State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) was cited 10 times for traffic violations over the decade ending in early 2023, including four citations for driving more than 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit and two for failing to wear a seat belt — while holding a commercial driver’s license to transport passengers, according to Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles records reviewed by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Enquirer’s April 2023 analysis of state lawmakers’ driving records placed Click among the three most-cited members of the Ohio General Assembly. Only two state lawmakers — Niraj Antani with 14 tickets and Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) with 13 — had more.
The newspaper reported that Click, identified at the time as the pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple, “holds a commercial driver’s license for transporting passengers, according to state records.” Click has since stepped down from active pastoral leadership, quietly assuming a pastor emeritus title in 2025 without a public announcement.
‘More important issues’ than tickets, Click said
Asked about his record by the Enquirer, Click did not dispute the citations.
“There are more important issues than lawmakers’ speeding tickets,” Click said, according to the newspaper’s reporting.
He did not offer further explanation in the published article. Edwards, the Nelsonville Republican who outranked Click in citations, took a different posture in the same Enquirer report. “This isn’t something I’m proud of but I accept responsibility,” Edwards said in a written statement, noting he had driven nearly 300,000 miles across his southeastern Ohio district and to Columbus. “I’m certainly not above the law. I have tremendous respect for those who work to keep our roadways safe and will continue to support law enforcement.”
‘Look very hard at your driving behaviors’
The Enquirer’s analysis included a response from Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Charles Jones, who said traffic laws apply regardless of occupation. Jones specifically singled out lawmakers in Click’s tier — those with 10 or more tickets — saying they should “look very hard at your driving behaviors.”
The BMV data showed most Ohio lawmakers had clean or near-clean records. Of the 129 state legislators examined, 52 had no traffic tickets in the decade reviewed and another 28 had only one. Three lawmakers — Antani, Edwards, and Click — had 10 or more citations, placing them in roughly the top 2 percent for traffic violations among their colleagues.
A 2023 snapshot heading into November
The Enquirer’s review remains the most recent comprehensive public accounting of Ohio lawmakers’ driving records.
Click won a contested Republican primary on May 5, 2026, defeating Tiffin entrepreneur Eric Watson by a 52-48 margin while losing Seneca County to Watson and holding the seat only on the strength of Sandusky County. He now faces Democratic nominee Aaron Jones — a U.S. Army veteran, Tiffin City Council member, and longtime manufacturing supervisor — in the November 3, 2026 general election. Jones lives in Seneca County and graduated from Clyde High School in Sandusky County.
Click currently chairs the Ohio House Community Revitalization Committee and the Ohio Christian Legislators Caucus and serves on the House Ways and Means, Education, and Children and Human Services committees. He is seeking what would be his final term under Ohio’s four-term legislative term limit.
