The Ohio Secretary of State was the guest speaker at the Allen County Republican luncheon on Friday.  Frank LaRose (R-OH) was elected as Ohio's Secretary of State in 2018, and has won the primary over challengers this past week. 

The 2nd annual celebration also gave people the chance to acknowledge African Americans that promoted a social change in the county, much like Lewis did as a civil rights activist. The keynote speaker was Elida graduate and Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Chelsea Clark. Clark says she is running for the office because she sees the same type of voting obstacles now, that Lewis fought for when they passed the voting rights act in 1965.

John Lewis was first elected in 1986 and served 17 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives until his death in 2020. He was a civil rights activist and in the 60’s he worked to end legalized segregation and led the first walk from Selma to Montgomery over the Edmund Pettus Bridge that became known as “Bloody Sunday” when state troopers and police attacked the marchers including Lewis. Lima Councilman Derry Glenn wanting to keep Lewis’s legacy alive has set a day of remembrance on Sunday, February 27th.