By james art 
Trump stands behind claims that immigrants eat pets
Donald Trump stood by debunking claims that immigrants in Ohio eat pets at a town hall hosted by Spanish-language network Univision.
Immigration issues sparked a heated debate at the NAACP’s head candidate forum in Fremont on Tuesday.
Diane Selvey, a Democratic candidate for state representative in Ohio’s 88th district, countered the immigration argument of GOP incumbent Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, during a public event in Greater St. James Church.
Chapter President Cassandrea Tucker introduced the candidates.
“We’re here because we’re not meant to be containers, just to hold the information we have. We are meant to be vessels pouring that information out to the community,” Tucker said.
more: Sandusky County voters will decide three races
The Selvey-Click competition was the only competitive competition for which all candidates were present. Selvi, a retired front-line manager for Whirlpool, noted her background, which relied heavily on statistics. She criticized Click, who had arrived at the forum late from a constituent job in Columbus, saying, “I’m running for office because I don’t think we’re represented properly at the state level. I think we need moderates.”
Click countered by touting his listening skills, adding that he “listens to both sides of the aisle very consistently” and “represents the values of the 88th District.”
When asked by moderators what he thought were the most pressing issues, he started with the economy and tax cuts and then moved on to immigration.
“You know minorities are disproportionately affected by illegal immigration,” he said. “When you look back in our state and our own community, in the last 10 years, we’ve had four murders by illegal aliens,” he said, asserting “Four murders and every one of those victims is a minority.”
Selvey was the last to close her presentation at the forum, questioning the appropriateness of looking at immigration at the state level.
“I think I’m a different kind of candidate than you’re used to. I approach the numbers. I think they will give you a better solution and take the emotion out of things and I just want honesty. Case in point today: four murders. It’s terrible,” Selvi said, referring to the number of murders Click claims were committed by migrants. “What we need to know is how many total murders this year?
“Immigration is not really in our wheelhouse. We can react to problems it might cause in our state, but we really don’t have that much effect on immigration. Having a number like four hits us in the gut. It’s bad, but what’s the kill rate? Why don’t we talk about all of them?” Selvi said.
Click’s House Bill 671, the America First Act, is before the Ohio House of Representatives.
Its Ohio House website notes that “The America First Act simply states that it is illegal for illegal immigrants to be in Ohio” and “The penalty for violating this law is a $500 fine and one year in jail. Penalties increase for a second offense. In both cases, offenders are required to leave the state within seventy-two hours of their release.
Also running were Tom Pruss, the Libertarian Party candidate for the 9th Congressional District, and incumbent Dr. James Williams, the Democratic candidate for Sandusky County coroner, who each have competitive races. Unopposed, but running, were incumbent Sandusky County Commissioners Scott Miller and Charles Schwokhov and State’s Attorney Beth Tischler.
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