Representative James P. Trakas Announces His Candidacy for Ohio Secretary of State
State Representative James P. Trakas announced his candidacy for Ohio Secretary of State recently. He has served in the Ohio General Assembly since 1999, where he previously served as House Majority Whip. He has also served as Cuyahoga County Republican Chairman; was elected to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections; served as a City Councilman in Independence, Ohio; and distinguished himself as a business leader in Northeast Ohio.
Independence, OH (PRWEB) February 22, 2005 --State Representative James P.
Trakas announced his official candidacy for Ohio Secretary of State at news
conferences in his hometown of Independence, Ohio and at the Statehouse in
Columbus on Monday, February 21st.
Surrounded by family and supporters,
Trakas addressed several themes that will be central to his campaign. He also
indicated that he would be releasing specific proposals in the coming months to
address his agenda for the Secretary of State’s office.
“I will make sure
every vote counts in Ohio, including those of the brave men and women of our
Armed Forces serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and locations across the globe where
ballot delivery has been an unresolved issue since World War II,” said
Representative Trakas. “I will also maintain an open, fair and accountable
electoral system that will serve as a model for other states across the
nation.”
Trakas continued, “equally important to a transparent voting
system, I am determined to fight fraud and abuse in campaigns and elections in
nonpartisan fashion, as that is the charge of Ohio’s chief election official and
guardian of our democratic principles. Furthermore, as the registrar of all
businesses in our state, I will also fight for ethical business practices and
procedures while ensuring that Ohio is ‘open for business’ by reducing
bureaucratic barriers that inhibit the entrepreneurial spirit.”
Trakas, a
four-term state representative from Independence in Cuyahoga County (17th Ohio
House District), has served in the Ohio General Assembly since 1999, where he
previously served as House Majority Whip. Elected to his first term at the age
of 33, he currently serves on the Elections and Ethics Committee (Vice
Chairman), Economic Development and Environment Committee, Finance and
Appropriations Committee, and the Higher Education Subcommittee.
“In the
tradition of Senator George Voinovich and Attorney General Jim Petro, both of
whom were innovative and effective leaders in Cuyahoga County before ascending
to the heights of government—to the betterment of our citizenry, I hope to be
given the opportunity to serve not only residents of my district who I have
fought for over the last seven years but all of the citizens of the great state
of Ohio,” said Trakas.
“During my candidacy for Secretary of State, I
will continue to work with the Governor and my fellow leaders of the General
Assembly to lower our state’s tax burden on individuals; foster a better
business climate in Ohio, improve not only the quality of our schools but how we
fund them, address our healthcare system and craft a fiscally responsible budget
with the overarching goal of improving the lives of the men, women and children
who call Ohio ‘home,’” Trakas stated.
From 1996 until early 2005, Trakas
served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County where he worked
with Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett and other Republican leaders
across the region and the state to register voters, increase turnout on election
day and recruit high-quality GOP candidates to run for office. He was also
previously elected to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, which Bennett
chairs.
Beginning at the age of 26, Trakas served two terms as a City
Councilman for the City of Independence, where he was first elected in 1991 and
again in 1993. Three years later, running on a platform of responsiveness to
constituent concerns and citizen involvement in the political process, he began
his career as a Republican party leader.
Working his way through college
as a custodian for Independence Public Schools, as a hot dog vendor at Cleveland
Municipal Stadium as well as a page in Ohio’s State Senate, Trakas earned his
Bachelor of Arts degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from The Ohio State
University in 1987. Thereafter, he continued his education by studying Materials
Management and Polymer Compounding at the University of Akron. Returning to
Independence, he began work as a laborer and rose to the position of Corporate
Materials Manager for Allied Color Industries, a division of PolyOne (formerly
M.A. Hanna Company), which he left in 1996 to pursue a political
career.
Trakas, a second generation Greek-American, learned the value of
hard work and a special appreciation for the rights, responsibilities and
freedoms of the American democracy from his parents and grandparents, who
immigrated to the United States from Greece in the early 1920s. Similarly,
Trakas developed an early understanding of the importance of service to
community and country from his father, who served in World War II and his
grandfather, who served in World War I. It is with that intrinsic level of
understanding that Trakas aspires to be Ohio’s next Secretary of
State.
“Despite legitimate concerns, the democratic system has clearly
worked in Ohio during the last two presidential elections, but we have a long
way to go in perfecting the electoral system in our state,” said Trakas. “I will
simply not rest until each and every voter who wants to participate in our
elections has the requisite knowledge of how to do so, possesses a deep and
abiding understanding of the importance of performing their civic duty, and has
full faith and confidence that, once cast, their vote will be counted—no matter
from what city, county or circumstance.”
“It is not lost on me in this
time of global unrest and the War on Terrorism that it is more vitally important
than ever to educate, inform, embrace and empower our electorate. We also owe it
to our men and women in uniform, those who have sacrificed greatly for our
freedoms in the past, those who fought and led the women’s suffrage movement,
the civil rights movement and so many other patriots to ensure democracy for
all,” Trakas concluded.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/3/prweb217041.htm