A Manifesto for the Future

Also in response to the previously-mentioned Homemakers of America questionnaire, John had this to say:

"I am running for office because voting is no longer enough. For years, I thought it was!

For a long time Republicans held the jobs of:

Mayor of Columbus

City Council Seats

County Commissioners (3)

Both (12th and 15th) U.S. House of Representatives Seats

The list goes on.

Now, however, Republicans hold only the 12th District U.S. House seat. All others listed above are held by Democrats.

It is the responsibility of the Republican Central Committee to recruit, screen, and endorse candidates to serve Franklin County, and work to help get them elected.

Obviously, whatever they are doing is not working very well. A business with this record would either file for bankruptcy, or fire the executives responsible.

There are many possible reasons why this disproportionate loss of positions has occurred. They include: changing demographics, poor leadership, lack of effort, etc.; or perhaps the involvement of too many government officials and their employees, who are more interested in protecting their "turf", than in selecting strong, conservative candidates. I believe that, regardless of the reasons, more of the 150-160 seats on the Central Committee should be hard-working conservatives. With the support of the voters from Columbus' Ward 57, I will do everything that I can do to help put the best possible candidates on the ballot for the voters to choose.

If elected, I will be one of the 150+/- on the Central Committee. I will work diligently with others, especially other conservatives on the Committee, who want to bring the Republican Party back to its conservative roots, giving residents of Franklin County a clear choice - no more "uncontested" candidates.

Additionally, I will propose that the Central Committee stop "endorsing" candidates in the primary election. Instead, they should develop a "rating" system - then rate all candidates for each office, and let the members of the party select their candidates. Endorsements and support should be reserved for the general election.

I have no public office experience to allow me to say that I "deserve" your support. All I can say is that I am a fiscal and social conservative, and a strong supporter of our Constitution. I want to bring the Republican Party home. I will work hard to justify the trust that I'm asking of you."

The above statement of intentions is, as the title of this post suggests, a manifesto for Franklin County's conservative future. Ward 57 may not be the most prestigious of political battlegrounds, but it's local conservatives like Mr. Heisler who fight those battles nonetheless; ultimately, it is he and the likes of him who will decide the fate of our country. Or, should he fail to secure victory, the likes of his opponents will be left in charge. Let's see to it that doesn't happen.