An excerpt from our interview with Chris Redfern:

Gloria Ferris: I do. I am Gloria Ferris from GloriaFerris.net (I blog at that), and Chris, I would like to know that… As you know, our voting turnout in the State of Ohio is very abysmal, and how do you see your position? What can you do to bring Democratic voters back into the system and have them realize that their votes mean something?

Chris Redfern: That’s a great question. Obviously focusing my efforts on turning out Democratic votes, first and foremost, as the Party Chair. I believe most Independents, if given the opportunity, the message from the State Party through the County parties and through candidates will gravitate towards the Democratic Party. So focusing on Democrats and likeminded Independents and the few moderates that are left, few moderate Republicans that are left in the State. Building an 88-county approach is essential to building turnout. For the years I have been involved in Party politics, and for those of you who may have been involved for numbers of years, you can remember how campaigns were run from the top down, and messages were handed down to the County parties, and directions and instructions, literature, resources, and there was no work from the bottom up, and meanwhile the Republicans were building a great grassroots organization, enabling their activists to go door-to-door with things that were important at the Local level.

Voters get turned off with messages dictated from on high. Voters, people living in precincts and neighborhoods, are drawn to local issues first. Republicans were very successful taking back the House in the early 1990s with that approach…