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Hudson councilman selected to run for 37th District
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 11, 2016
As a child Casey Weinstein started a neighborhood trash pickup organization; as a young adult he served in the United States Air Force, where he worked to keep government data safe from hackers along with handling scheduling and budget management.
Now the Hudson city councilman is on a new mission as he sets out to convince voters that he’s the right person to improve life for residents in the state’s 37th House District.
Weinstein, who turns 34 on Aug. 27, became the Democratic candidate on July 27 after the Summit County Democratic Party voted to nominate him to take on the challenge. He faces incumbent State Rep. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) in the general election in November.
“I think we need a fresh perspective and a clean slate in Columbus,” said Weinstein. “I want to be that new voice who operates with a spirit of bipartisanship.”
The district encompasses portions of Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Northfield Center Township, Reminderville, Silver Lake, Stow, the city of Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township.
Weinstein filled the spot held by write-in Democratic candidate Tom Schmida. He replaced Reminderville Mayor Sam Alonso, who was disqualified from running in the March 15 early primary after he failed to get his petitions certified.
Aaron Fisher, executive director of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus, said Schmida agreed to be “a placeholder for us while we selected a replacement for Mayor Alonso.
“We met with different electeds,” said Fisher. “But when we met Casey and learned of his story we knew he was the right choice.
“He’s made a clear commitment to serve the community,” said Fisher. “He’s a council member and veteran and has experience in the private sector. He’s clearly willing to work with both sides to come up with balanced solutions that benefit everyone, not just one party or the other. It’s time we elect someone who wants common sense solutions for Ohioans.”
Born on Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, Weinstein spent half of his childhood on the base and the other part in Fairfax, Virginia.
“My father was in the Air Force and was also assistant general counsel to the Ronald Reagan Administration, so we lived in that area part of the time,” said Weinstein.
“When the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, there was a big ceremony at the White House and I got to meet President Reagan. It was very exciting especially because I was a huge Dodgers fan,” Weinstein said.
Shortly after, Weinstein organized the trash pickup organization, Save the Earth Club, which he said was most likely inspired by meeting President Reagan.
“I come from a long line of military veterans so public service was ingrained in me early on, but it was definitely nourished by my visit to the White House,” Weinstein said.
He later enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he got a bachelor’s degree in management. Weinstein also received a master’s degree in business administration from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business.
It was during his time at the Air Force Academy that he met his wife Amanda, an assistant professor in the economics department at The University of Akron.
The two have one daughter, Nora, and live in Hudson.
“One of the first things that attracted me to Casey was his ambition to serve his country and the community,” said Amanda. “He has accomplished a lot as councilman and he has a real vision about how to grow the community.
“I support his run for the House completely and I think he will achieve great things.”
Weinstein spent over three years on active duty. In June of 2004, he took on a job as deputy chief of information assurance for the 61st Communications Squadron at Los Angeles Air Force Base, where he was responsible for cybersecurity.
Between September of 2005 and September of 2007, he was charged with maintenance support in the 88th Communications Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, where he directly managed the schedules, budgets and tasks for 15 personnel.
Since leaving active duty, Weinstein has held a variety of jobs in the private sector. He currently works for the information technology research and advisory company, Gartner Inc., where he serves as senior account/client executive, handling the retention and growth of Gartner’s Air Force business.
Prior to his election as Hudson City councilman in 2015, he served as class project leader for the 2014 Leadership Hudson program, which seeks to develop future community leaders.
He also did a stint on the Clark County Democratic Central Committee from 2009 to 2012, when he lived in Dayton.
“As councilman, my major focus has been the continued redevelopment of the downtown,” Weinstein said. “I’ve also taken on an important role in the launch of broadband Internet throughout the city of Hudson.”
Weinstein said he led a fundraising effort that helped secure the money to launch the Barlow Community Center Solar Training Center, which will teach students and the community about the benefits of solar energy.
If elected, Weinstein said he plans to work to restore state funding to local governments.
“As a councilman I understand how the cuts impact public safety and infrastructure,” he said.
Jeff Fusco, councilman-at-large in Akron and chair for the Summit County Democratic Party, said Weinstein possesses the energy and drive necessary to get things done.
“He’s younger and he’s been on the frontlines of local government so he understands how state actions can impact communities,” said Fusco. “He’s also passionate about making sure our public school system continues to be propped up. Public schools have been adversely affected by legislation that favors charter schools.
“Casey is very clear about why our local school system ought to be supported not exported,” said Fusco. “Finally he’s very concerned about the environment. I think those concerns are key to the platform.”