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5 days left to ‘elect’ Wright brothers, other Ohioans for Statuary Hall in D.C.

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By William Hershey, Columbus Bureau 2:00 AM Tuesday, June 8, 2010

COLUMBUS — Backers of the Wright brothers, former U.S. Rep. William McCulloch from Piqua and eight other finalists are making a final push in the competition to choose a new Ohio representative for National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.

There are just five days of voting remaining.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, voted for the Wright brothers, the aviation pioneers from Dayton, and his congressional office already has collected nearly 3,000 ballots from schools, businesses and local organizations.

Jon Kurtz, owner of Creative, Banners, Flags & Poles just south of downtown Dayton, a Wright brothers’ supporter, has continued to offer ballots to customers.

“We just ask people when they come in,” Kurtz said Monday, June 7. With help from friends, he said he has gathered about 1,000 ballots.

Meanwhile, attorney Wes Edwards, a backer of McCulloch, who was a key proponent of 1960s civil rights legislation, said we’re “optimistic.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, voted for McCulloch.

The Ohio Historical Society in Columbus will tally votes and has received 13,000. The majority of ballots have not been turned in, said Kim Schuette, society spokeswoman.

The new statue will replace former Gov. William Allen, whose pro-slavery, anti-Abraham Lincoln views convinced state officials that he should be replaced.

Ohio’s other Statuary Hall representative is President James Garfield.

Voting continues through Saturday at 35 sites, including the Dunbar House in Dayton and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce. Ballots also can be downloaded at www.legacyforohio.org.

Other candidates include Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and author; Harriet Taylor Upton, women’s suffrage activist; Judith Resnik, the astronaut from Akron who died on the Challenger; inventor Thomas Edison; Olympic gold medal winner Jesse Owens; James M. Ashley, Toledo congressman and abolitionist; Albert Sabin; creator of the oral polio vaccine and Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War general and president.

Candidates must be deceased.

After voting ends, a special legislative committee is expected to make a final recommendation for the statue in July. The recommendation will go to the full legislature.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey @DaytonDailyNews.com.

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