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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Qualification,
Priorities,
Budget deficient,
School finance,
Tax structure
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)
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Answer from Alicia Reece:
I have small business, legislative, and administrative experience. I have served as a Consumer Marketing Director in small neighborhood businesses. I also served on Cincinnati City Council for 6 years with 4 yrs as Vice Mayor, and 2 1/2 yrs as the State of Ohio's Assistant State Tourism Director.
Answer from Curtis A. Wells:
My experiences in the classroom as an educator, in the treatment setting as a service provider, in the urban community as a grassroots activist have facilitated my maturation into an unbiased assessor of Ohio's social condition. Therefore, my record of corrective governmental advocacy and independent candidacy qualifies me for office.
Answer from Jillian Mack:
I am an educated professional and a life-long resident of Ohio. I have a passion for economic theory, history, and natural human rights. I believe the government should be composed of typical citizens, not career politicians.
Answer from Jim Stith:
I am a true Citizen Legislator not a professional politician. I live, work, and raise a family every day in our community. I also bring my nationally award winning experience in government finance and my track record for applying Hard Work and Common Sense to the job.
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2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)
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Answer from Jillian Mack:
I plan to investigate the business and personal tax codes as well as the business regulation codes to find ways to introduce legislation that will reduce taxes and regulations, thereby creating a climate for job growth and real prosperity for Ohioans.
I will also review the budget and propose all options for cutting unnecessary costs by putting more responsibility into the hands of the people and the free market.
Answer from Curtis A. Wells:
1. Intrastate Business Development for TIF District Residents: Draft and vet "The Intrastate Economics Advancement Bill" to facilitate active investment by Ohio's TIF district residents, allowing firms "first refusal" and manageable payment consideration of Ohio's surplus assets, and to produce intrastate contracting and commerce between the active investment by Ohio's TIF district residents and Ohio's rural property owners and rural businesses.
2. Income Tax Credit for Residential Property Owners in
Downsized OSFC-funded School Districts: Draft and vet legislation that gives income tax relief to residential property owners in school districts where voter-approved, debt-issued school facilities projects have downsized.
Answer from Alicia Reece:
I am working on legislation that would ban credit checks as a barrier for citizens who have been laid off and meet all other qualifications from gainful employment. There is needs to be a comprehensive platform for Small Businesses in the State of Ohio focusing on both existing businesses and new start ups located in neighborhood businesses districts and metropolitan areas.
Answer from Jim Stith:
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.
Ohio needs to become business friendly to attract jobs for our citizens. As one of the highest taxed states in the country we must limit taxation and release the stranglehold of unfunded mandates on our businesses allowing the economy to grow once again. Increasing private sector jobs creates a larger tax base and provides the state with more capital for programs. The current philosophy of increasing taxes during a recession does not work.
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3. Ohio is facing a huge budget deficit for the FYs ending in 2012 and 2013. What specific revenue increases would you support and what cuts would you make to balance the budget? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Jillian Mack:
Tax increases are completely unnecessary and would ultimately be a detriment to the growth of the Ohio economy. The size of government has increased at a far greater pace than the private sector, putting an undue burden on workers and employers to pay for often-times wasteful government programs.
Although I'm certain I will find many areas of the budget that need to be cut, the first place to look is in government employment benefits + these benefits significantly exceed those of the private sector and it's a disgrace to expect a free people to continue to support an unnecessarily bloated government sector.
Answer from Jim Stith:
Our expenditures are out of control. We have to learn to live on less than we make. We cannot continue to expand the government by raising taxes like we have done this past year. Since the start of this recession our state government has increased the number of employees and raised taxes on business and citizens to pay for it. We must cut overhead, outsource where cost effective, and decrease expenditures.
It is time for a long hard public look at our expenditures and to begin questioning the services and departments run by our government. We must be accountable to the tax payer. This means creating a detailed cost to benefit analysis of all departments and demanding efficiency with our tax dollars.
Answer from Curtis A. Wells:
I would support legislation and administrative policy for the following: 1. Salary freeze for all state employees;
2. Prohibit double dipping by state employees; 3. Increase incrementally the corporate activity tax on firms with 50 or more employees; 4. Combine selected government operations to reduce duplicated supplies and materials (via occupational cluster analysis); 5. Secure 50 percent ownership for the State of Ohio in all renewable and alternative energies development.
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4. What should be done to ensure that all community schools and nonpublic schools that accept state financial support (including vouchers) are accountable to the public? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Jim Stith:
A system of accountability for all schools should be in place to ensure that the basic services and standards are being provided for all students. We must also be very careful about the unfunded mandates for non-classroom issues that are being placed on our schools at the cost of their effectiveness. We must increase the dollars to the classroom by decreasing the other expenses imposed by our own government.
Answer from Curtis A. Wells:
I would support legislation that mandates the following for any school that does not meet A.Y.P.: 1. Prior to the start of the next school year, a minimum of two public hearings, requiring broad media disclosure, adequate seating for the public, and all faculty and staff in attendance;
2. Implementation of a statewide pay decrease scale for all public school districts and community schools, which will be applied on a school basis.
Answer from Jillian Mack:
Preparing students specifically to pass a standardized test that meets base requirements does a disservice to them as it limits their education, and it does not provide an accurate representation of educator performance. To help promote a stronger educational system, teachers and schools should be graded not only on students passing the standardized tests, but also through ratings from other teachers, administrators, and parents, possibly through cooperation with local PTA or other related groups.
In addition, education funding should always follow the child. This allows parents to select the school of their choice so that they can enroll in schools that are known to be performing well, which in turn will drive competition and further improvement among all of our schools. Those schools that consistently don't perform well will fail and be replaced by high performers, just as businesses that don't perform well face failure and replacement in the marketplace.
Answer from Alicia Reece:
I believe that there should be firm accountability with transparency to the taxpayers. I support legislation that will increase the accountability to the taxpayers.
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5. What would you propose, if anything, to change Ohio’s tax structure? (150 word limit)
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Answer from Jillian Mack:
Upon taking office I would devote some of my time to analyzing the tax structure so that I can better understand how it is currently configured. Once I have achieved a greater understanding of the current structure, I would target any areas that unfairly favor some sectors of business over others and work to move the tax code toward a more level playing field.
It is not the place of government, and the government is not equipped, to be on the cutting edge of all sectors of the economy. The tax code needs to be written in a way that promotes economic growth across the board and does not favor any particular sector of the economy. This type of consistent and fair tax structure will facilitate the economic benefits that naturally occur in a free market, and it will allow all areas of the economy an equal opportunity to flourish.
Answer from Curtis A. Wells:
I would support legislation that incrementally increases the corporate activity tax for companies with more than 40 employees and the individual income tax for individuals who earn more than $300,000 a year.
Answer from Jim Stith:
We should eliminate the inheritance tax, lighten the business tax, and look towards rolling back the recently increased in income tax.
The next step is a detailed analysis of the tax code and the cost of its implementation. Do we benefit overall from the current code or is a simpler means of taxation more cost effective?
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of Ohio Education Fund
