Letter to the Voters: Jimmy Stewart, Recorder Candidate
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Meigs Independent Press does not participate in advertising for or endorsing candidates. The submissions from candidates are a service to the voters and the people of Meigs County. Candidates were invited to write an open letter to the voters. It is published as submitted, unedited.)
My name is Jimmy Stewart and I have lived in Columbia Township in MeigsCounty since 2005. I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Marshall University and earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Xavier University. I have operated my own rental real estate for nearly 25 years and previously sold Caterpillar equipment for Walker Machinery in Southeast Ohio.
From 2003 to 2011, I served three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and was also elected to the Ohio Senate where I served as the Senate Republican Majority Leader. I sponsored over ten bills that became law while cosponsoring many others including Ohio’s original Conceal Carry Law. I received numerous endorsements from business and labor groups, the National Rifle Association, and Ohio Right to Life. From January 2016 to December 2019, I was a Republican Board Member for the Meigs County Board of Elections.
Currently, I am the Chairman of the Ohio Water Development Board to which I was originally appointed in July 2011. Since that year, the Authority has provided over $33 million in funding for water and sewer infrastructure projects in MeigsCounty. I have also been the President of the Ohio Gas Association for over 8 ½ years. The OGA is the trade association of Ohio’s natural gas transportation and distribution companies.
I decided to run for Meigs County Recorder because I want to improve the office for the benefit of the residents of our county. Our current County Recorder Kay Hill has worked in the office for 38 years and has done an outstanding job managing a small budget and a putting together a well trained staff. It is important that we build upon the improvements already made and work together to update and improve the technology used in the office. A modernized system will benefit everyone who interacts with the Recorder’s office.
My experience in local and state government puts me in an excellent position to obtain the resources to update the office. My plan is to work with members of the legislature to obtain a small appropriation to assist small, economically distressed counties like ours upgrade the technology in their Recorder’s offices. Within the past year Meigs County received several hundred thousand dollars in state funding to purchase new election equipment and also significant funding for technology upgrades in our courts. By working with our own State Representative and Senator as well as others I already know who represent similar counties, we can build a coalition to get the resources we need.
In addition to seeking state assistance for technology upgrades, I plan to reach out to my contacts at the Ohio University Voinovich School. For many years this program has worked with local governments in our region to assist them in various activities, planning and GIS projects. I believe this could be an excellent way to get more of our older records redacted and then scanned into the existing database that currently goes back to 2007.
Finally I would like to pursue the possibility of issuing veterans identification cards through our office, similar to some other Recorder’s offices.
I am endorsed by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18.
Finally, I am open to any suggestions on how to improve our Recorder’s Office. You can call me on my personal mobile phone number, 740-707-3124 or email me at jimmystewart2004@yahoo.com any time. Thank you for your consideration and I would appreciate your vote!
Jimmy Stewart, Candidate for Meigs County Recorder