Bill O'Neill for United States Congress

Background:

In 1969, I graduated from Ohio University with a degree in journalism and within three weeks I found myself on active duty as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. I earned the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal for my service in Vietnam.

With the support of the G.I. Bill, I attended Cleveland State University's John Marshall School of Law. After graduating in 1980 I opened a $100 a month, storefront law office in Geneva, Ohio. In 1984 Attorney General Anthony Celebrezze hired me as an Assistant Attorney General. In that capacity, I represented the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and the Industrial Commission of Ohio fighting for civil rights and the rights of workers in the ten-county area I served for 12 years.

In 1996 I was elected to Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals, where I served until my retirement from the bench in July 2007.

At the age of 50, I returned to school in pursuit of another dream, to help sick and injured children.

Now a registered nurse, I work evenings and weekends in the Pediatric Emergency Department of Hillcrest Hospital.

Goals:

I'm running to change the way we do business in Washington. America is on the wrong course.

I want to restore integrity and honesty to Washington.

Issues:

I'm running for Congress because I believe it's time we put America first. I believe we must protect the jobs we still have, and implement policies that will create new ones.

I know the devastation of our job market, because I've seen it happen firsthand in my district.

I'm running as a Vietnam Veteran, and the proud father of an Iraq War Veteran, who believes that we must begin to end this war tomorrow.

Lastly, I'm running as a registred nurse. I see the problems of our broken health care system on a daily basis. I believe it's time for America to stand up, and provide guaranteed health care for all citizens.

Grassroots Support:

The 14th District of Ohio is unique in many aspects. From the farmlands of Ashtabula to the cityscape of Mentor, this is a district that is going Democratic every year.

I plan to grow the grassroots organization that has been established in order to continue our Democratic success.

We know that we will not win this race without a strong grassroots effort.

DFA Values:

I believe in a principle of basic fairness, and it's time for our government to do the same.

Whether we're talking about social issues or fiscal responsibility, we should always ask the question, is this right?

For example, is it right that we spend 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq, while millions of children are without health care here?

Is it right that our government can't balance it's checkbook, passing billion dollar debts onto our children?

And is it right that our government hands billion dollar tax breaks to oil companies, while we pay record high prices at the pump?

The simple answer to each of these questions is, that ain't right.