MEETING WITH VOTERS … Congressman Bob Latta meets with voter Robert Witsaman during Latta’s time in Williams County on June 29th. (PHOTO BY DANIEL COOLEY, STAFF)
By: Daniel Cooley
Congressman Bob Latta’s day began on Wednesday, June 29, at 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m., when he met with voters one on one, in Defiance.
He then shifted gears and met one on one with Williams County voters in Bryan, in a conference room on the first floor of the Municipal Court Building.
“These are what we call courthouse conferences,” Latta said. “I like to do this every year, but we missed over a year because of COVID.” “That ended in Ohio either in April or May, I’m not sure of the exact date.”
“So, now, we’re back to it. I talk with voters about issues that concern them. Right now, the main ones are inflation, energy costs, businesses can’t find workers, drug issues and immigration.”
Latta was slated to meet one on one, with about a dozen Williams County voters. Then, it was off to Wauseon for more one on one meetings, from 1:30-3 p.m., on the second floor of the Fulton County Administration Building.
Along with COVID problems, Latta has had some other problems to deal with. With the redistricting of Ohio, Latta will lose both Williams County and Fulton County.
“I have a year left with (both counties) and this is a case where I will have 11 counties come next election cycle and I now have 14,” Latta said. “But I do get the heavily populated Lorain County.”
The 11 counties Latta will have are: Paulding, Henry, Mercer, Wyandot, Putnam, Hancock, Seneca, Crawford, Huron, Van Wert and Lorain.
“One big problem I’ve had to deal with is that (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi has declared a COVID emergency, so for now, all our meetings are virtual,” Latta said.
“That’s not true with the Senate. They can meet like normal. I’m hoping that when the new election results come in, Republicans will win the House and (the COVID emergency) will end.”
Latta said that he plans to continue with the courthouse conferences, covering all his current counties, as well as his upcoming new ones.
He said that he had three meetings in Lorain County this past weekend.
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
