Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Richard Dana
Richard Dana (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio House of Representatives to represent District 99. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Dana completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Richard Dana was born in Canton, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University in 1991 and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1995. His professional experience includes working as an attorney and as an adjunct professor of criminal justice, business law, and ethics at Kent State University at Ashtabula.[1]
Dana previously served as the board president of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. As of 2020, he was the board chair of two regional hospitals within the University Hospitals Health System, a member of his local school board, and a member and former board president of the Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 99
Sarah Fowler defeated Richard Dana and Kyle Bruckman in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 99 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sarah Fowler (R) | 58.5 | 28,918 |
 | Richard Dana (D)  | 41.2 | 20,356 | |
 | Kyle Bruckman (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.3 | 150 | |
| Total votes: 49,424 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 99
Richard Dana advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 99 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Richard Dana | 100.0 | 5,836 |
| Total votes: 5,836 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 99
Sarah Fowler advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 99 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sarah Fowler | 100.0 | 7,413 |
| Total votes: 7,413 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2020
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 4, 2020 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Richard Dana completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dana's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
My decision to run for elective office stems from the fear that the advantages I received from my schooling are not available to future generations. As part of my service to my Community, I have served on our local legal aid board, local mental health & recovery services board, local hospital board, and local school board. More recently, I began teaching at a regional campus of Kent State University. I have seen first hand how the current culture of corruption that exists in Columbus squanders Hundred of Millions of dollars from school funding, jeopardized our children's future. We must do better.
Finally, throughout my experiences, I have become an "Accidental Historian," where I have become inspired by the courage of the Citizens of Northeast Ohio throughout our history in taking the promises of America and seeing that they are available to all.- My first passion is about education, and seeing that our children's future is not based on the zip code where they reside. Ohio's school funding system was held to be Unconstitutional over 22 years ago. It's time to fix the way we fund Public Education in Ohio.
- I have had the pleasure to serve on a major Northeast Ohio hospital board, serving as Board Chair of two regional hospitals that have earned 5 star ratings (out of 5 stars) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Quality and patient satisfaction. Like education, the quality of your healthcare should not be based on the zip code where you reside.
- COVID-19 has revealed the struggles our most vulnerable populations face, especially in rural Ohio, and that includes a lack of Broadband Service. Our students and patients struggle without access to reliable and affordable Broadband.
While our area has so much going for it, there are struggles that keep us from reaching our full potential. The loss of manufacturing to our area, resulted in the loss of many good paying Union jobs. The opioid crisis hit us hard, and COVID-19 reveals areas where children lack sufficient food with children and adults alike lacking basic healthcare. The lack of reliable and inexpensive Broadband will continue to negatively impact these populations that are not in a position to take advantage of our renaissance. The Country knew our area would lose jobs with NAFTA, and aid was promised, that was never delivered. Our next Representative must fight to restore full prosperity to this region, and I am prepared for that fight!
My father served in the United States Air Force as a pilot flying B-29s left over from World War Two. It is reported that he and his crew served 30 combat missions in the final six months of the Korean War. My father came into the War as a young man full of vim and vigor, and left with scars related to losing friends in combat. My father was a very quiet man, who never discussed his Service in the military, but retained a "Mission Focus" in everything that he did for the remainder of his life including work and raising his Family. I credit my Father with teaching me persistence at getting a job done, and done right, while also taking time to Serve your Community.
If you want to know me, you can view two websites that I have played a part to develop at KSU-A honoring two individuals: Judge Florence E. Allen and Merle McCurdy.
https://oaks.kent.edu/allen_gallery
https://oaks.kent.edu/mccurdy_gallery
To this day, I remain firmly convinced in the promise of America and "Equal Justice Under Law."
In addition to helping out my Family working in a seasonal restaurant, I have practiced law for nearly 25 years, as well as taught Criminal Justice, Business Law and Ethics at Kent State University at Ashtabula. I have also served on a number of charitable boards, including as President of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, my local Rotary Club, and as current Board Chair of two regional Hospitals within the University Hospitals Health System. I also serve on my local School Board.
For far too long, largely based from gerrymandered districts, our National Parties fight from the far extremes off the roadway on the "left" or the "right." As a result, both parties play to their base without seeking compromise or real solutions to our Nation's problems.
That is a long list, but my focus will be on the single biggest industry in the 99th House District, Agriculture. Northeast Ohio is also blessed with the best healthcare in the World, so the Health and Aging Committee is of particular interest. I am also a public school kid, who had the privilege to attend the Ohio State University, with a willingness to serve on my local School Board and Kent State University Extension where I observe the very real problems that we have in this State with respect to Education. First and foremost, I want to make sure that the excellent Education my generation received from the State of Ohio, exists for future Generations of Ohioans.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
