Scotty Robertson moved to Middletown, Ohio, about eight years ago to work as a pastor for First Baptist Church of Middletown. He embraced Middletown as his new home — so much so that he’s running for Middletown City Council on Nov. 4 — but he told CityBeat one afternoon in a sandwich shop on Main Street that he’s a “true son of Appalachia.”
Robertson was raised in Man, West Virginia, a coal mining town of about 700 people located deep in the state’s southwest mountain region. His high school mascot was literally “the Hillbillies.”
“I was raised by a Baptist pastor and a coal miner, so that’s who I am,” he said. “I think that being raised where I was raised, I had instilled in me some very important values around hard work, caring for neighbors, the importance of community coming together.”
Unlike Middletown’s most famous self-proclaimed hillbilly politician, Robertson is a Democrat. While the Middletown City Council race is nonpartisan, 62% of residents voted for President Donald Trump and JD Vance last November. Still, Robertson thinks he can land one of the two open seats on Nov. 4.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CB: What did you think about Middletown when you first moved here?
Scotty Robertson: Well, I didn’t know a whole lot about it. I mean, I didn’t really know anything about it. In fact, I never even heard of it until I moved here. But I love it.
CB: What would you say has been the most surprising thing about Middletown?
Robertson: I think how conservative politically some folks are, because the policies as of recent, that have been pursued by Trump and Vance and the Republican Party, have been policies that have hurt Middletown.
CB: What do you think the turnout for the Trump-Vance ticket last year says about Middletown voters?
Robertson: In recent cycles, the Democratic vote share has been rising. Part of that is because we’re putting in a lot of hard work, registering voters, getting new voters out to vote, and also fear among some of our citizens around what we’re seeing happen under a Trump-Vance presidency. What we have seen is much more of a Republican vote share in Middletown, but a Democratic vote share is trending.
I think there is some anxiety and some anger around immigration and how our Spanish-speaking communities are being targeted. Even the fear around what’s happening in our foreign policy.
CB: What federal actions do you think have impacted Middletown since Trump and Vance took office?
Robertson: I think the fact that we’re looking at cutting Medicaid and Medicare — Medicare will hurt our seniors, Medicaid will hurt our kids. I think when it comes to unions and collective bargaining, I mean the fact that we still have some sort of a manufacturing base, yet the Republican Party continues to pursue strict right to work laws and seeks to do away with collective bargaining rights, I think that’s a problem.
But from a tax policy perspective, I think the fact that as we cut taxes for the wealthy and the tax burden has shifted to the working class and the poor. That obviously places a burden on a lot of families in Middletown.
CB: What do you think Vance owes the people of Middletown now that he’s VP?
Robertson: Well, I think that’s a question that only he can answer. I don’t know what he feels, but I do think what he definitely owes Middletown is not to have millions of dollars taken from our school system by the federal government, which clearly is a school system that is already underfunded. I think what he owes Middletown is an explanation as to why since he’s been elected infrastructure projects, economic development projects, projects within our city school system, have been interrupted and probably ended since he’s been in office.
I hope he will realize that what he does owe Middletown is a voice of opposition to this administration that he serves in, as they are just pursuing policy that is so detrimental, especially to vulnerable children and families and the blue collar workers that they say that they represent.
I think he owes those families an explanation. Why did he promise that he was going to be for them? And now it seems as if their lives will be much worse off that he is in the White House.
CB: How would you describe the political makeup of Middletown City Council? Why would you be a good addition?
Robertson: I think the makeup is much like what we find in a lot of Rust Belt towns in Ohio, which is majority conservative leaning. I think the current council probably has what I would call two more progressive candidates and the rest conservative leaning. What I will bring is another progressive voice in order to bring some balance, and then maybe to pursue some progressive initiatives.
I hope what I can bring is diverse coalitions coming together, not only from more progressive communities, but also in more conservative-leaning communities, and to really work together on some initiatives that will benefit all of Middletown.
CB: What are the big promises or values you really want voters to know about you?
Robertson: So I think that most of the citizens feel as if the current council doesn’t listen, and when they do listen, I think they feel as if they’re met with some arrogance and definitely some indifference about some of the things that are very important to them. I think some of the issues that are important to tackle here in Middletown are issues around food insecurity. I think something like 55% of our citizens live in food deserts. Health disparities — the state of Ohio statistics show that here on the south end of town, the life expectancy is like 12 years less than on the east end of town. I think we need to do a better job at getting good quality, both physical and mental health care services in our most vulnerable communities, as well as providing transportation for those who are in those communities to get to the places where they can receive healthcare. And jobs — we’re living in a very uncertain time for manufacturing. The federal government is proving not to be a good partner with Cleveland-Cliffs and trying to change over their furnaces to hydro and really come through on providing some funding for some clean energy jobs, which I think will hurt the operation as it is. I think, unfortunately, we’ll continue to see scaling back. So I would like to be able to bring labor and business leaders together to talk about how we keep the manufacturing base that we have, but also, how do we grow the manufacturing base so that we can provide even more good-paying jobs for those blue collar workers.
CB: Who do you think is the most underrepresented group geographically in Middletown?
Robertson: There are three census tracts here on the south end of town that have the lowest quality of health in the state, which is why the state has chosen Middletown to be a pilot project for grant funding that is called the Ohio Health Improvement Zones. And so I think if you look at the evidence, I think you will find that neighborhoods around Rosa Parks Elementary and around Amanda Elementary are probably the most underrepresented and the most vulnerable.
CB: You are a pastor and you’re running for council. What role do you see those two sides of yourself playing in relation to one another if you get elected?
Robertson: I don’t know that much about my life will change if I’m elected to council, other than I’ll have to attend a few more meetings, and I will have a much bigger platform to advocate for important changes that help grow the city. I don’t know that I see the two roles as that separate. I think that the work is very similar, and if anything else, it just will help me to build on the work that I’ve already begun as a pastor, as a faith leader here in Middletown. I think that I will be very cautious not to blur the line of separation that exists and should always exist between church and state.
Election Day is Nov. 4. Middletown voters can find their polling location here.