Jan. 6—Democrats Derrick Foward and Desiree Tims will face off this March in a bid for the 38th Ohio House District as the seat’s incumbent Rep. Willis Blackshear Jr. foregoes a reelection campaign to instead vie for a seat in the Ohio Senate.
The March 19 primary race between Foward and Tims will effectively decide who will win the seat as no Republican candidates filed petitions to run. The House district represents much of Dayton and Trotwood.
Foward, who serves as the president of the Dayton Unit NAACP and vice president of the Ohio NAACP, officially kicked off his campaign during an event held Saturday at the Montgomery County Courthouse.
This is Foward’s fourth bid for public office, having previously filed petitions for House seats in 2001 and 2019, along with a run for the Dayton City Commission in 2003, each time withdrawing his name from the race after not receiving endorsement from city and county Democratic parties.
“This is my season and I believe I’ve been called to do this work,” Foward said Saturday. “I’ve been doing this work for 18 years as the president of the NAACP from an advocacy standpoint, but now I want to turn all that advocacy work into legislation.”
Foward, who has degrees from the International Apostolic University of Grace and Truth and Central State University, said he hopes to use the position of state representative to make a difference for the community he has served for nearly two decades.
“We’re going to look at criminal justice reform, continue to look at educational opportunities, health care concerns, and do so with political representation from a local side, state side, and national side,” he said. “From the compilation of work I’ve been doing … I want to put laws on the books that will enact change.”
Tims, president of the progressive think tank Innovation Ohio, first announced her bid for the 38th House District seat in December.
This is Tims’ second bid for public office, having run for U.S. Congress in 2020, ultimately losing against current U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, after winning the Democratic primary.
“My message in 2020 is my message today: I believe in the hope, future, and opportunity that lies within the Miami Valley, and we need a voice to represent us at the highest levels of government,” Tims told the newspaper Saturday.
Tims, who has degrees from Georgetown University Law Center and Xavier University, said her time as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill from 2012-2014, as well as her years of experience with Innovation Ohio, will serve her well as a state representative.
“I’ve spent the last 15 years working on public policies, specifically working with lawmakers in and out of the legislature, both at the federal and state level,” she said. “I’m also passionate about representing my community and I believe that my candidacy represents the future of the community and what we can do with fresh voices, talent and experience.”
Foward said if he is elected to the House, he intends to resign as president of the local NAACP. Tims has not said if she intends to continue as president of Innovation Ohio if elected.
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