The Ohio Democratic Party has a new leader. Summit County Councilwoman Liz Walters was elected last night by the party’s executive committee.
The job came down to two women: Antoinette Wilson, who ran Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner’s campaign last year, and Walters. After a few words about the need to rebuild the party by enlisting the strength of leaders in Ohio's 88 counties, Wilson suprised many by dropping out of the race.
"I can honestly say that in my career, I have always put the interests of this party first," Wilson said. "And tonight, I'm going to do that once again. So that I ask that we unite in support of Liz Walters as the party chair."
There were a few minutes of silence after Wilson withdrew. The committee then went on to vote Walters into the position unanimously.
After taking the oath, Walters talked about party unity. She told a story about seeing first-hand problems with lack of health care after her mother’s death from cancer, and said that journey propelled her to work for change. She urged party members to focus on their own stories.
“Now, more than ever, we need to lean into them, because the work ahead for our party will be hard and no doubt, we are going to have many tough conversations about our detailed strategies and our tactics," Walters said.
Walters replaces former Ohio Democratic Party chair David Pepper, who resigned last month, saying the party needed new leadership following Republican wins in 2020.
The party also elected Andre' Washington, treasurer of the NAACP Ohio Conference, unanimously as the new vice chair.
