4 Dems contend for 56th House District

Running in primary, then face GOP in November

Democratic voters will select one of four contenders hoping to represent the Lorain area in the 56th District of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Mark Ballard II, Joe Miller, Claudia Olaes and Cory L. Shawver all are running in the Democratic primary scheduled for May 8.

The winning candidate will face Republican Ron Weber in the race to succeed state Rep. Dan Ramos, the Lorain Democrat who is term limited.

The district includes the northern and western communities of Lorain County. It includes Sheffield Lake, Lorain, Amherst, Oberlin, South Amherst, the Lorain County side of Vermilion and the townships of Brownhelm, Henrietta, Camden, Brighton, New Russia and Pittsfield.

Ballard

Ballard did not return a Morning Journal questionnaire.

Miller

Miller cited education, middle class wages and the opioid epidemic as top issues facing the 56th District.

“If elected, an immediate area of concern is stopping the toxic legislation that is coming out of Columbus regarding education,” Miller said.

Lorain City Schools is in the state’s “academic distress” rating. Miller cited that governing legislation, known as House Bill 70, along with House Bill 512 as problems for local education.

“Education empowers the masses and our children do not deserve to have their education politicized or profiteered by the lobbyists in Columbus,” Miller said. “I will support legislation that empowers local public schools to prepare our children to be 20th Century learners by creating citizens who are strong in both mind and body by fostering their intellectual, athletic and social development.”

A second area that needs addressed is the attacks on collective bargaining and middle class wages.

“Our citizens have spoken and handed SB5 a decisive defeat,” Miller said, referring to the Senate Bill 5 legislation dealing with public sector unions. “Our legislators did not listen and chose to put the same crippling measures in future legislation.”

Ohio currently has a legislature trying to divide and conquer public and private sector unions with submission of constitutional amendments, Miller said.

“Legislators are claiming “Right to Work,” but this legislation is wrong for Ohio,” he said. Miller said he will support legislation that aims to grow a vibrant middle class while rewarding all stakeholders who invest in Ohio.

Ohio lawmakers also must address opioid addiction and deaths by overdose.

Miller said in his experience as a Democratic councilman in a Republican controlled city, he learned to work with colleagues to find creative solutions to our constituents concerns by navigating the bureaucracy of governmental agencies, exhaustive legislation and partisan politics all while getting things done.

Olaes

Olaes did not return a Morning Journal questionnaire

Shawver

Jobs, safety and education are three top concerns for the 56th House District, Shawver said.

“We need to work together to improve our local infrastructure and better train our workforce to attract the high tech industrial jobs of the 21st Century,” he said.

As a state representative, Shawver said he would work to secure funding from the state for road repairs and other infrastructure improvements as well as funding to train our workers for living wage jobs.

The 56th House District and all communities need to ensure that fire and police forces are properly staffed and have the tools they need to do their jobs properly and safely, Shawver said. He called for returning the local government funds that were taken away from communities under the administration of Gov. John Kasich, to ensure that safety forces are properly staffed and equipped.

Every child, “no matter what ZIP code they are born into,” should get a safe, high

quality education from preschool to grade 12, Shaver said.

“We must also ensure that higher education is affordable and accessible to all of our students, and that vocational training and apprenticeships are options for our students and adults as well,” he said.

“I believe my passion for Lorain County and for working to make the lives

of all of our people better, combined with my broad experience working with law enforcement policy, community revitalization and economic development policy, and my past history of being involved in my community make me the candidate best suited to represent the interests of the people of the 56th District in Columbus,” Shawver said.