Ahmed Adan, The Somali Press
Ahmed.h@somaliculture.org

Joyce Beatty showed to have strong support in a diverse and divided newly drawn 3rd Congressional District by winning Democratic primary.

The four candidate race in a primarily democrat new district results were Beatty 38 percent, the second was former U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy 35 percent, in the final unofficial returns. Columbus Councilwomen Priscilla Tyson had 15 percent and state Rep. Ted Celeste had 12 percent, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Beatty 61, served in the Ohio House of Representative as a legislator and after leaving the Ohio House joined the Ohio State University as Senior Vice President of Outreach and Engagement until the end of January. Beatty won with a very narrow margin and expects to win in the November elections in the heavily democratic 3rd district.

All four candidates were outstanding people who served the state of Ohio most of their lives. Communities were divided in voting and to some it was a very hard choice to make among these great candidates. They all had the interest of the district at heart and wanted to serve, advocate and represent this diverse electorate.

Tyson was the third running in this race and in her campaign she spoke many times about the lack of greater conversation and communication between leaders and their diverse segments of communities. With this stance she was able secure many micro-minority votes including Somalis and other African communities in this constituency. These communities feel they are not visible in the process and saw Tyson to be the missing link.

Kilroy emphasized on respect of cultures and the importance of direct connection with the ethnic communities, during her campaign. She was the chosen candidate for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and The New Americans Public Affairs Council (NAPAC). CAIR and NAPAC endorsed Kilroy because she understood their issues better than the other candidates.

The three percent margin win shows that Beatty needs to reach out to the larger constituency to get the majority support for the November elections. Reaching out to ethnic communities that either care about specific issues or need recognition and inclusion is one way to win greater support.

Beatty’s win for the Democratic primary in the 3rd district looks to be a long-term commitment with the new district’s residents. A good representative is expected to know local issues that are not uniform and building genuine partnerships with diverse residents.
Partnership has to be year long. We need to work together. Beatty urged, in a community meeting for her primary election campaign. The question is, if that was real or just another politician’s babble to pass the moment. Only time will tell.

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