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Bobbie Brooke Arnold said that when she came out as transgender, current Republican Ohio state representative, Rodney Creech, reached out with questions and seemed supportive. But when anti-trans legislation has crossed his desk since then, Arnold said Creech has voted against the community he claimed to understand.
Arnold's response? Run against him.
"I've known Rodney Creech my whole life," Arnold said. "He was actually one of the first people who reached out to me after I came out as trans, and he asked questions and wanted to understand more."
But after Creech won his first election to represent Ohio in the House, Arnold said something changed.
"Every time an anti-trans bill came across his desk, I made sure to call out to him, have a conversation with him, and educate him," Arnold said. "He was affirming and accepting in those conversations. Every conversation that we had, he would agree with me. But he would always vote against us."
Arnold, now Director of Advocacy and Transgender Outreach for PFLAG Dayton, decided she couldn't stand by and watch.
Born in West Alexandria, Ohio, just 30 minutes west of Dayton in rural Preble County, Arnold said her small-town roots are as much a part of her identity as being transgender.
"For me to shrink myself down is not an option, and for me to leave my home is not an option," she said. "And so from day one, when I first came out, I've always looked at it as if I want those around me to understand who I am. What makes me who I am is that I have to be the one to educate them."
That commitment to education and visibility is also part of what led Arnold to challenge Creech in the 2024 election. While she ultimately didn't win, Arnold said she sees her campaign as part of a larger strategy.
"There's an incredible opportunity, especially in these red districts, where so many people are misinformed," she said. "So really, I see this as a critical space where we can address that misinformation and correct that in some of the deepest red parts of Ohio."
At a trans rights rally in Dayton this May, Arnold delivered a message that encapsulated her philosophy.
"The last few years, we've been fighting nonstop here in Ohio for trans rights," she said. "Our state legislature has been battling us for restrooms, access to medical care in our schools, and we've had enough. And things are serious right now. So we need all of our people. We need to show up. We need to be visible and we need to be heard. We will not be erased. We will not hide, we're not going to run from them, and we will prevail."
Arnold said she is choosing to engage rather than retreat politically. She said she believes it is possible to change hearts and minds one conversation at a time.
"Somebody needs to challenge them if they're going to be running on these platforms and they're gonna be using this rhetoric against us," she said. "Then we need to be challenging them directly."
This story was produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. Translucent is made possible with support from The Rubi Girls Foundation.
