AN HONOR TO SERVE AS YOUR NEW STATE SENATOR
Serving the 12th District
One of the great honors of my life has been serving as a State Representative in western Ohio for the past six years. Now I have been bestowed another great honor by being chosen to represent Ohio's 12th Senate District, which includes Allen, Auglaize, Champaign, Darke, Mercer, Preble and Shelby counties, following the election of former State Senate Jim Jordan to the U.S. House of Representatives. Representing your views, ideas and opinions in the Ohio Senate is a responsibility that I take very seriously and I will work hard to ensure that the concerns of our community are heard.
To better understand the direction I hope to take as State Senator, I feel it is important for you to know some background. As the State Representative, I was fortunate enough to have been re-elected three times by my constituency. In the House I served as Vice Chairman of the House Agriculture and Development Subcommittee, Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review and as a member of the Insurance, Public Utilities, Health and Finance & Appropriations committees. Another quality I bring to the table is my wide range of legal experience. I earned my Jurist Doctorate from The Ohio State University in 1991, and am licensed to practice law in both Ohio and Indiana. I'm also a certified Ohio mediator and have experience in civil litigation, insurance and business law, as well as criminal law. I also hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in public administration and policy from Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan).
As we begin the 127th General Assembly, there is much to be done. Leaders in both the House and Senate have already expressed a commitment to continuing our work to ensure that we are providing the highest quality education for our children. While we made gains in the previous General Assembly with the passage of the Ohio CORE, which establishes a more rigorous curriculum to better prepare students for the demands of the job market and global economy, there is still more that we can do. This issue will continue to be a top priority for me and I will work to ensure that our children are equipped with the necessary skills upon graduating high school to pursue any path they desire be it immediate entry into the workforce or a college degree.
Additionally, my colleagues and I are committed to continuing the work done by previous legislatures to ensure that Ohio's economy is strong and producing jobs. In fact, during the last General Assembly we passed legislation that will reduce personal income taxes by 21 percent for working families. In addition to the General Assembly's work, Ohio voters approved a more than $2 billion investment in research and development and new infrastructure to ensure Ohio has the ability to attract the high-tech industries of the future. Even with these dramatic reforms and advancements, there is still more that can be done. One area I feel that the state can improve is in regards to regulatory reform. This boils down to reducing the amount of red tape that businesses are forced to cut through in order to survive and be productive. Making advancements in this area is necessary to ensure that Ohio's economy is strong and robust. For far too long, these needless regulations have served as a nearly impassable hurdle for developing businesses. We must ease the burden on businesses if we want to attract jobs and be assured that Ohio's economy is productive and fruitful.
I look to the next two years of the 127th General Assembly as being filled with promise and potential. As your State Senator, it is my pledge to you that I will fight for what is important to my constituents and together we have the potential to effect great change for our community and all of Ohio.
