For nearly a decade, Ohio saw significant progress in efforts to make sure every child has health insurance, expanding Medicaid enrollment to more than 1.3 million children. But we are losing ground. In 2023, enrollment declined by more than 86,000 children. I will work to continue Medicaid expansion, support CHIP, reduce the complexity of enrolling and navigating the system, and improve the availability of community partners for needed guidance and troubleshooting.

The opioid crisis and other drugs have done so much damage to our health, families, and economy. Ohio had the second highest number of opioid deaths in the country in 2017, and the annual cost of the opioid crisis for Ohio was about 7 billion dollars. Ohio is making progress in the fight – but we cannot lose focus.

I will work to expand drug-abuse education and prevention and increase access to treatment for those affected by addiction. I will also work to ensure available federal grant and opioid settlement dollars flow into our county for these efforts.

 Ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including contraception and safe abortion services, is crucial for the well-being of women in Ohio. Ohioans deserve the right to make informed choices about their reproductive health without facing unnecessary barriers. Ohioans voted to support women’s right and I will work to support policies that protect those rights.

Ohio has made moves to increase state funding for schools but work still needs to be done.  Our local school districts are at a disadvantage and forced to rely heavily on property taxes. We need a formula that reflects real educational costs and decreases dependence on local levies. I will work to support fair funding for all school districts in Ohio.

I will also work to increase access to affordable, quality pre-K for children in all districts. This early year of education provides a better start and improves kindergarten readiness in children.

I support improving the future of Ohio’s families with a realistic minimum wage and bridging the gender wage gap. Women earn 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. If there is equal pay, the poverty rate for women would be cut in half and this would significantly improve the economy. This issue can be addressed in several ways: by encouraging women to enter more middle-class fields such as IT and manufacturing, by providing paid family leave, and by making childcare more affordable. I will work to support these efforts and to increase the minimum wage for all working Ohioans.

Many of our Delaware County communities are experiencing a significant growth in population. I will work to support growth in an environmentally sustainable way and help improve our infrastructure. I support smart economic development that does not impinge on our quality of life or the local control of our communities.

Firearms are now the leading cause of death in children, overtaking motor vehicle accidents since 2017.  This number includes homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries. There are many ways these levels can be impacted.  I support mandatory background checks, red-flag laws, and safe gun storage education.