At a time when so many trans Ohioans are fighting for their survival against a legislature that seems hellbent on restricting their lived experience, a handful of trans Ohioans are fighting to make a difference by actually getting elected to that very legislature.
One of those brave Ohioans is Bobbie Brooke Arnold: a single mother, an independent contractor and a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives for the 40th district, which includes portions of northern Montgomery and Butler Counties and all of Preble County.
Arnold is one of four trans candidates to run for the Ohio legislature this election cycle, and one of only three to be cleared to actually be on the ballot. In January, 42-year-old Vanessa Joy was disqualified from running for a seat in the Ohio House after she failed to include her former legal name on official election paperwork, even though there wasn’t even a space to list that name.
Arnold’s candidacy has taken on extra attention with two new and competing bills in the legislature that center on trans candidates:
- A Democrat-sponsored bill to grant an exemption for trans candidates who have legally changed their names, similar to the current exemption for people who have changed their names due to marriage.
- A Republican-sponsored bill aimed at increasing the frequency of Ohioans’ challenging the legitimacy of transgender candidates.
“It’s rather surreal to have our legislature essentially battling over the three of us who were affected by this law,” Arnold said.
The Buckeye Flame spoke with Arnold about her candidacy and the legislation meant to both help and hinder other trans candidates. To listen, click play directly below or read our (edited) conversation beneath the audio link.
Why public service and why now?
Arnold: Well, I’ve always had my life involved with giving back to people who were less fortunate than me, fighting for people who were underprivileged.
And in my small town over the last nine years since I came out, I’ve been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and for the trans community: interacting with churches, community leaders locally, and really opening their eyes to the LGBTQ+ experience as a whole. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been involved with PFLAG Dayton and I’ve been involved at the statehouse with all the legislation going on.
I feel like I’m in a position where I can make a difference. I’m recognized in my local community and my visibility can really make a difference in the statehouse, just as it has in my small town.
Tell us about the 40th district. I’m reading that over 75 percent of that population identifies as Republican?
Actually, 65 percent of my district is undecided. 75. 1 percent typically lean towards the Republican side. There are a lot of people right down the middle who are easily swayed when presented with the facts.
I’ve had so many people in the last nine years that—once you sit down and have a good conversation with them about trans experience—really just opened their eyes. I’ve seen that lightbulb go off in their head and it’s just like, “A-ha! I get it. You are a woman. I understand now.” That’s really what we’re battling against in rural Ohio: the misinformation and that there’s nothing available to correct that, to balance that out and tell people that we’re not the danger that Republicans are telling them that we are.
Your candidacy was challenged at one point due to a decades-old law that requires you to list a name that there’s not even a place on the forms for it. And what I found really intriguing about that was that your opponent, Rodney Creech, was originally supportive of your candidacy and said, “Yes, she should be able to run.” And now Representative Creech is one of the cosponsors to a piece of legislation that would increase the challenges to trans candidates. But I understand that you two actually know each other?
That’s correct. We go back all the way to grade school. He was just a couple of years older than me.
What was it like to have your candidacy challenged in this way?
Mine wasn’t actually protested by anybody. After Vanessa Joy’s certificate was disqualified, the reporters called my Board of Elections and started inquiring into the status of my certification. And that’s when they decided that they would just simply review them. So there wasn’t actually a protest to mine.
There’s this new legislation: the Democratic one to help trans candidates and the Republican one to increase the challenges to these candidacies. What is it like being a candidate with those two bills existing right now?
It’s rather surreal to have our legislature essentially battling over the three of us who were affected by this law. I feel like it’s a simple fix really. The board of elections had decided that there was no deception to the people who signed our petitions.
There’s no reason for them to not make this [exclusion]. There’s already an [exclusion] for marriage. And as a trans person, our name change process is significantly more thorough. It’s more costly. And it’s done in front of a judge. We have to disclose our criminal past history, our financial history. We have to prove we have a valid reason for changing our name. Whereas with the exception for marriage, you don’t have to go through all of those processes. You’re not scrutinized by the courts. You can just go change your name and there’s no extra accountability.
What are you hoping to accomplish in the Ohio House of Representatives?
Well, for one, I would love to put an end to all of this anti-trans and anti LGBTQ+ legislation. We know it’s all just rhetoric. It’s nonsense, religious-fueled hatred that’s spreading throughout our statehouse and others across the country.
But there are so many things that Ohioans are going without while [Republicans] are focused on trans bodies and trans identities. Property taxes are going up. Edchoice is taking millions of millions of dollars from our education system. The workforce is weakened. There’s a lot of real issues on the table that the Republicans just are not addressing. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- To learn more about Bobbie Brooke Arnold’s campaign for Ohio’s 40th district, visit her Facebook page.
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
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