Question 1

Education

Accepted Answer

I went to the biggest high school in Ohio - and I'm now running to represent it. Whether you or your child go to Mason City Schools, Lebanon City Schools, or any of our private schools - you deserve to know that your child will be taught and taken care of. Here's how I'll make sure that happens

Universal Pre-K for Ohio
~Universal Pre-K doesn't just support the parents of young kids but it ensures those children are ready for Kindergarten
~Early education is critical to future success and by implementing Universal Pre-K throughout the state, we will make sure that our kids are ready to take on school and future educational challenges
~Studies have even shown that Pre-K leads to lower rates of juvenile arrests, violent arrests, felony arrests, convictions, and incarceration - so let's make sure ALL students (regardless of zipcodes) have that support

End the vouchers system
~Vouchers take money away from public schools & private schools are not held to same standard as public schools in what they must/choose to teach. So there is a lack of accountability to public standards but still getting public funds
~ Instead we must make sure that all public school systems are properly funded & have the tools to set kids up for success. This means AP Classes, SAT prep, funding successful extracurricular activities
~ Families can still choose to put their students into private school but no public money

Smaller Public School Classroom Sizes
~ Even Mason, one of the area's best public schools has had to deal with increasingly large class sizes which correlate to less 1:1 attention on students. In FY24, Ohio had an average of one teacher to 39.58 students per classroom which is nearly double the recommended level
~ Reduce focus on standardized testing. It doesn't actually lead to better student learning - just a focus on teaching only what is on the exams rather than fully well-rounded students. Even in "hard" subjects like math, the process often matters more which standardized testing does not account for
~ Resources for neurodivergent and disabled children to be successful in school by working with teachers to create tangible goals for them to reach - especially if the traditional standards are not as feasible for them

Continuing to fund and increase access to College Credit Plus (CCP) for students
~ Making the process more accessible and clearly advertised to students as a way to reduce the amount they may pay for college in the future
~ Make more funding accessible to students who are trying to take a CCP class that is not offered at their school at the collegiate level

Reducing Ohio's "Brain Drain"
~ Incentivize students from here to stay here and for those who aren’t, to come here & settle here

Question 2

Affordability and Housing

Accepted Answer

In 2022, Suburban Ohio was less than 5% of the state's total land area but home to 31% of the population. We need to make our state more affordable to ALL Ohioans

Reform Zoning Laws: 
~ Allow for housing to be built within the “downtown” areas to further support walkability and local businesses. Think the "Mason Mile" or Lebanon Downtown but with even more access to our downtown and local business
~ These could be duplexes, townhomes and apartments geared especially towards young people and young families
~ Increase funding to streamline permitting to make it easier to build affordable housing. AKA remove the red-tape

Work with Landowners:
~ Incentivize landlords to not have empty housing/lots/buildings. They should have businesses or families living in these structures to support use and maintenance
~ Reduce & Prevent large entities (like corporations or firms or non-individuals) from buying single-family housing

Utilities
~ Incentivize community solar projects - like providing schools with funding to create solar gardens
~ Reduce insurance premium increases for the addition of clean energy onto homes
~ Require public hearings & independent audits before approving any rate increases. Ohioans have already dealt with large utility firms overcharging and under-delivering
~ Provide utility debt forgiveness or emergency relief funds during severe weather periods
~ Increase funding and research for the energy grid in case of climate disasters

Question 3

Healthcare

Accepted Answer

SW Ohio is home to some of the country's best facilities. Whether its Cincinnati Childrens' or the University of Cincinnati. But most Americans are only one medical crisis away from bankruptcy. As a trained biomedical engineer, I've seen firsthand how devastating the lack of healthcare regulation has been to normal Ohioans every day.

Price Reform/Cost Containment
~ More aggressive regulation of “facility fees,” surprise billing, out-of-network charges 
~ Increasing transparency of all charges from the healthcare and insurance provider to the policyholder
~ Setting caps on how many multiples of cost a pharmaceutical company can charge a patient for (ie a drug that costs $20 to produce can only be sold for $100 - which provides a healthy margin for the company while also providing transparency to patients)

Furthering practice reform to increase our access to healthcare providers
~ Especially in an area that borders several states, we can make it so that providers licensed in other states can more easily practice in Ohio
~ We don't have enough Primary Care Providers (PCP) across the country. To solve this, we can expand training programs and residency slots specifically in underserved specialties/communities (like primary care, mental health, etc) to incentivize those roles
~ Strengthening access to primary care because Its easier to support a healthy community than an ill one. By promoting  preventive care programs (screenings, vaccinations, wellness) with lower or no cost for patients - we can encourage health & wellness. The end goal of this policy is to make at least 1 primary care, dental care and vision care visit a year FREE for every Ohioan

Medical Debt Protection
~  Wage garnishment for medical bills only increases the strain on an already struggling household. By reducing this garnishment, we can ensure that money is being directed to the families and in-turn to their local communities

Question 4

Aging with Dignity

Accepted Answer

Safe Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities in the area
~ Assisted living is ~$6k/month in Ohio. A nursing home in Cincinnati goes from 9k/month up to $12k/month for a private room
~ Medicaid/State Funding that can go towards a nursing home/assisted living facilities should go to private/independent living at home. But there is a strict asset limit to qualify for Medicaid in Ohio - and owning a home can be an issue
~ Usually a person’s home is exempt from qualifying for Medicaid but if somebody 55+ used Medicaid to pay for long-term care (like nursing home stays or in-home healthcare), it can be taken by the government to recoup some of their expenses
~ This has to be mitigated in order to make sure that assets stay with the individual or their next of kin. Otherwise we are disenfranchising and taking earned wealth away from the community where that money could be spent

Question 5

Labor

Accepted Answer

Raise Wages for Ohio Workers
~ Ohio’s minimum wage has not kept up with our bills. This means working families are often juggling multiple jobs just to get by
~ Ohio's minimum wage is "technically" tied to inflation - but its not enough. We need to tie minimum wage to a "livable" amount. We can do that by taking the average rent and grocery costs of Ohioans - and making that the base of our minimum wage. As rent and grocery costs increase, so does your earnings. 
~ When people earn more, local economies grow - higher wages mean more spending at small businesses and stronger communities across Ohio. A livable wage is important for us ALL

Protect the Right to Organize
~ Workers deserve the freedom to organize and bargain collectively without fear of retaliation or interference from employers
~ We need to stop bills like SB1 in 2025 which attacks university workers' rights by limiting what they can bargain in a contract  and would ban strikes for Ohio university faculty. If bills like this pass, all of our union rights are at risk
~ Strengthening state-level labor protections ensures that unions can negotiate for safer workplaces, better benefits, and fair pay

Healthcare for ALL - including Unions
There is a real divide in the labor community over healthcare for all, and I understand it. Many union workers fought hard for employer-provided healthcare, and there is a legitimate fear that if the government provides healthcare for all, employers will drop coverage - and if the policy is later reversed, workers could be left with nothing
~ That’s why Ohio must first make healthcare for all permanent, protected by statute, and extremely difficult to repeal
~ Larger employers will also be required to either provide health coverage or contribute to a statewide healthcare fund, ensuring businesses continue paying their fair share instead of shifting costs onto taxpayers
~ Employers who currently offer comprehensive health plans would be financially rewarded for maintaining or enhancing coverage, particularly when those benefits are negotiated through union contracts and include dental, vision, mental health, and family coverage
~ For unionized workplaces, state law can explicitly protect healthcare as a mandatory subject of collective bargaining. This would ensure unions retain the power to negotiate stronger, supplemental plans rather than losing benefits

Crack Down on Wage Theft & Unsafe Workplaces
~ Wage theft and labor violations cost Ohio workers millions of dollars each year, disproportionately harming low-wage and frontline workers
~ Increasing enforcement capacity and penalties ensures employers who break the law are held accountable

Invest in Job Training & Apprenticeships
~ Ohio needs a workforce system that prepares workers for good-paying jobs in manufacturing, healthcare, infrastructure, and clean energy
~ Expanding paid apprenticeships and workforce training programs connects workers directly to stable, high-demand careers
~ This would support our young people and also provide them with strong pathways after high school - especially for those who do not chose to go to college

Question 6

Public Transit

Accepted Answer

Public transit is the key to reducing the strain on our roads, our fossil fuels and ensuring accessibility within our communities. Imagine if you could just train to Columbus for a game at the Ohio State University? Or grab a bus to work instead of dealing in morning I-71 traffic? 
Reliable transit is crucial to our growth - especially as SW Ohio continues to boom.

Supporting the CCDC Train
~ Devote dedicated funding to this train to connect Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland
~ I will also work with local Mayors to get train tracks & the possibility of having smaller stations at big working hubs such as the P&G Business Innovation Center in Mason
~ We can create a train station and then work with P&G and other companies to create a method of transit from the train station to the workplace and back (such as Home --> Train Station --> Bus to Work --> Work).
~ This would reduce the daily strain on our roads and the amount of time wasted by Ohioans in traffic every day rather than with their families. This method works in many less car-dependent cities across the country & Midwest

Expanding already existing transit
~ Continue to to expand the route and frequency of buses like the 71X Kings Island Express - especially during peak morning hours
~ Expand to weekends as a way for people to easily get downtown such as for younger people, people who don’t want to/can’t get downtown, etc
~ Increase timeliness of local buses
~ Promote public transit and provide subsidies to those who do regularly use public transit for their commutes
~ Develop buses from Lebanon to downtown - and create a bus from Lebanon to the Mason Kings Island Express bus
~ Further build bike paths across the district
~ Create temporary "bike lanes" where on certain summer weekends, multilane roads have 1 lane converted to a bike-only trail

Question 7

Veterans Affairs

Accepted Answer

Our veterans have put their life on the line for us. It is the least that we can do for our heroes but to support them when they come home. Here's how to welcome our Veterans back to SW Ohio

Increase Program Access & Awareness
~ Improve outreach and awareness to our veterans. Many are unaware of the programs available to them such as VA specialized care or toxic exposure programs. It is our failure to not provide them with this information and support
~ Expand access to VA services like mental health and primary care centers directed just for veterans
~ Require all hospitals to have a Veteran Care Coordinator to directly address veterans’ concerns

Housing for Veterans
~ Increase state grants for veteran housing and offer state-backed low-interest home loans for veterans buying or renovating homes
~ Increase transparency for the VA and how these funds are directly going to support veterans themselves

Our State Legislature has power. But they won't use it to solve our problems. ​

Our State Legislature has power. But they won't use it to solve our problems.