Lynn Walsh

Written for Ohio Watchdog:

Matt Burke, a student in Colerain, Ohio is now a contender for Congress. Burke is running for a seat in Ohio’s 21st Congressional District.

Where is the 21st Congressional District? The district is one of ten phantom districts named by www.recovery.gov as having received federal stimulus money. The website has since moved the phantom congressional districts into an “unassigned congressional district” category.

The phantom 21st congressional district is not the only district gaining political interest in Ohio; Harald Zieger is also running for office in Ohio’s 56th Congressional District. Zieger is an immigrant from Russia and Burke is a minor, who has received permission from his parents to run for office.

Justin Binik-Thomas, Vice President of National Affairs and Strategy for Cincinnati Tea Party said, “I think these are very expensive jobs we are creating. Clearly the costs are not in line with the actual response. You do not have a job with a salary of $3 million.” Binik-Thomas is referring to the average cost per job created or retained due to stimulus money in the 1st Congressional District in Ohio.

Burke will not begin campaigning until January, but according to his campaign site, “he’s too small to fail!” Binik-Thomas knows both Burke and Zieger and said they are running more to make a point than to get elected; “this is not something that can be slipped under the radar. You cannot misplace or misappropriate tens of millions of dollars and call it transparency.”