Ryan Ottney

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ryan Ottney

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Shawnee State University, 2006

Personal

Birthplace

Portsmouth, Ohio

Profession

Communications director

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Ryan Ottney (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio State Senate to represent District 14. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Ottney completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ryan Ottney was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Shawnee State University in 2006. Ottney’s career experience includes working as a journalist and communications director.

Elections

2020

See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Ohio State Senate District 14

Incumbent Terry Johnson defeated Ryan Ottney in the general election for Ohio State Senate District 14 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry Johnson (R)	72.7	127,588
	Submit photo	Ryan Ottney (D)	27.3	47,843

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 175,431
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 14

Ryan Ottney advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio State Senate District 14 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Ryan Ottney	100.0	13,060

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,060
= 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 State Senate District 14

Incumbent Terry Johnson defeated David Uible in the Republican primary for Ohio State Senate District 14 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Terry Johnson	76.3	29,928
		David Uible	23.7	9,278

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,206
= 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 themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ryan Ottney completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Ottney's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Ryan Ottney, of New Boston (Scioto County), Ohio, is an elected member of the New Boston Village Council and chairman of the Scioto County Democratic Party.

With a BA in English communications and journalism minor, Ryan worked for nearly 15 years as an award-winning writer and editor for the Portsmouth Daily Times newspaper and now works as director of communications at the South Central Ohio ESC in New Boston.

His work in journalism engraved upon Ryan the importance of transparency and accountability, as well as the value of a free press. He has brought that value with him to public service, and as the first Democrat Senator for Ohio's 14th District he will continue to act openly and honestly to represent the diversity of all people and ideas that reside throughout southern Ohio.

According to Ryan, the most important issues facing southern Ohio are jobs and the opioid epidemic, as well as affordable health care and quality education.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• People before profits
• Putting our communities first
• Equality for all

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Investing in local communities to rebuild infrastructure and provide more opportunities and services to small towns.

Bringing good jobs that pay well to the district, and supporting union labor.

Combatting the opioid crisis with more treatment and recovery options, instead of locking up non-violent offenders to help enrich the private prison industry.

Supporting equality for all groups (minorities, women, LGBT, etc) and freedom for people to practice their religion.

Supporting common-sense gun safety legislation that does not infringe upon the 2nd Amendments rights of law-abiding, responsible gun owners.

Reversing the effects of climate change by reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and investing in safe, renewable energies.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My grandfather was a great role model. He was a longtime mayor in my community, and he was also a Methodist preacher and a Boy Scout leader. He taught me by example about compassion, honesty, and responsibility to helping others.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am an empathetic leader, always listening to the concerns of others and sincerely trying to help. I believe that all people should be treated with equal respect - regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, religion, income, or anything else. I hope that business can be successful and profitable, but not at the expense of workers, citizens, consumers or the environment.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe our leaders need to work for the people, not for corporations or for profit.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I hope, more than anything, people remember that I cared.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember being a child in school, watching the Challenger launch in my classroom. I would have been about 8 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was bagging groceries at a local market. I was not there long before I left and starting bussing tables at a restaurant. I've worked in retail and fast food and washed cars and worked on assembly lines and mopped floors on the midnight shift -- until I finished college and started working in journalism where I stayed for about 15 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Stephen King, "The Shining" -- While I don't really like the horror genre, I am a big fan of King's work because it so expertly blends horror and suspense with character-driven drama. I also enjoy the work of Neil Gaiman, Dan Brown, Brad Meltzer, and Chuck Palahniuk, and I enjoy reading graphic novels and comics.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Our chosen representatives should look like us. They should be farmers and labor workers and retail workers and teachers and, in my case, journalists. I believe journalists could make excellent legislators because they are already hardwired to promote truth, transparency, and accountability.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Redistricting the maps to undo harmful GOP gerrymandering that has kept them in control of the statehouse for too long, and the undoing their harmful policies that have hurt people while corporations profit.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Vern Riffe, Jr., was a popular and influential House Speaker in the state of Ohio, and I am always inspired by his example. Not only are we from the same county (Scioto), but also the same street. His family (Vern Sr - former New Boston, Ohio, mayor who preceded my grandfather Mayor Charles Ottney) lived across the street from my family, and now I live in that same house with my son (Charles "Chase" Ottney). Seeing how far he went, from here, has been an inspiration to me in my own political pursuits.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I may be interested in running for another office in the future, if I make a connection with the voters and they want to support me for another office I would strongly consider it.

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.

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Ohio State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Robert McColley

Minority Leader:Nickie Antonio

Senators

District 1

Robert McColley (R)

District 2

Theresa Gavarone (R)

District 3

Michele Reynolds (R)

District 4

George Lang (R)

District 5

Stephen Huffman (R)

District 6

Willis Blackshear (D)

District 7

Steve Wilson (R)

District 8

Louis Blessing (R)

District 9

Catherine Ingram (D)

District 10

Kyle Koehler (R)

District 11

Paula Hicks-Hudson (D)

District 12

Susan Manchester (R)

District 13

Nathan Manning (R)

District 14

Terry Johnson (R)

District 15

Hearcel Craig (D)

District 16

Beth Liston (D)

District 17

Shane Wilkin (R)

District 18

Jerry Cirino (R)

District 19

Andrew Brenner (R)

District 20

Tim Schaffer (R)

District 21

Kent Smith (D)

District 22

Mark Romanchuk (R)

District 23

Nickie Antonio (D)

District 24

Thomas Patton (R)

District 25

William DeMora (D)

District 26

Bill Reineke (R)

District 27

Kristina Roegner (R)

District 28

Casey Weinstein (D)

District 29

Jane Timken (R)

District 30

Brian Chavez (R)

District 31

Al Landis (R)

District 32

Sandra O'Brien (R)

District 33

Alessandro Cutrona (R)

Republican Party (24)

Democratic Party (9)