants, resources that can help them with anything,” McCarey said.
Staff and students involved in McCarey’s campaign appear to have a positive attitude. The campaign is funded overall by donations from individuals and organizations.
McCarey’s campaign recently received $10,000 from Blue Ohio, a Democratic organization whose goal is to field a Democratic candidate in every state.
“I’m pleasantly surprised at how willing people are to support us,” said Sigmund. “We don’t have much time left until the election.”
McCarey said he was also surprised that he was enjoying the campaign, saying he enjoyed the challenge of developing campaign strategies and connecting with new people from all six counties in the 95th Congressional District.
“It feels like an experiential learning journey because I have to do a lot of research about these communities, their past, their present and their hopes for the future,” McCarey said.
