MARTINS FERRY — Zack Space was among friends as he officially kicked off his campaign for Ohio state auditor Tuesday at the United Steelworkers Hall in Martins Ferry.

Space, a former congressman from Dover, Ohio, followed his visit to Martins Ferry with a series of campaign stops in Zanesville, East Columbus and Lima. Space, 56, currently works for the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease as a lawyer and consultant, and he works with local governments, charitable organizations and the private sector to “promote economic development across Ohio.”

Space was introduced by UMWA Ohio Coal Miner’s Political Action Committee Coordinator Larry Ward as he stood alongside state Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire; former Belmont County commissioner Gordie Longshaw; former Ohio senator Lou Gentile; Belmont County Democratic Party Chairman Phil Wallace; and members of the United Mine Workers of America and United Steelworkers of America, among other supporters.

Space discussed a variety of issues that he plans to address and affect as state auditor, including corruption caused by money in politics, gerrymandering and the need for redistricting, studying the impact of loss of local government funding in the last several years, and making sure “all Ohioans have a voice” in Columbus.

“I’m running because I know what most of you know … that our government and our democracy are broken. It’s not working for the people on the inside of our cities. It’s not working for the people in our fields and countrysides. It’s no better for those in the suburbs and mid-sized cities all across the state,” Space said. “As auditor I will shine a light on the current way that money corrupts policy and law. As a member of the redstricting commission, I’ll insist that legislative districts are drawn strictly with an eye toward what’s best for all Ohioans. I’ll maximize the full extent of the broad powers of the auditor so as to benefit as many Ohioans as possible. The powers of the auditor are indeed broad. As your next auditor, I will use the powers to their fullest extent, including and primarily being the watchdog.”

Space focused much of his speech on being a watchdog for taxpayer money, specifically in education. He said the for-profit online charter school Educational Classroom of Tomorrow is an example of the corruption of money in politics, and he said the flow of money toward it and its operator should be stopped.

“The Educational Classroom of Tomorrow should have been stopped in its tracks years ago. Greedy politicians willingly accept huge campaign contributions from the operator of a massive underperforming charter school, then send your tax dollars back to that school with no oversight or transparency,” Space asserted.

“It’s a large charter school that has taken hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money, has not performed, and a giant slice of that money has gone into a for-profit management company owned by one individual who now has a $3.7 million home in Florida, a $1 million home in Upper Arlington, a several hundred-thousand dollar home in Monroe County, another one in downtown Columbus,” Space added. “These are profits that he has generated from this school that is chronically underperforming — less than 40 percent graduation rates, oftentimes less than 30 percent attendance rates.”

He said that as auditor, he will be able to help draw new legislative lines with a seat on the redistricting commission and put an end to gerrymandering which he believes is a polarizing factor that “disenfranchises” many Ohioans.

“It polarizes our communities and divides us when we desperately need to come together. I will work to stop the callous divisions created by politicians who draw legislative lines to suit their careers, with no consideration as to what’s best for our society as a whole,” Space said. “Gerrymandering is very powerful political weapon. It’s moving everybody to the extremes, stifling debate, moderation and compromise, and that’s bad for democracy.”

Space continued by discussing what he could do, if elected auditor, to promote more state funding of local governments, and to promote the wise spending of taxpayer dollars in the opioid crisis.

“The auditor has the broad powers to assess and measure the effectiveness of state resources — how state money is being spent and if it is being spent efficiently. What I can do as auditor is study the impact on local governments of the loss of these local government funds. Every year we lose more and more,” Space said. “The point is, the auditor has the ability to do an in-depth study to determine just what effect that has on local governments. Same thing applies with the opioid crisis. We can look at what works and what doesn’t when the state allocates money to fight this problem. Some of it is working, I’m sure, but some of it is not. But there is nobody keeping track right now.”

He went on to say that despite the hard work and commitment of legislators like Cera, the voices of the rural and urban poor and middle class “cannot be heard above the din of special interests and political ambition” that he believes has permeated state politics in Columbus.

“My campaign stands for the proposition that all voices matter and, if elected, I will work to ensure that the allocation of our state’s resources are done openly, transparently and with the interests of all Ohioans in mind,” Space concluded. “Too many of us have lost faith in the institution of government itself. Let’s give Ohioans a reason to trust government again by reducing the influence of money and self-interest on policy decisions at the Statehouse. Join me as we put this state on a path to restoring faith in government.”