A local business owner has put himself and his company in the middle of the presidential campaign after appearing in a video supporting President Barack Obama.

Ed Leventhal of Valco Industries appears in an ad called  A Springfield Success Story, in which he says his metal fabrication company has hired more than 20 employees and invested $3 million in new equipment as a result of the Obama administration and loan programs.

“When President Obama came into office, we were in much worse shape. Springfield was a community that was down on itself, but over the last several years we’ve started to turn that around,” Leventhal says in the video.

The Clark County Republican Party countered saying any economic rebound businesses have experienced during the last four years is a result of Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio legislature and that any progress has been in spite of Obama’s failed economic policies.

“Many small businesses are just holding their breath, hoping they don’t get thrown off the economic cliff. They’re afraid to hire people because they don’t know what impact Obamacare will have on them,” Clark County Republican Party Chair Lynda Smith said.

Smith said Kasich has worked to get rid of regulations that stymied business growth and the Ohio legislature helped balanced the state budget after facing an $8 billion deficit.

“I would give the governor and the legislatures the credit for what’s going on in Ohio. The success we’re seeing in Ohio is because Kasich is making it more business friendly,” Smith said.

Leventhal, who declined to be interviewed by the News-Sun, said he supported Obama in 2008 and agreed to appear in the video on ProgressOhio.org. to support Obama’s re-election.

In the one-minute ad, Leventhal said his business is better off now than four years ago.

“Our equipment is a lot newer, our people are much better trained, and I think we’re getting back some of our confidence and some of our swagger we may have had a number of years ago,” he said.