The two candidates for State Representative of the 94th District both say that something has to be done about education, job growth and ensuring that constituents are fairly represented at the Ohio Statehouse — they just don’t agree how.
The two candidates for State Representative of the 94th District both say that something has to be done about education, job growth and ensuring that constituents are fairly represented at the Ohio Statehouse — they just don’t agree how.
Qualifications
Phillips: Incumbent Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Albany, said she hopes to continue working to bridge the gap between citizens and the Statehouse, and emphasized the bipartisan work she said she’s done at the statehouse.
Phillips serves as Assistant Minority Leader in the Ohio General Assembly. She’s been in office since her first election in 2008. She previously was a Fourth Ward Athens City Councilwoman.
“A lot of the focus has been on the relationship between state and local communities,” she said. “When people from the community are able to talk with policymakers, it’s better for everyone.”
Dennis: Republican candidate Yolan Dennis, a registered nurse from Warren Township in Washington County, said she has never run for political office before. That inexperience in politics would be an asset for her in the Statehouse because she is not held down by pre-established political ties.
“I just want to be a voice out there for the people,” she said.
Position on higher education
Phillips: Said she had a track record of helping to lower tuition rates for students, particularly in helping to instate a two-year tuition freeze under former Gov. Ted Strickland. She also said that she wants to be accessible to all members of the community, including college students, and be accountable to their concerns.
Phillips has also placed great emphasis on job growth in her campaign, through investment in local infrastructure such as water, sewers and roads and by investing in human capital to encourage higher education.
“I just hope that students actually go out and vote,” she said. “... I think we all have a stake in what happens at the state level.”
Dennis: Said that she wants to help spur the growth of the job market — and thus higher education — in Southeast Ohio through an expansion of the oil, gas and shale drilling industry. She said she believes in encouraging education training preparing individuals for work in that field.
Dennis said that she also wants to see college graduates put to good use in boosting the economy. She said that in order for college graduates to do this, they need to be able to pay off their student loans.
“We definitely are going to be taking a look at options for students in paying those back,” she said.
Position on primary
education
Phillips: Another plank in Phillips’ platform is to increase the funding of public schools. She said that she opposes some of Governor John Kasich’s structural changes to the education fund system, which she said favors private and charter schools over public schools, which serve a large majority of Ohio students.
Dennis: Has been especially vocal on multiple trips to Athens speaking out on matters of education during her campaign. She opposes Ohio’s New Learning Standards, also known as Common Core, which standardizes school curriculum requirements.
“They’re using our children and our teachers as guinea pigs,” she said. “I feel like it’s just demoralizing to our (schools).”
wp198712@ohio.edu
@wtperkins
