October 18, 2004

God and Jobs, Photography by Tristan Spinski

Michael Chandler and I traveled to Scioto County, Ohio on the week of October 4 to report and photograph an election story about church-going union members who are deciding between jobs and god. The Christian Right has mobilized a drive to “vote your values” – which in this election means voting against gay marriage and for George Bush. But the economy in this pocket of Appalachia has been wheezing since Bush took office, and people are torn between what’s more important – economic livelihood or homosexuals tying the knot.


Pastor Calvin Ray Evans leads a prayer at the Rubyville Community Church in Scioto County, Ohio. Evans said he is adamantly opposed to gay marriage and said that he considers it a major issue in the Presidential election.


Michael Kibbey, 32, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, talks about balancing his Christian ideals in the political arena. Kibbey is a member of the Boilermakers' Union, Local 105. After four months of unemployment, he now works at a coke plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio. Kibbey said that he will support John Kerry in the Nov. 2 election.


An unidentified man in the congregation shares his experience of being "saved" by Jesus Christ with the rest of the churchgoers in the Rubyville Community Church in Scioto County, Ohio.
Jody Welch, left, and her daughter Jennifer Welch watch traffic through the window of the Bush/Cheney campaign headquarters in Portsmouth, Ohio. Both women work as volunteers for the campaign.

Worshippers raise their arms in prayer at the Rubyvill Community Church in Scioto County, Ohio.


Jack Jones, 42, of Porstmouth, Ohio, displays his sentiments about President Bush on his hardhat. Jones is a member of the Laborers Local 83, and works on the construction site of a coke plant in Franklin Furnace, Ohio.


Walter Callihan, 74, of Greenup, Ky., sits in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in Portsmouth, Ohio to watch the Vice-Presidential debate between John Edwards and Dick Cheney. "I've had enough of George W. Bush and the Republicans," he said. "They've torn up the Constitution, thrown it on the floor, and spit on it."
The old coke plant, which closed in 2002, rots on the bank of the Ohio River. The plant was the last functioning remnant of the steel mill, which was once the primary employer in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Posted by Tristan Spinski at October 18, 2004 01:15 PM
Comments

great job! what made ;you choose scioto county of all places?

Posted by: Alexandra Copley at November 19, 2004 05:51 PM