The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Two vying to be next 61st District state representative
Republican Jamie Callender and Democrat Rick Walker will square off Nov. 6 to see who will replace termlimited state Rep. Ron Young for the 61st District.
Callender is a former state representative and defeated Willoughby Hills City Councilman John Plecnik in the May primary election. Walker, a Perry Village councilman, ran unopposed as a write-in candidate on the Democratic side in the primary.
The 61st district consists of Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Mentor Wards 1-3, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, the townships of Concord, Leroy, Madison, Perry and parts of Painesville Township.
State representatives are elected for two-year terms and make an annual salary of $60,584.
Here is some of what the candidates had to say on the election questionnaires sent to them by The News-Herald.
Callender
Callender, 53, of Concord Township, is an attorney at Callender Law Group and a professor at Kent State University. He previously served four terms as a state representative from 1997 to 2004.
He said retooling the education system is one of Ohio’s key needs right now.
“We need to lessen the over-reliance on property taxes for our schools, as that simply forces districts to repeatedly go to the voters for levy replacements just to keep pace with inflation,” he said. “In addition, we also burden our districts with decades of unfunded mandates that we need to be repealing, rather than adding to.”
Callender said other elements of the public education system also need to be addressed. He said while he supports testing in order to monitor progress and assure students are achieving basic benchmarks, the state has gone “too far with its testing regiment.”
He said too much time is spent taking tests and more learning time is needed. He also said he wants to ensure as much local control over curriculum as possible is retained.
The opioid epidemic is another area that needs to be addressed, he said. There are many causes of addiction and therefore a one-size-fitsall approach is unrealistic
“We need to take the time to really look at the causes, rather than throwing bandages on the symptoms,” Callender said. “If we are to help lessen the crisis, we need to look at the underlying causes and work on policies that can help correct those, rather than simply making more people criminals.”
Walker
Walker, 55, has been a Perry Village councilman since 2011. He is also the owner of Walker Floors & Window Fashions.
He said he wants fair funding for public schools.
“The ‘rainy day fund’ is more than double what it is required to be,” Walker said. “We need to utilize these funds to help our public schools succeed. Also, take the lottery profits we were promised to be used for public schools and put that towards them. Our students need the tools to advance and become vital citizens.”
To address the opioid epidemic, Walker said Ohio needs to build and fund successful treatment centers. The epidemic must also be attacked at its source, he said.
“We need to get together with community leaders, safety forces, even recovering addicts to find the manufacturers and distributors and shut them down,” Walker said.
Walker said the time has come to invest more in clean energy. He said we can no longer rely on old technology. He said there are great resources in Lake County that should be explored. The district is home to the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, which is facing an uncertain future. Walker called the plant vital and “we need to help it maintain the clean, efficient energy it produces.”
The 61st district consists of Kirtland, Kirtland Hills, Mentor Wards 1-3, North Perry Village, Perry Village, Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, the townships of Concord, Leroy, Madison, Perry and parts of Painesville Township.