A Village of Springdale couple’s son and son-in-law are running for Congress and lieutenant governor in Ohio.
“It kind of all of a sudden happened,” said Susan Stimson discussing the political futures of her son Tim Kane and son-in-law Nathan Estruth.
Susan and her husband Dick Stimson have lived in The Villages for 16 years, but for the first time Susan has wished she was back in Ohio so that she could vote. While her husband is all for their son’s Congressional bid, Susan joked he was just happy he does not have to campaign in the snow.
U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi, R-Ohio, officially vacated his seat in the 12th Congressional district, a seat that Tim had been considering. Susan said her son will make a final decision about his bid this week, but she is sure that he will officially enter the race.
Susan recalled a moment that exhibited Kane’s determination when he returned from vacation at 16 and told his mother that he was going to join the Air Force Academy. After joining and participating in ROTC, Kane wrote to his congressman that he wanted to join the Air Force Academy. When Kane graduated from the academy as an officer, his father, who was enlisted in the Air Force and had been working at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, gave his son his first salute. From then on, Kane has been on two tours overseas.
This has not been Kane’s first time running for a seat, according to Susan. While living in San Diego, Kane ran for a seat but lost to his opponent. However, the experience would eventually help him as he considers running for a seat in his home state.
Kane has lived in Vienna, Va. where he worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee. His mother said his experience around Washington D.C. helped him learn “the ins and outs of the political world.”
Susan said her son wanted to serve the people and do something for his constituents. “I’m all for it, I think he would be an excellent representative of the people,” said Susan. “He’s always been a go-getter.”
Kane is a Ph.D economist who stands for growing the economy. He has been featured on major broadcast stations such as C-SPAN, Fox News and CNBC.
All while Kane was considering his Congressional bid, he was unaware that his sister’s husband was being tapped for lieutenant governor. Susan’s daughter Madonna, along with one of her children, had visited the Stimsons a week before Christmas. After four days in Disney World, Madonna and her child returned to Ohio only to find out that her husband kept receiving calls from people encouraging him to run for the position.
Susan said that Estruth was more of a behind the scenes person when it came to politics and helping with campaigns. Estruth was the CEO of P&G’s subsidiary Imflux Inc. and had been with the company for 27 years, according to Susan.
But the decision to run was not so simple. The Estruth couple’s eldest son is handicapped by cerebral palsy, so the couple prayed over the decision to run and discussed Nathan’s retirement from the company.
The current lieutenant governor of Ohio, Mary Taylor, is running for governor and announced Estruth as her running mate last Wednesday after wanting a “true political outsider.”
Despite living far from her family, Susan said she is doing what she can to rally support by emailing people she knows who could vote in Ohio. To learn more about Tim Kane, visit https://kaneforohio.com.