With only a week left before voters take to the polls, Jay Edwards and Sarah Grace, the two candidates for Ohio’s 94th House district seat, met Tuesday for a final election forum hosted by the Athens County League of Women at the Nelsonville Public Library.
Edwards, a Republican from Nelsonville, and Grace, a Democrat who has lived in Athens for nearly two decades, spoke to a group of about 35 people on a range of topics including fracking, education and the negative campaign ads that have recently been directed at them both.
In attack ads sent to residents’ houses, Grace has been portrayed as “godless,” while Edwards has been portrayed as a puppet of state politicians.
“I had been asked by several people to approve negative campaigns and every time I said no,” Grace said. “It is not the way I want to campaign. It is not the way I want to reach voters.”
Edwards echoed Grace’s sentiment, adding that many of the ads were not funded by either campaign.
“You can’t control what the party does in Columbus,” he said.
Neither candidate echoed the animosity portrayed in those ads, however, as both Grace and Edwards agreed on several issues, including waste from fracking.
In October, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced plans to lease 1,600 acres of land in the Wayne National Forest for oil and gas purposes, which could mean companies may begin fracking on the property in the future.
Edwards and Grace both condemned the waste fracking has brought to southeast Ohio, but differed in their opinions on potential jobs the industry could bring to the region.
“When it comes to the injection wells we’ve got to make sure they’re regulated, we’ve got to make sure they’re done safely,” Edwards said, adding that the industry itself could bring jobs to the region and that “all of our natural resources need to be utilized.”
On accountability for public schools, Edwards and Grace’s opinions also overlapped, with both calling for increased regulation for traditional public schools and charter schools.
The candidates’ answers often led back to the question of jobs and the region’s economy — an issue Edwards and Grace disagreed on.
Grace repeatedly called for diversification of the local economy, which she sees as having more potential for sustainability. Edwards said he wants to focus on bringing more job opportunities to Athens County and that increased availability for vocational and technical training is key for that to happen.
Mary Costello, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Athens County, said the purpose of the forums they have hosted this election season was to inform voters.
“Our advice is: inform yourselves and vote,” she said. “People say ‘My vote doesn't count,’ but in fact it does; it’s important to have your say.”
