I met John O'Grady, clerk of the Franklin County Common Pleas Court and a candidate for county commissioner, two years ago at Ohio Dominican University. We are finishing our degrees to fulfill 25-year-old promises to our parents. We occupy opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Now that we are graduating, I will miss him the most. He and I had spirited debates that made us both better people and even greater friends. Although O'Grady, a Democrat, and I may not share identical views, our conversations reassure me that he leads his professional life with the best for Franklin County residents as his only concern.
Leadership and experience are not abundant qualities in political leaders today, and it is unlikely that O'Grady and I will back the same candidates this fall. However, political alliances should yield to voting for who is best equipped to serve.
I urge my fellow Republicans to vote for [John O'Grady] the person with a track record of serving Franklin County with evenhandedness and dignity.
WILLIAM McDOWALL
Columbus
Thanks, William! Here's what John has to say about his decision to go back to college --
"Sometimes life gets in the way. I left OSU to take a dream job serving Ohioans with Ohio's Treasurer Mary Ellen Withrow. Twenty years later, I had an amazing wife and family, had served my state in the Treasurer's office for nine years, had owned my own business, and had been elected to serve Franklin County as Clerk of Courts.
But I had to keep my promise and finish the work I started."
