State Representatives Roegner (R-Hudson) and Patmon (D-Cleveland) engage the students in the Stow Munroe Falls High school

It occurred to me over the course of this last General Assembly, as I have had the privilege to serve as your State Representative, that perhaps one of the underlying reasons that there seems to be growing divide across the aisle, might be due in part to a lack of appreciation or true understanding of the differences between the districts.  To test this theory, I reached out to Representative Patmon, a democrat from the inner city of Cleveland, with whom I had worked to pass HB437 through the House, to see if he would be interested in exploring the idea of a daylong "district exchange".  He readily agreed. 

Here was the deal: During the morning of  Monday, April 30th, Representative Patmon could take me anywhere he'd like to give me a better perspective of the issues facing his district. In the afternoon, he would come south to ours.

The morning:  Rep Patmon's district, which runs right along Lake Erie in Cleveland is one of extremes.  It includes such well known and glamorous landmarks as the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Browns Stadium, and  Progressive Field.  We toured the Horseshoe Casino, scheduled to open on May 14th, which on the surface, was quite magnificent.  His district, however, also includes some of the poorest of the urban core, where they struggle with crime, drugs, broken homes, homelessness and extreme poverty;  passing from one generation to the next, seemingly without hope. However, in the midst of all this during our visit to Lincoln West High school, we met with students who were intellectually curious about what we do in Columbus as State Representatives, and who themselves have dreams of college and careers.  I was deeply moved and inspired by their resilience.

The afternoon: my district (Stow, Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake), in contrast to Cleveland, is largely residential.  We did a walking tour of downtown Hudson, where Representative Patmon appeared touched by Hudson's deep involvement with the Underground Railroad, John Brown and Harpers Ferry.  We visited JoAnn Stores and had lunch at First&Main in Hudson. We also visited the Western Reserve Academy and the Stow Munroe Falls High school.  We engaged the students of Mr Tinkler's senior government class, (where I have been volunteering this year), in some rich discussion.  The students were curious about our differing perspectives on issues and shared with us their concerns ranging from the price of college tuition to the economy.  Once again, I was very proud of our students in the Stow Munroe Falls Schools.

At the end of the day, we both learned quite a lot, gaining an increased appreciation for the diverse issues facing Ohio and hopefully we both walked away with greater knowledge and inspiration which will help us become better legislators.  After spending the day with Representative Patmon, one final thing become clear:  we share a common dedication to Ohio and a passion to make our beloved Buckeye State even better tomorrow than it is today.