Wenda Sheard

I’m an attorney and trained mediator with a PhD in political science, who first moved to Athens County in 1979. 

I grew up in the Cleveland area during the 1960s, watching my parents be active in the civil rights movement. I went to high school during a time when slightly older classmates were drafted for the Vietnam War. I earned a law degree because I wanted the tools necessary to make change, and the ability to help others make change. 

I was lucky to land a legal job in Athens County after law school. I’ve worked as an attorney for 22 years in Ohio courts directly under both Republican and Democratic judges. I’ve taught at Ohio University, and in middle schools and high schools. 

Through my work in our district, I’m keenly aware that we have hungry families, polluted water wells, drug addictions, and inadequate supplies of affordable housing. We have big corporations with wages set so low that families must rely on the government for food assistance and healthcare. We have politicians fighting unions and workers’ rights. We have inferior telephone and broadband connectivity, inadequate access to healthcare, and insufficient funding for our local schools.

I’m running for office because our current Ohio General Assembly has lost the ability to focus on the difficulties facing people in our district. The August and November 2023 elections prove that point. Citizens, not politicians, should have the freedom and resources necessary to decide what’s best for themselves.