Next year, Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, will be our new representative in Congress.
Clark County, which is currently in the 7th Congressional District, will be absorbed by Speaker Boehner’s 8th District when redistricting goes into effect in January.
This Friday, we will have the honor of introducing Speaker Boehner to his new constituency during a luncheon to be held at Wittenberg University’s HPER Center. Today is the last day to register for this event.
The Speaker is a powerful man in Congress – the third in line for the Presidency, by constitutional law. He has a history of working hard for Ohio and his district.
The fact that he has agreed to speak at this event and spend half a day in Springfield demonstrates to me that he wants to get to know our area better, which for us, is critical.
The elimination of the 7th Congressional District is the loss of our local representation. U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, who will retire this year, and his predecessor, Dave Hobson, were true champions for our community. They lived here, knew our vision and worked on our behalf. They saw the potential in ambitious projects, such as the new Springfield Regional Medical Center, National Road Commons, and the PrimeOhio II Industrial Park, and worked on our behalf to make them happen.
As we continue to build on our successes, it is important that our representatives in Congress know who we are, where we’ve been, and where we would like to be.
On Friday, we’ll share with the Speaker our vision for Greater Springfield – not some pie-in-the-sky dream, but the solid strategic plan our community created on the five pillars of Greater Springfield Moving Forward: Jobs and Job Readiness, Corridors and Gateways, Student Achievement, Parks and Greenspace, and Downtown. We’ll share our economic development model of growing our legacy manufacturing while at the same time continuing to diversify our job base through advanced manufacturing, high tech, distribution, insurance, banking and others.
Most importantly, we’ll be asking for his support as we continue to partner with the city, the county, key stakeholders and the business community to move Greater Springfield forward.
Registration for Friday’s luncheon ends today. Register by clicking here.
Have a great Chamber day!
