LORAIN – Dan Ramos’ candidacy for State Representative in the 56th District was validated today in the Lorain County Board of Elections. He was challenged by a political opponent in the primary, who presented no evidence to support his case.
“It goes to show that my opponent, even after years of being director of the Board of Elections, lacks a basic understanding of Ohio’s elections laws and the Ohio Constitution” said Ramos. “This proves that we need our new State Representative to have real experience and understanding of Ohio’s laws and legislative processes” continued Ramos. “I have years of legislative experience in the Ohio House of Representatives, and can start working on day one.”
“I am happy to put this baseless accusation behind me. I will continue to do what I have been doing all along, talking to real people about real issues that affect their lives such as creating new, good paying jobs, renovating our neighborhoods and downtowns, and improving the quality of education” added Ramos.
Ramos is a Lorain native, a graduate of Lorain City Schools and The Ohio State University. He has served as Senior Policy Analyst to House Speaker Armond Budish and Legislative Aide to Representative Koziura.
The 56th District includes the cities of Lorain, Oberlin, Sheffield Lake, and South Amherst, as well as all of Amherst Township, New Russia Township, and Sheffield Township. The District also includes parts of Elyria, Amherst, Carlisle Township, and Elyria Township.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Former Koziura rep Dan Ramos running to succeed him
Filed by Chronicle-Telegram Staff January 12th, 2010 in Top Stories.
LORAIN — Dan Ramos, of Lorain, a former aide to state Rep. Joe Koziura, D-Lorain, is running to succeed him in the Legislature.
Ramos
Until last month, Ramos, 28, was senior policy analyst in the office of Armond Budish, Democratic speaker of the state House. He served as Koziura’s sole aide from 2005 to 2007.
In his most recent job, which Ramos gave up to seek Koziura’s seat, he advised Budish and the Democratic Party leadership and oversaw a team of policy analysts, according to his resume. He concentrated on the issues of health care and higher education funding.
Ramos, who is a graduate of Admiral King High School and The Ohio State University, has not held elective office, spending most of his career working for the Democratic Party and its leaders in the House.
“I’m the only person who has Statehouse experience,” he said in response to a question about why voters should elect him. “That’s what we need, somebody who can hit the ground running.”
Koziura is leaving the House because of term limits, and his 56th District seat already has attracted the attention of another Democrat, Jose Candelario, who announced last month that he intended to seek the seat and resign his post as director of the Lorain County Board of Elections.
The deadline to file petitions to seek the seat is Feb. 18.
The district includes Lorain, Sheffield Lake, Oberlin and South Amherst; Amherst, New Russia and Sheffield townships; and parts of Elyria, Amherst and Carlisle and Elyria townships.
Ramos to run for state seat: 28-year-old Democrat plans bid for 56th House District vacancy
LORAIN — A Lorain native who served as a staffer to state Rep. Joe Koziura hopes to win his former boss' seat in the Ohio Legislature.
Dan Ramos, 28, said he will run as a Democrat for the 56th House District, which represents Lorain, Oberlin, Sheffield Lake and South Amherst as well as Amherst, New Russia and Sheffield townships.
"I believe I have the statehouse experience needed to represent our area well starting on day one," Ramos said.
An alumnus of Admiral King High School and The Ohio State University, Ramos began working in politics in campaigns for Lorain County Commissioner Lori Kokoski and his father, Raul Ramos, who was on the Lorain City School Board.
He has worked as a constituent staffer for former Ohio House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, and for Koziura, House Democratic Caucus leader Joyce Beatty and House Speaker Armand Budish. He recently quit his job with Budish in order to campaign.
Ramos credited Koziura for his insights into crafting laws in Ohio.
"Joe has a depth and a breadth of knowledge in the legislature that's truly unrivaled, especially in the age of term limits," Ramos said.
"He sort of taught me the ins and outs of how the legislative process works, how it's differed over the years, and always keep an open mind, be willing to compromise, be willing to reach across the aisle, which is good for everybody."
Bringing jobs to the 56th House District will be a top priority, Ramos said.
"We are in need of a representative who can start working immediately to help bring jobs to our area and improve education," Ramos said. "My years of experience will allow me to do that.
"Our area has been hurting. We can't afford on-the-job training from our new representative."
A chance to pursue higher education helped open new opportunities for him, Ramos said. Lorain County has a tremendous asset with Lorain County Community College, Ramos said, and he wants to increase access for students to continue studies beyond high school.
Ramos' campaign sets the stage for a Democratic primary for the seat.
Lorain County Board of Elections Director Jose Candelario will leave the elections board to run for the 56th House seat.
Candelario said he knows Ramos personally and was not surprised by his decision.
"I welcome any person who wants to run," Candelario said, adding he will not change his plans.
"I want to run to serve the people of the 56th House District," Candelario said. "It's something I have a passion for."
It was unclear last night what Republican candidates might be gearing up to run.
Opportunities for open seats do not come up often and if a political party cares about the people and district, it will field a candidate, Candelario said.
"There's 116 days till election day," Candelario said. "I think the people are going to have good choices.
"And of course I'm the best choice," he added with a laugh. "We'll let the people decide."
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