Wilson Faces Competition for Congressional Seat

by Callie Lyons
February 17, 2010

Conservative republican Bill Johnson of Poland announced his candidacy for the US House of Representatives Sixth District – a seat currently held by democrat Congressman Charlie Wilson.

Wilson is also facing opposition from within his own party with Jim Renner of North Benton filing a petition to run against the incumbent in May’s primary.

Renner says he is running because the party has lost its direction and its will to right it.

“We need to give the people back their voice and bring back fiscal responsibility,” Renner said in a statement released Tuesday by his campaign. “If you haven’t seen me yet, chances are you will as I make the rounds through the district, knocking on doors, introducing myself.”

Renner is an independent business owner and former president of Habitat for Humanity in Portage County.

Johnson is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and an entrepreneur who says he decided to run because he thinks the character of the nation is under attack.

“I believe we need desperately to take conservative leadership back to Washington,” Johnson said. “Charlie Wilson votes with Nancy Pelosi’s liberal agenda 97.8 percent of the time and he tries to qualify himself as a moderate.”

Johnson made his announcement at Magnum Magnetics in Marietta last Thursday.

“I’ve spoken to a number of tea party and 9-12 groups and I speak to anybody who wants to listen,” Johnson said. “I’m not a politician. I’m an American. I’m a leader.”

He says Americans are sick and tired of politicians.

“Over the last year we’ve seen our financial institutions nationalized, we’ve seen our automotive industry essentially nationalized,” Johnson said. “They are heavy on the trail of health care. They are also on the trail of our energy industry. Those are things the federal government is not designed to do.”

Wilson is expected to tour three area manufacturing facilities Wednesday in what he calls an opportunity to see and hear firsthand the challenges that exist in the current economic climate.

"I look forward to touring the Thermo Fisher Scientific Plant, the Solvay Advanced Polymers Plant, and Farrar Industries," Wilson said. "Thermo Fisher is in the process of adding more than 100 jobs and it will be exciting to go and share in that good news with the workers there."