Credit: File
Credit: File
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Miami Valley Republicans remembered former President Ronald Reagan as a charismatic leader who could unite members of both parties behind a common cause.
"He was the most charming man you would ever meet," said Patrick Flanagan, chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party during Reagan's presidency. "He exuded charm and kindness."
Flanagan first met Reagan in 1978, and saw him again during a Dayton campaign stop in May 1980. The former president was every bit as humble and friendly as he expected.
"It's hard to believe he's gone," Flanagan said after learning of Reagan's death Saturday.
State Rep. John White, RKettering, still remembers Reagan's 1976 speech in Dayton's Oregon Historic District during his Republican primary campaign against Gerald Ford.
"He made being a conservative cool," White said. "He captured my imagination and encouraged my own experience in politics."
State Rep. Jon Husted, RKettering, said Reagan's optimism helped define the modern Republican Party.
"I think he was someone who could synthesize and clarify for the party what they could believe in," White said.
U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, remembered a warm gesture by Reagan shortly after DeWine's daughter, Alice, was born.
DeWine began his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives two years after Reagan took office in 1980, and spent time with the former president on his trips back to Ohio. DeWine met Reagan for the first time shortly after he was sworn into office at a reception the Reagans hosted for newly elected members of Congress.
DeWine's wife, Fran, had given birth to Alice less than two weeks before the reception, DeWine said, and they worried about finding a baby sitter in Washington, a town where the newcomers knew virtually no one. White House officials told the DeWines to bring Alice along, and her presence delighted the president, who held the infant.
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft first met Reagan in 1984, when the president spoke at a rally in Cincinnati. A Hamilton County commissioner at the time, Taft was one of four Ohio co-chairs of the president's re-election campaign. "It was an inspiring moment for me and everyone who was there," said Taft, whose great-grandfather William Howard Taft was president when Reagan was born in 1911.
"We all mourn the loss of an extraordinary leader who revived our spirits and restored our selfconfidence as a nation," Taft said.
U.S. Rep. David Hobson, RSpringfield, commended Reagan for his leadership during the Cold War.
"All Americans today and future generations owe him a great debt of gratitude for his vision during one of the most challenging periods in our country's history," Hobson said.
"Americans today are still touched by his legacy and his steadfast belief in the promise of this nation," said U.S. Rep. Michael Turner, R-Centerville. "During the journey that was the Reagan Era, he restored prosperity, confidence, optimism, faith and pride in America."
"He inspired all of us and made us proud to be Americans," U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said. Voinovich, who was mayor of Cleveland during Reagan's presidency, worked closely with Reagan and said he admired him for his principles and his ability to make people understand his convictions.
Democrats also paid tribute to Reagan's political legacy.
''He was a very charismatic president and had a very friendly nature that people responded to,'' said John Glenn, a former senator from Ohio who served during Reagan's presidency.
Dennis Lieberman, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, said personalities like Reagan don't come along very often. "He made the Republican Party what it is today," Lieberman said. "I imagine they wish they had another Reagan that they could rally around."
Lieberman, now Flanagan's law partner, said Reagan's appeal crossed party lines at a time when the Democratic Party was the dominant force in Washington. His charisma insulated him from criticism.
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