Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BOARDMAN — Dr. Donald K. Allen, who ran last year as a write-in candidate for president of the United States, plans to seek office on a smaller political stage.
Allen, a veterinarian who lives in Boardman, says he’ll run next year as a Republican in the 12-county 6th Congressional District race. The district includes all of Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County.
The seat is held by U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th. Wilson would seek his third two-year term in the U.S. House in 2010.
Allen moved to the Mahoning Valley in 1984 to work at Crago Veterinary Clinic. He became the medical director of Animal Charity in Youngstown in 1987, and opened his own practice in Boardman in 1992.
Allen’s platform includes limiting government, developing a strict federal fiscal policy and restructuring the nation’s regulatory system.
Last year, Allen ran for president as a write-in. It was his first bid for political office. He received 212 votes in Ohio, including 171 in Mahoning County. In comparison, President Barack Obama, a Democrat who won Ohio, received 2,940,044 votes with 79,173 coming from Mahoning County.