‘Social entrepreneur’ to challenge Bolon for 1st District seat

By D.a. Wilkinson

A former businessman will challenge a veteran politician.

COLUMBIANA — Craig E. Newbold has announced he will run this year for the 1st District House seat now held by Linda Bolon.

Newbold, a Republican, and Bolon, a Democrat, both live in Columbiana.

The district encompasses Columbiana County.

Newbold announced his candidacy earlier this week. Bolon said Friday she will run again. She said she will make a formal announcement later.

Newbold’s release described him as an area business leader and “social entrepreneur.”

“I have stood by for too long and watched this region of Ohio slide backward,” Newbold said. “I believe that I could bring a fresh new perspective to the General Assembly and help shape policies that will put Ohio back on the right track,”

Newbold’s stated he entered the computer technology field in 1968 when the industry was beginning. In 1990, he started his own company, Best Consulting in Seattle, that grew to a $100 million operation with 1,100 employees.

Newbold returned to the county and became a “social entrepreneur” by creating NewLife Academy, a nonprofit school to train people to work on the Internet.

According to Ohio House Republican Leader Rep. Bill Batchelder, “There is probably not a legislator in the entire General Assembly that has had the business experience that Craig Newbold has had over the years. From my conversations with him, I know he has the determination to hit the ground running and to help us cut unnecessary spending so that Ohio can be put back on a path towards growth and expansion in the private sector, not the public sector.”

wilkinson@vindy.com