CAMPAIGN ISSUES

Energy Prices -- Energy costs that now threaten not just low and middle class famlies but businesses as well.  We all need reasonable, predictable energy prices. Wind and geothermal power are good, long-term solutions that we must embrace, as opposed to deregulation which threatens to derail Ohio industries, especially the energy-intensive industries that have traditionally been a crucial part of Ohio’s economy. Ohio’s recent energy bill, which includes Ohio first alternative energy portfolio, is a great start and an important launch point for a larger discussion about meeting our long-term energy needs.

Sustainability -- This is the crossroad at which alternative energy, job creation and environmental protection come together. For example, our wind patterns are ideal for sustainable energy production. Our District is full of people who know how to make things and need the good-paying jobs that advanced manufacturing provides. All while we protect our environment that makes this a special place to live and visit.

School Funding Reform -- Ohio's school funding system is the most complicated in the Nation. Our Supreme Court has twice found that its excessive reliance on real estate taxes is unconstitutional, and although the Legislature has made various adjustments, it has failed to undertake fundamental reform of the system.  Governor Strickland has laid out his six guidelines and has all but told the legislature that it can fix the problem, which is its job, or he will propose a solution that he will take to the people themselves.  The six guidelines are:

1. We remain committed to public education.
2. A modern education must be linked to economic prosperity; we need a world class workforce to attract investment and jobs.
3. We need to build on the strengths that we know that we have in our schools, and that systems around the world seek to emulate.
4. Our best teachers must show us what is best in the class room.
5. We must tailor education to how each student learns.  Any parent of more than one child knows how true this is.
6. Testing is important, but its value principally lies in how it allows the teachers to tailor their teaching to the needs and abilities of each child.

Past Hyper-partisanship -- Ohio needs legislators who can work with both parties, listen to many constituencies and be beholden to no one other than the voters. That is what I have worked for in Erie County and what we all hope will take root in Columbus tomorrow. I am working every day to listen to the people in our District who are hurting as a result of so many things coming together:  the loss of good jobs, increased health care costs or the frightening lack of any health care, the sub-prime mortgage mess  caused by government’s failure to do its job, skyrocketing energy costs that have been predicted for decades that we should have been addressing years ago but for political stalemate.  We simply must be willing to challenge how we have been doing business.

Economic Development -- Good schools, safe streets, nice neighborhoods, good-paying jobs -- all depend on economic development, which requires a smart government that knows when to encourage and assist -- and when to get out of the way. Governor Strickland’s job creation proposal, part of which is on the ballot this fall, will invest:

1. $400 million for local infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges;
2. $250 million to create more student internships and co-ops with Ohio businesses;
3. $200 million to preserve farmland and green space;
4. $200 million to clean up brownfields;
5. $150 million for advanced energy such as solar and wind power;
6. $120 million for historic preservation;
7. $100 million for the biomedical industry;
8. $100 million to support businesses that distribute products; and
9. $50 million for the development of bioproducts such as polymers and plastics.