Training and Experience
I'm a first-time candidate, but I'm not new to representing peoples' interests. As a benefits attorney, I advise benefit plan trustees on their fiduciary obligations – the legal standard requiring them to put members ahead of their own interests and avoid self-dealing. It's a standard Ohio's Statehouse badly needs. I'm running to hold our legislature accountable to the people they serve, because that's what I've spent my career doing.
Fair elections start with fair maps. Ohio's redistricting process has failed voters on a huge scale. My own district, House District 44, stretches across three counties and is designed to dilute Democratic voters and protect Republican incumbents. I support an independent, transparent redistricting process. Beyond that, I believe we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote through expanded early voting, accessible absentee options, and clear, consistently applied rules. And dark money in Ohio politics undermines accountability at every level; I support robust disclosure requirements so voters know who is funding the campaigns of the people who represent them.
Ohio's tax structure shifts the burden onto working families. Property tax relief is urgent. But it can't be separated from school funding reform. High property taxes exist because Ohio underfunds schools and forces communities to make up the gap. The fix is an equitable state funding formula.
A citizen-led initiative to abolish property taxes may appear on the November ballot. I understand the frustration, but eliminating $24 billion in local revenue without a replacement would devastate schools and public safety. Ohio just cut income taxes in a way that saves the average millionaire $19,000 a year while working families see almost nothing. Reinstating a more progressive rate structure – without shifting the burden to a punishing sales tax – is where I'd start if this initiative passes.
The rising cost of living isn't one problem – it's several compounding ones. Property taxes have spiked faster than wages. Healthcare costs grow while workers bear more of the premium burden and insurers extract billions in the middle. Wages haven't kept pace, in part because Ohio has systematically weakened collective bargaining power.
I'd address these on multiple fronts: restructuring school funding to reduce property tax dependence; pushing for transparency and accountability in pharmaceutical pricing and insurance administration; protecting workers' rights to organize; and ensuring corporate tax breaks aren’t just giveaways with no accountability.
The cost of living crisis isn't bad luck. It's the result of policy choices that can be reversed.
Ohio's school funding system remains unconstitutional. Courts have said so, and the legislature continues to look the other way. My top priority is a funding formula based on actual student need, not local property wealth, so a child's zip code doesn't determine their education.
I oppose the unchecked expansion of EdChoice vouchers, which drain over $1 billion annually from public schools with little accountability. That money belongs in public classrooms.
For higher education, I'd focus on affordability and workforce alignment – supporting apprenticeship programs alongside four-year paths, and pushing back on tuition that saddles working families with debt.
Strong public schools aren't a line item to be cut. They're the investment that makes every other investment possible.
Hyperpartisanship is a structural problem. When legislators draw their own districts, they're incentivized to perform for their base rather than govern for constituents. Gerrymandering is Ohio's biggest driver of political dysfunction. Independent redistricting is the most meaningful fix.
Civility follows accountability. When voters have real choices and legislators face real consequences, behavior changes. I'd push for stronger ethics and conflict-of-interest rules – too much partisan gridlock is actually legislators protecting donors rather than serving constituents.
I came to this race out of frustration with systems that fail people. I'd rather solve problems than score points, and I'll work with anyone willing to do the same.
