Tuesday, October 28, 2014
YOUNGSTOWN
U.S. Rep. David P. Joyce said he’s spent his first term in Congress representing the interests of the residents of the 14th District.
“I haven’t co-opted myself by going to Washington, D.C.,” said the Republican from Russell. “I’m the same person.”
But Michael Wager, his Democratic challenger, said Joyce is a “go-along guy.”
Wager, an attorney from Moreland Hills, said, “I don’t believe David Joyce is an extreme ideologue. I don’t believe he has deeply-held believes or ideology, but he’s gone along with” Republicans.
During his first term in the House, Joyce has voted with the Republican majority 90.8 percent of the time, according to OpenCongress.org, a website that monitors congressional votes.
Despite the high percentage, Joyce ranks 32nd among the 229 GOP members of the House in terms of not voting with his party.
“I work with both sides to get things done,” Joyce said.
Joyce is critical of his own party for not including Democrats in decision-making.
“I’m a fact-based problem-solver,” he said. “Tell me what the problems are, what the facts are, and together, we can work to find a resolution in everyone’s best interests.”
Joyce spent 24 years as Geauga County prosecutor before replacing Steven LaTourette as the Republican candidate on the 2012 ballot after the GOP primary.
Wager is an attorney and businessman, who served as chairman of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Wager also served as U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign-finance chairman.
“I’m a private-sector guy,” he said. “How long has David Joyce been in the private sector?”
Joyce has raised $2.4 million for this race compared with $1.2 million for Wager as of Sept. 30.
Wager said he’s running against “the awesome power of incumbency coupled with the corroding influence of money in American politics.” He does acknowledge there is some “irony” in his statement as he’s raised more money from contributors than any other Democratic challenger has in this district.
Joyce said he is “honored” to receive contributions from those who believe in “good government.”
Also running is David Macko, a Libertarian from Solon.
The district includes all of Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga counties and portions of Cuyahoga, Portage and Summit counties as well as 11 northern townships in Trumbull County.