ATHENS, Ohio — Micah McCarey, who has served as an at-large member of Athens City Council since 2021, will replace Lish Greiner as the Democratic candidate for Ohio’s House of Representatives 95th District seat following Greiner’s voluntary withdrawal.

McCarey spent the first 18 years of his life in the small college town of Oberlin, Ohio. He is a three-time graduate of Ohio University and has been a resident of Athens for the last 21 years.

“I’m excited to step up and take on this important challenge,” McCarey said. “Without question, many of the ways we’re developing as a society are unsustainable. And so, I champion five principles of sustainability: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships. Voters can look to my credentials and to the way I’ve lived my life for evidence of how I’ll lead at the state level — collaboratively, creatively, and with care.”

As the chair of Athens City Council’s City and Safety Services Committee, McCarey oversees legislation pertaining to police, fire, code enforcement, water treatment, sewers, garbage/recycling and other topics. He has introduced all legislation pertaining to the planning, design and construction of Athens’ new fire department headquarters and passed legislation expanding local protections from discrimination based on hairstyle or texture. He also passed legislation updating the city’s municipal code to remove unnecessarily gendered language (as in updating “policeman” to “police officer”). His state-level priorities revolve around education, environmental issues and economic development.

McCarey highlights his successful completion of the Athens County Foundation’s Leadership Athens County program and the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service’s Leading in Appalachia training program as key factors informing his preparedness to represent the region’s legislative priorities. His diplomatic skills have served him well while representing the city of Athens in engagements across the nation through the National League of Cities and internationally at the European Parliament, where he recently learned strategies for combating hate, extremism and polarization through the Strong Cities Network. He is committed to applying those strategies to improve the safety and well-being of the many communities he represents.

McCarey has 15 years of professional employment experience leading initiatives promoting community wellness, learning and respect at Ohio University. He is the Pride Center Director in OU’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion, where he regularly supports the work of colleagues in academic affairs, student affairs and information technology, among other areas. He serves as his division’s liaison to the city of Athens, collaborating with the city’s administrative leadership, the Athens County Foundation, and with Athens City Schools. He was an invited topic expert on the needs of LGBTQ+ communities at the 2022 Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Unity Summit at the Ohio Statehouse. He is also a co-leader of the Racial Equity Coalition of Athens County. In 2023, McCarey was the recipient of the Ohio University Administrative Senate’s Outstanding Administrator Award, the university’s highest honor for exceptional administrative employees.

McCarey’s leadership and civic engagement started in high school as student body president, school board student representative, Eagle Scout, and the recipient of a 2002 Congressional

Service Award from U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. He came to Athens in 2003 as an undergraduate student of organizational communication in Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College. His collegiate service experiences included a two-year appointment to the Athens Community Relations Commission, which contributed to his respect and appreciation for the Athens community beyond campus. With the help of the ACRC, he initiated a Community Ties program to connect current students with local host families for family-style interactions. In 2005, former Ohio governor Bob Taft appointed him to a two-year term as a student member of Ohio University’s Board of Trustees, and he was awarded the university’s Class of 2007 Outstanding Senior Leader Award. He received his doctorate with specializations in positive psychology and decision making from Ohio University in 2022. Now, at age 39, he lives in Athens with his partner of 15 years and serves as Athens City Council’s liaison to both the ACRC and Commission on Disabilities.