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Y! MyWeb4th District Race
Jordan favors strength of families
Sunday, September 28, 2008
URBANA — During his early career in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Jordan said there were four key areas he'd tried to promote while in office.
They include promoting a stronger national defense, keeping taxes low, reigning in government spending and promoting "traditional American values," such as marriage.
"That's where I focused a lot of my time over the last year and a half," he said.
Jordan, who replaced U.S. Rep. Mike Oxley in 2006, is running against Democratic challenger Mike Carroll for the 4th District seat in U.S. House of Representatives. The district includes more than 620,000 voters and Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Hancock, Hardin, Morrow, Marion, Logan, Richland and Shelby counties.
Mark Navarre, an Urbana attorney and a Jordan supporter, said he's voting for him because the candidate shares his beliefs, which includes limited government.
"He's a solid conservative congressman, and his issues are my issues," Navarre said, adding that it's not important whether Jordan is a Republican or a Democrat as long as he stands by his beliefs.
When preparing for a vote, Jordan said he always asks himself the basic question of whether the legislation will help the average family.
"The strength of families determines the strength of our entire society," he said.
Like many of his constituents, a looming energy crisis has been on Jordan's mind in recent months. The issue is critical, he said, not only because of high gas prices, but because of its overall effects on national defense and the economy. To develop a solution, Jordan said he supports what he described as an "all of the above" policy, in which the nation draws power from nuclear plants, solar facilities, wind and all other alternatives. In the short term, because the economy is so dependent on oil, the U.S. must also be willing to drill offshore and in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he said.
With many Champaign County residents struggling to find work, Jordan said his role as a legislator is to help craft policies to attract businesses to the area.
He argued overall, the formula for attracting and retaining businesses is fairly simple.
"The key is the federal and state policies that keep taxes low and keep spending and regulation under control so you can compete," he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.
