Jordan's opponent is up for the challenge

NORWALK — Mike Larsen said Ohio's 4th congressional district needs a change and is up for the challenge. Larsen, a Democrat, worked as a comedy television writer and as a congressional staffer to U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier. He's married to actress Tina Gasbarra and has a daughter in the eighth grade. He and his wife moved to Plain City from California a few years ago. Larsen has received an endorsement from former Ohio and U.S. Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow. Other candidates for the 4th district are Democrats Shannon Freshour and Jeffrey Sites. Current Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) is running for re-election. Larsen said he noticed a difference in his new district when he asked Jordan's office when the next town hall meeting was. While working for Speier, she held a town hall meeting at least once a month for those in her district. "I remember calling … and they said, 'We don't do those,'" Larsen said. "That kind of threw me for a loop." He said he noticed something else, with Democratic candidates who ran against Jordan. "I kept running into Democratic candidates (who) weren't running on Democratic values. They were pretending to be more conservative, thinking that was a way to win votes and they were still losing," Larsen said. "I kept saying, 'I don't get it if you're probably not going to win anyway, why don't you tell people who you really are?'" Letting people know who he is and what he stands for is something Larsen isn't afraid of. "I've been out talking to people and talking about things that are important to me. Healthcare should be provided to everyone, and it's a right," Larsen said. "Guns designed for the battlefield have no business on our streets or in our schools. Even gun owners ... will say they don't need a machine gun. If you really need to fire an assault weapon, then by all means, join the army, they can use you." He said there are government programs that will bring broadband services to towns with poor internet service. "The only way it happens (is) if a member of Congress fights for it. It's happening in other districts in Ohio, other Republican districts who have Congresspeople who actually fight for their constituents," Larsen said. "Shouldn't the person that we pay to go to Washington be working to get our tax money back here? Especially when other members of Congress are. People in our district are paying for broadband to be brought to Cincinnati." He said if he would win, he looks forward to serving the communities in his district. Larsen's father lost his medals from the Korean War and Larsen told his father to call his Congressman, who helped return the medals. "That is something I look forward to," Larsen said. "Even if I win this, I will be going to Washington knowing that a vast part of my district does not agree with me on every political view and that's fine; you still have to serve them in other ways." He said he would staff his offices in the district with people "hired for their constituent services, not for pushing the politics of it." Larsen said he plans to be very involved in legislation and in bringing tax dollars back to Ohio's 4th district. "Jim really likes the toxic political part of it, (but) he's never written a bill that's passed into law in 12 years in Congress," he said. "You've got to try to not do anything in 12 years. There are things I'd like to fight for." Larsen said he thinks the race for the 4th district will be a competitive one as March draws closer. "This time around there's a Republican farmer who is very big in his county. He ran his county committee and who is (thinking of) running in November as an Independent. That's a big game-changer there," Larsen said. "For the first time ever, there will be a three-way race, where two of them will be Republicans. Once the general election starts and people around the country see that dynamic everyone's going to be watching the district because Jordan's made himself so famous. That could make this race very competitive and get a lot of attention on the district."