As a lifelong union bricklayer born and raised in Sandusky, along Lake Erie in northern Ohio, Mike Smith is no stranger to challenges.
Smith, 70, graduated from St. Mary’s High School and married his wife Brenda in 1971. The duo moved to Licking County in 1995, and, together, they raised three sons: Jamie, Chuck and Thomas. Today, they are the grandparents of seven and the great-grandparents of two.
Now, Smith said he is ready to take on a new challenge: the Ohio State House of Representatives. Smith, a Democrat, is running to represent Ohio House District 68 – a seat currently held by Republican Thaddeus Claggett, his opponent in the election.
Smith’s campaign is focused on one central goal: to provide a better world for his children, grandchildren and future generations of Ohioans. Smith wants to be a voice for the people of Licking County and believes that his career in labor and commitment to democracy make him a worthy candidate.
“When I was born, I inherited a responsibility to leave this world a better place,” Smith told The Reporting Project. “I think I’m the man for this job.”
Smith, who became a union bricklayer in 1974, said his passion lies in union work and fair labor practices, including fair wages, safe working conditions and supporting the rights of workers. He continued working with unions like the Central Ohio Labor Council AFL-CIO, the Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, the Central Ohio Building Futures Program and the Licking County Democratic Club.
And those decades of work alongside unions, he said, shaped his political views.
“When I became a candidate, I was told not to wear (International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers) branded shirts. But this is who I am,” said Smith.
Smith hopes to represent all people in District 68, which encompasses Newark and the western portion of Licking County. That means, he said, working to solve homelessness, improving infrastructure in the wake of the 2022 Intel announcement to build the world’s largest computer-chip manufacturing campus here, and addressing the increasing pressure on local farmers to “produce more with less.”
“I’m not just a candidate,” Smith wrote on his website. “I’m a dedicated advocate for common working men and women, ready to champion the causes that matter most to District 68. With a focus on labor, a commitment to the community, and a steadfast stance against election deniers and defiers, I’m here to bring positive change.”
Smith is passionate about his commitment to upholding election integrity. “Elections are the bedrock of American democracy. If we fail to have meaningful elections that are upheld and honored, then we have failed democracy.”
Smith recalled the results of the 2023 election, when Ohio voted in favor of Issue 1, which enshrined the right to an abortion in the Ohio Constitution.
“The next day, my opponent came out with a document with 26 other elected legislators that said the election results from the day before didn’t matter. I thought that was absolutely horrendous,” Smith said. “If you don’t want to consider what the people want, then maybe you should be doing something else.”
In addition to his defense of labor rights and commitment to election integrity, Smith’s platform includes support for women’s health-care rights and opposition to gerrymandering.
“If elected, I’m not going to vote for gerrymandering districts, and I’m not going to vote for laws that suppress a woman’s right to make her own health-care decisions,” Smith said.
Smith also intends to put forward a bill that would require Jobs Ohio, which promotes economic development in the state, to finance third-party data collection for mega sites across Ohio, ensuring that environmental and health data is available before production begins.
“The only way that we can prove that companies coming in are keeping their environmental promises is to know what conditions were before they started production,” said Smith.
In recent years, Smith has served as an usher at Nationwide Arena, and has officiated high school football and junior soccer games for two decades.
“It’s gratifying to interact with people on a friendly basis so often,” Smith said. “If both of the coaches were equally pissed off by the end of the match, I knew I called a good game.”
Selah Griffin writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.