Tom Raga
Thomas A. Raga (born 1965) is an American politician of the Republican Party who represents the Sixty-seventh District (Warren County) in the Ohio House of Representatives. In February 2006, he was named by J. Kenneth Blackwell as his running mate in the May 2, 2006, primary for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
A native of Cincinnati, Raga graduated from Moeller High School in 1984 and from Cornell University received a B.S. in agricultural economics. Raga moved to Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio in October 1995 and Raga's first elective office was as a trustee of Deerfield Township, elected in 1997. He served from 1998 to his resignation in 2001. On March 7, 2000, he won a three-way primary against attorney and former Mason mayor Betty Davis and Clearcreek Township trustee Ed Wade to replace Republican George E. Terwilleger, who was forced to retire because of Ohio's term limits. Both Davis and Wade had lost the 1992 Republican primary to Terwilleger for the open seat. The Dayton Daily News wrote "Mr. Raga, a Deerfield Twp. trustee, calls for lower taxes and putting families first on Ohio's agenda. He favors local control of schools and basic education. But he is short on details about how he, as a state representative, would accomplish those goals" and endorsed Davis.
The results were 11,875 votes (45.32%) for Raga, 9,432 (35.99%) for Davis, and 4,898 (18.69%) for Wade.
On November 7, 2000, he was elected State Representative for the Second District, which comprised all of Warren County. In the general election, Raga defeated Richard J. Inskeep of Mason, 48,498 (75.39%) to 15,833 (24.61%). After redistricting, Warren County was split into two districts. Raga's district became the Sixty-seventh and comprised about two-thirds of Warren County including all of Franklin, Clearcreek, and Turtlecreek Townships, and the western part of Deerfield Township, plus all of the cities of Franklin and Lebanon; the Warren County portions of the cities of Carlisle, Springboro, Monroe and Middletown; and most of the city of Mason. Since his election in 2000, Raga has been re-elected without opposition in every primary and general election.
Raga is married to Jean M. Raga, a real estate agent, and they have two children, Colleen and Rick.
References
- "Betty Davis BEst CHoice in 2nd House District." (Editorial). Dayton Daily News. February 17, 2000. 16A.
- Richelle Thompson. "2nd District up for grabs." The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 8, [[2000]. B1.
- Howard Wilkinson. "Blackwell picks Raga: State representative from Mason joins campaign for governor." The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 6, 2006. C1. [1]