ASHLAND – Addressing voters at a candidates and issues forum in Ashland on Monday, the two candidates for the 70th District representative’s seat in the Ohio House laid out opposite views of the direction the state is headed.
Though it was not a debate, the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Meet the Candidates and Learn About the Issues” forum did highlight the differences in the candidates views of state government.
While incumbent Darrell Kick (R), said he thinks the Ohio is moving in the right direction, challenger Steven Johnson (D), said he doesn’t want the state to stay on its current trajectory.
“Twenty years ago, Ohio incomes were quite a bit higher than the national average. Now Ohio incomes are lower than the national average,” said Johnson, who works as treasurer of Mansfield Plumbing Products in Perrysville.
Johnson said the state is losing ground on education, dropping 16 places in education rankings in the last six years. Meanwhile, he said, school districts are receiving less money from the state, college costs are rising and Ohio charter schools are “a national embarrassment.”
“Clearly, a better approach is necessary, and we need a fairer approach,” he said.
Johnson said he opposes the General Assembly’s Small Business Tax Deduction, which makes business owners exempt from state income tax on their first $250,000 of income.
“If I’m elected, I’m going to fight for a tax cut for people who receive a pension or a paycheck,” he said. “I’m going to fight for all Ohioans to have affordable healthcare. I’m going to fight for more education funding. Ohio is not going to get long-term growth if we don’t change education. And I’m going to use my education and experience to get better jobs for Ohioans– jobs that pay a living wage and have health insurance.”
Kick, a family farmer from Loudonville, said he did not go to Columbus to pursue a large agenda, but rather to improve what was already being done. He said he does not feel redistributing the tax burden at the expense of business owners will improve the state’s economy or create jobs.
“My wife and I have several small businesses, and we see how it is to make payroll, to make ends meet. We understand what grows jobs, and it’s not government. It’s businesses,” Kick said. “The state of Ohio has been wanting to do that for a long time. In different ways they’ve tried, and I think we are on the right path to creating jobs and moving Ohio forward.”
Kick said one thing he brings to the table as a legislator is an ability to look critically at a bill.
“You see a good bill, or what you think might be a good bill, but there’s always unintended consequences. My brain immediately goes to that. If this is a good bill, what else is it causing or producing on the other side that would negatively affect constituents not just in the 70th but in the state of Ohio.”
Kick said one thing he wants to work on more in the future is the drug epidemic. That may involve the state getting out of the way at times and helping at times, in conjunction with private and faith-based organizations, he said.
Both Kick and Johnson said they oppose Issue 1, but the candidates differ in their views on abortion. Kick said he would vote for the Heartbeat Bill if it came up again. The bill, which would prohibit abortions once a fetus’s heart is beating, was passed by the Ohio General Assembly in 2016 and then vetoed by Governor John Kasich. Johnson said he would vote against the bill.
U.S. House of Representatives Race
Ken Harbaugh, Democratic challenger for Republican Bob Gibbs’ U.S. 7th Congressional District seat, gave a statement and answered questions. Gibbs did not attend the event or send a representative on his behalf.
Harbaugh opened by talking about his background in the military and as president of a disaster response organization.
In moments of crisis, Harbaugh said, political parties don’t matter.
“I would submit to you that we are living in a moment of political crisis right now, but what I see is Americans rising to the occasion,” Harbaugh said. “I taught history after I got out of the Navy, and I think you have to go back 50 years to find an election as politically consequential as this election in 2018.”
Harbaugh said his loyalty is to the U.S. Constitution, rather than to a party.
“If we can get back to that in our politics, if our representatives can remember who they work for, if we can take to heart that central truth of the American character where we do rise to the occasion in moments of crisis, even our politics can begin to work again,” he said.
Asked what he would do if the Democrats asked him to vote with the party over what he felt was best for the people, Harbaugh didn’t hesitate.
“There is no balance,” Harbaugh responded. “You have one choice. You represent the people.”
Harbaugh said while he is running as a Democrat because he wants to protect people with pre-existing conditions, he has taken no money from corporate political action committees and is not beholden to the Democratic party.
Ashland County Clerk of Courts Race
The audience heard from both candidates for Ashland County Clerk of Courts– the county’s only contested race.
Republican Deb Myers detailed her experience as a 911 dispatcher, a secretary in the Sheriff’s Office corrections division and a deputy clerk of courts. She had been serving as clerk of courts for five months, after being appointed by her party to replace previous county court clerk Annette Shaw.
Michael Zickefoose cited his 20 years of customer service experience at Walmart, including experience managing staff and vendors, as good preparation for the job. His current role in claims processing Walmart involves loss prevention and clerical work.
If elected to continue in the role, Myers said she would transition the county to the use of electronic fingerprint cards, revamp the court costs collection process and implement e-filing for common pleas court records.
Zickefoose made no specific promises, but said he hopes to bring a fresh face and new eyes to the position.
Other issues and races
Ashland Public Library Director Heather Miller spoke in support of a 1 mill renewal levy on the ballot. The levy is not a new tax and accounts for 29 percent of the library’s operating budget, Miller said. The levy has been in place since 2009.
Ashland County Board of Developmental Disabilities Director of Community Relations Bruce Kramer outlined the need for for the county’s 1.5 mill renewal levy for Dale Roy programs and services. The levy is not a new tax and accounts for about 21 percent of the board of developmental disabilities’ operating income.
Libertarian candidate Travis Irvine was the only one of the four candidates for Ohio governor to attend the event. Irvine emphasized his belief that millenials are open to libertarian ideas, which he said blend the best of conservative and progressive ideologies. He said his two-step plan to combat the opioid epidemic would be to “fast-track medical marijuana” and to use revenue from that to fund treatment programs for people with addictions. He also called for an auditing JobsOhio, cutting regulations for businesses and reforming education.
Republican candidate for Fifth District Court of Appeals Andrew King made an appearance. King, who currently works as an assistant prosecutor in Granville, said he has also worked as a public defender and clerked for a judge.
King is running against incumbent Patricia Delaney, a Democrat. She did not attend the event.
Wooster resident and Ohio State ATI professor Jim Bird spoke as a surrogate on behalf of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown, a Democrat, faces a challenge from Republican Jim Renacci. Renacci was not present and did not send a representative to speak on his behalf.
Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell spoke against Issue 1, saying he believes the amendment undermines the courts’ ability to get drug offenders into treatment, shifts costs from the state to local governments and reduces sentences, even for violent offenders.
