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[SPEAKER_01]: Hello and welcome to American Motherhood, where we explore how politics and society shape our motherhood experience.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We know how hard it is to find the time to understand who and what's under ballot.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So this season we're bringing our Ohio candidates directly to you, asking how they would approach the challenges facing our families and why we should trust them to lead.
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[SPEAKER_01]: These conversations aren't about debating or grandstanding.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They're about getting to know the person behind the campaign in their own words.
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[SPEAKER_01]: For every candidate we interview, we've invited their opponent as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Not everyone chooses to participate of course, but everyone is given the opportunity.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This space is for every mom and every perspective, regardless of how you vote.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Our hope is to help you understand the candidates think more deeply about your choice and feel confident in your decision.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for joining us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Let's dive in.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Hello, this is American Motherhood.
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[SPEAKER_01]: My name is Bethany, and today I'm so excited to be interviewing Noah Spinner, Democratic Candidate for Ohio House District 31, which covers a diverse stretch of Summit County, including Richfield, Bath, Copley, Barberton, Norton, and parts of Kaya Hoga Falls.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Noah is running against Republican candidate Mike K. Ho and the district is currently represented by Republican Bill Romer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Noah, thank you so much for joining us today.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I have to start by telling you, I grew up in Summit County in your neighboring district 32.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm now in Columbus, but in a lot of ways Summit County still feels like home, so I'm excited to hear from you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm very excited to be your Bethany.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We're in Summit County, you grow up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Green.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Green.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Wonderful.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's where my campaign managers from and a lot of friends we were.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So before I start with my questions, I want to give you the opportunity to just tell us about yourself.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I really appreciate it, I think, because where do I start?
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of like the character at the start of a movie.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I bet you wondering how I ended up here.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Same, I think, for me as well, I can start at that vein right there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, more raising kind of falls.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Life on residence here in some accounting.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And if had, you know, an interactive threat or district, all my life, whether that be growing up going to magical theater, kid camp, and barbered in, or beloved date nights with my future wife,
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[SPEAKER_00]: family and coply and bath, busing tables at restaurants and rich field, and the bath area is well to working summer camp.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I can't Manitok and Peninsula and Boston Township to begin growing up my life in cargo falls.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This district is home to me, and more ways than one, but kind of what
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[SPEAKER_00]: drove me to be here today to be on the podcast and talking with you really goes back to your 2021 when I met a woman named Shelby.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Shelby was a barista at the campus Starbucks at University of Akron.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I was a senior of college.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was my first semester of law school.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I was a regular at that Starbucks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: One day, I go for a coffee and bagel order, making small copies of usual, and I go back to my study room to find that she had written her phone number on my cup.
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[SPEAKER_00]: As they say, the rest is history.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The flash forward to January, 2024, Shelby is diagnosed with stage three, colorectal cancer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is just after I graduated law school.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I was studying for bar exam.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She was well into her career in a Delta Techative Services with some accounting.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And throughout the next year and a half, she duked it out through
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[SPEAKER_00]: intense treatment, six months of chemotherapy, 20 rounds of radiation, surgery, pond surgery, weeks in the hospital, found herself in a period of pre-formation there in November 24, but March of 25, the cancer had come back.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was met static and it was terminal, and she passed, she was going to pass away in April 30th, 2025, just eight days after we were married.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But after she passed, it kind of took a hard look in the mirror at the really the impact that Shelby made in her 25 years here on earth.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She, you know,
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again, worked for adult protective services.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They say, help in, you know, from 60 cat homes to people rotting in beds.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She found affordable housing, preventant fraud abuse in the collect.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure that people kept their lights on, heat on the winter food and pantries and save many people's lives in the process.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Shelby barely five foot herself, you know, dives and guns pull in every day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She'd step into her pair of,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Her dog Martin combat booths and she really ascended to a giant in the way she helped people and that's what she was all about Was helping people with a smile on her face with a determination and say hey, I can make life better for people My local community and elsewhere and I really
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[SPEAKER_00]: looked at the impact she made and the boots that she left and said, how can I make up even half that difference?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I got involved a lot in cancer research and advocacy, you know, from working with Stewart's caring place here locally in the coply fair-in-law area to the false cancer club, doing bike rides, Donna Columbus and Clean Pelotonia,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Another fundraising metrics, in fact, this weekend, my dad, a couple of guys, his bands throughout the years are putting together a fundraiser, a little help from our friends to be cancer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's not about Beatles, music, theme, events that we're excited to put on, locally in the reality, and can more.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But all the proceeds going to Stewart's Carinplace, reverse raffle 5050 you name it, to be a great night.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Also got involved in the CIGVAL's library board of trustees, Mayor NonMolzers, CIGVAL's approach.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I said, no, I'm asking you to please step up and serve in this capacity, which I've known for distinction for the past eight months, when a wonderful experience that's been to serve our folks here in CIGVAL's and making sure that, you know, especially at a time where,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Library funding at Ohio is getting slash left and right in the work and solidation of these centers of community creativity and discovery are really at heart pressed times to be a steward of the Kaggle Falls Library and really carry its mission forward to provide the great services we do the community.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then one faithful day I was sitting my desk, my mom business and I got a call from the Democratic office and I know him.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We need someone to step up and serve the people of district 31.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll answer that call to serve.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's a big question.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How can I even do that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: By reflected a lot on Shelby's cancer journey and how that impacted us.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Someone's first diagnosed with cancer.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I've talked a lot of folks that have been afflicted or family members, loved ones, spouses, children.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes the first thought.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes the first thought.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's not whether they're going to be okay.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's how the hell are we going to afford this.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I don't feel the Ford, you know, 10k in chemo pills if they take every two weeks for six months, you know, six figure radiation expenses, let alone your mortgage rent, run away train that is utilities, gas and groceries these days, you know, we had to fight with the state to get a medicating disability, she was denied at a hand, every interview process had their application, come home one day, she's crying or eyes out, and still before it's all palliative care, she split in payments, and she said, what's going on, she's like I was denied,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Medicaid disability.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How are we going to make it?
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[SPEAKER_00]: How are we going to work through this?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we've worked with our state representative representative former to get around those services.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You're grateful for his help in that endeavor, but it should be easier.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's got to be easier.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Folks that need the help are being turned away and letting the suffer and suffer alone oftentimes with no community to support the no advocacy skills or the wear with all to go to the representative or to fight on their behalf.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that's what kind of drove me to say, yes, it's a we need in here in Ohio, you know, we have serious people right for serious officers that want to take away Medicaid for three million Ohioans.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now's the time that we need fighters in the state house that know it's like to struggle and that will fight to make sure that people have the help they need when they need most.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you very much for telling us about Shelby, it's clear that she has a real impact on you and what you want to do for Ohioans and the impact that she left just sounds tremendous and the work that advocates do to care for our most vulnerable is incredibly important.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And so thank you for carrying that torch as well and continuing her legacy.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I do want to go back a little further because I believe you ran for Ohio House as a high school senior and I want to hear about that.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I want to hear about that experience and how you knew then that you wanted to represent Ohioans.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I appreciate that, you know, last from the past eight years ago was my first time run for the State House.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like you mentioned, I was a senior in high school, but that run was kind of, it was too fold.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think what kind of activated my engagement, my civic engagement was back in 2016 and not so much election night results, but even farther than that into the debates.
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[SPEAKER_00]: When we saw serious people run for serious offices, the president of the United States on a debate stage, yelling until it
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that didn't sit well with me, I was like, how could this be?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so I got involved in some local campaigns and try to get more, you know, a sensible was going on locally in my community and got involved on a Crooked Courts race here in some of the county.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Just, you know, first time ever going to Canvas saying, while the high school student, to working, I called it my second after school job on the reelection effort of Marathon Walters in 2017.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then something happened in that election, around that time,
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[SPEAKER_00]: And next year, you know, I'm going back to high school the next year, a college fall, high school, go luck tigers, noticing that many of my teachers were missing from the classrooms.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I asked, hey, what happened to Miss Maheres, what happened to Miss Sonso and they said, no, we'll be in the past 11.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We had to make staffing reductions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They just were, you know, we just couldn't afford to have as many teachers.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I was like, well, did you ask the students?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So that was okay.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Did you ask us who are directly impacted by this loss?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, cutting a programming and you ask us?
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[SPEAKER_00]: No, because you're not a voter.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So what would say would you have?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, well, that's not right.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How can we as students, you know, have a say in this, when we're the ones that are directly impacted, but have no say in the matter whatsoever.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then you see we had an epidemic, the time, it's still very pervasive today, not going of violence in schools and parking, you know, mass shootings.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Parkland had just happened at the time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that was on the first school shootings that truly resonated with me seeing on CNN, you know senior pictures of high school students They're seeing your photos.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I just took my senior photos.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like I could have been me that could have been my sisters That could have been my brother could have been my best friends.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You never know and
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[SPEAKER_00]: that really was a triggering response to me and saying how can I make a difference in this?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I did a little research and I was like, well, city council doesn't really play that much into school funding or how we regulate school safety in the state of Ohio.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think constitution, it wasn't all enough yet to run for Congress.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that might be a little too big for my bridge is there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But out to the state house, I looked at who was my representative of the time, wasn't shown up for session.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't supporting funding for public schools.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I said, my mom dad, they came home one day as my mom Denver, from the state house, and I'm blessed and support, you know, with such supportive parents, and they said, go for it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think the thought I might have been joking, until I actually filed my petitions, and I was on the ballot.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, what experience that was?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So here I am, a senior in high school.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, I'm coming into school late because I had a breakfast meeting with the mayor.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I had a breakfast meeting with a city council person.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I got detention one or two times because they said, don't you get so many tardies on, like, you're meeting with who the mayor of Chicago falls and they're like, no, you weren't.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I was like, yes, you just endorsed me, this is a intensive primary.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He endorsed me and he didn't know.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Do you need a note of absence from me?
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[SPEAKER_00]: No, no, no, it's been her head wrecked with me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It flurries, you know, and then as soon as I leave school, I'd go home, maybe you just snack, put on my canvas and shoes, and get my clipboard and go to random
turf out in the district, and it was just not doors.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Had a few fundraisers in there, I think it raised 4th house in toddlers, that's composed of my opponent.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was a wonderful gentleman's empire, he's a wonderful attorney and great family man and have all the respect in the world for him, and we ran a great race.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I got 42% of the vote on election day, and that primary I equated to about 2,500 votes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: About 800 short, but as a senior in high school, I think to convince 2,500 persons to wake up, as my brother was like, say, wake up, put on a pair of pants, drive to the polls and say, hey, this is our guy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That, I think, now it's spoke volumes of what we did on that campaign.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The message that we were putting out there, but also, I hope that inspired a lot of my fellow peers across the state and my, hey, we do have a voice as you see at the table, we just have to bring our own chair.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's how we do is get involved and be engaged.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it was a wonderful, wonderful experience.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I may be getting ahead of here your questions, but like I think from there on, I'm gonna turn you by the way, so I get paid to talk.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's, you know, that instilled in me as an interest because I really was looking at sports management, maybe in college, I was a big baseball guy, I love sports, thought maybe that could be the next, you know, commissioner baseball, but that opened up the door to me and saying, hey, policy, look at policy, look how we fund schools in Ohio.
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[SPEAKER_00]: who is studying the role of these babies and it's in the practice, the fair funding game, and really we're talking about how we want to fund schools in Ohio, you know, you got to go through a policy, learn how to work with the system, be a part of the system, um, be engaged in, you know, retool it, to work for everybody, and so that's when I chose my major at the University of African Political Science and then that program that dovetailed into law school during your senior year of college, so I was a senior college as a full-time law student.
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[SPEAKER_00]: which was crazy and that's kind of where I found myself going down the policy angle and staying involved all the while on a lot of other campaigns, you know, and trying to be engaged as much as possible but that's kind of that was that running and kind of giving that basis to make this run as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I think that's amazing, and to your point, it's not so much about the outcome winner-lews, but again, the, just the impression that
you had on those around you, and I'm sure the way that you had motivated and continue to motivate those and share the message that we have of voice, let's use it, let's make a difference, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I also, I have to share this, because it's been on my mind.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I...
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[SPEAKER_01]: did not like government in high school and so I am especially impressed that you knew that you wanted to do that obviously now I'm more interested and more engaged but that was my least favorite class.
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[SPEAKER_00]: No that's I hear that a lot from students you know like why you know I think especially in an environment where we become so disassociated with politics because of how personal it's getting, how the attacks, the much swinging.
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[SPEAKER_00]: the money and the hollow blue that that comes with it is very I think discouraging to get involved have a care in this you know so the year anniversary of Shelby's passing trying to remain positive and and trying to be productive in that day you know in a day that's it was really you know was treading and it happened and someone had reached out to me from college the fall title of a former teacher and she said hey no um
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[SPEAKER_00]: would you have any availability in the future to come and spend a day talking with classes about civic engagement?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Talking about, you know, what it means to be involved in your community to have to say in different things.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It may be due to a little education about how important our state houses and what that means because you not come people's doors and you say, I'm running for to be our state representatives like you're ready to be a member of Congress.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I thought that was kind of familiar with science.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The 13th, what you mean, the 31st is you're giving the 13th district.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was like, no, no, no.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We have this wonderful thing called a state house.
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[SPEAKER_00]: that didn't pass our lives 10 times more than the federal government, maybe 20 more times, our local government as well as just, you know, people will be largely our best kept secret in Ohio is that we have a general assembling Columbus that is supposed to be working for us.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But I go into this class and all that day I spoke, I was on my feet talking to students, you know, from the first period bell to the end of the day.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it was wonderful, but to your point of view, a lot of them had no idea what this state house was, and I was like, we're back then, we're back to school house rock here a little bit, talking about, you know, it was a federal government three branches, the house is the same thing, we just use different terms to confuse people, um, exactly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But to your point, you know, how important it is to really encourage young folks, especially, I say young for some 26 myself, to be my age a little older, especially our high school students,
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, there's up in coming to say, hey, how powerful your voice is, how powerful your vote is.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Really, you could change the trajectory of a nation overnight.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If every high school student registered a vote, that was eligible and voted, you know, installing you in that power because it's not something we fabricate.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I was very fortunate to have a lot of mentors early on my life that instilled in me the importance of the value as young professional, even in high school that my voice had and that the impact
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[SPEAKER_00]: the tools and skillsets that I have.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's not so much, you know, oh, it's cute.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You're running for office in a very condescending way.
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[SPEAKER_00]: No, I'm here.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm showing up.
16:42.860 --> 16:49.446
[SPEAKER_00]: I am taking this leap off the cliff to do a service for my community to make lives better for for for Ohioans.
16:49.947 --> 16:52.109
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, my hairline is being sacrificed for this.
16:52.129 --> 16:52.670
[SPEAKER_00]: That's for sure.
16:53.583 --> 16:55.304
[SPEAKER_00]: been the same process in the same breath.
16:55.364 --> 17:00.286
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, we as young folks here in the state of Ohio, have a voice, we just got to use it.
17:00.787 --> 17:05.209
[SPEAKER_00]: And part of that comes with being educated about how to use it and why it's so important.
17:06.129 --> 17:07.170
[SPEAKER_00]: Just what we're always trying to do.
17:08.548 --> 17:27.442
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, yes, so you're 26, but you have lived through a lot more experiences than I would say 40 and 50 year olds have lived through and I think that that is incredibly important and I think that that's a perspective that we need to have at the state house to understand how policies really impact us.
17:28.082 --> 17:34.009
[SPEAKER_01]: on an everyday basis and I think your message is so important for yes for our high schoolers and also for our parents, right?
17:34.610 --> 17:46.542
[SPEAKER_01]: Our audiences are largely parents, but just as a reminder that to bring civics education to our kids even from a young age and to have that messaging that our voice matters and set us up for success.
17:47.103 --> 17:56.472
[SPEAKER_00]: I always joke I go to the doors and, you know, young parent answers the door and maybe a small child is close
behind or something or curious and they would say, who's at the door?
17:56.753 --> 17:59.255
[SPEAKER_00]: And I always joke, he's like, oh, you know, Sam, it's a pleasure meeting.
17:59.275 --> 17:59.796
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's this?
17:59.836 --> 18:03.659
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is Lisa, I was like, oh, hey, little, hey, Lisa, how's it going?
18:03.880 --> 18:08.044
[SPEAKER_00]: You read sure to vote and they go, yes, and I was like, well, I don't tell Frank Laura.
18:09.485 --> 18:16.831
[SPEAKER_00]: Or better yet, at least at your register year, I know, I was like, well, why not, but then the parent usual will say, oh, but they come to vote with me.
18:17.251 --> 18:19.733
[SPEAKER_00]: And how important that is to, you know, they get the stick to you.
18:19.753 --> 18:22.175
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember to get the stick or yeah, we give you the stick or when you come to vote?
18:22.496 --> 18:23.436
[SPEAKER_00]: How important that is.
18:23.577 --> 18:26.859
[SPEAKER_00]: I think even just so small things, I remember going to vote with my mom as a kid.
18:26.899 --> 18:27.820
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the coolest thing.
18:27.840 --> 18:33.324
[SPEAKER_00]: We get to wake up early, mom gets to, you know, before driving to school, we're going to drive to the pole, we're going to be with my mom as you votes.
18:34.445 --> 18:52.108
[SPEAKER_00]: or data on the launch break and how impactful that is to show you know I think it's one thing we can we can say all we want on the podcast or in other capacities of like how important it is but it's those actions that really define and really press go on those buttons to activate that in the young person of how important it is.
18:52.188 --> 18:57.869
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean talking with folks I was at the in Peninsula there's this beautiful facility brand new facility.
18:58.249 --> 18:58.730
[SPEAKER_00]: The Girl Scout
19:01.250 --> 19:09.573
[SPEAKER_00]: and was told, and there's data back this up, that's in the second and third grade, the young woman makes a decision whether or not she wants to pursue a career in STEM.
19:09.993 --> 19:20.237
[SPEAKER_00]: That's how impressionable for children, Ohio or, it's in the second and third grade they make a decision on their capabilities and, you know, what is this guy, is their limit, you know, and really with their trajectory of their lives.
19:20.477 --> 19:25.899
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, I think that you have those experiences, you know, it's camp ledgewood in the STEM center or, you know, take your
19:29.000 --> 19:31.883
[SPEAKER_00]: their voices and that this could be is very important.
19:31.983 --> 19:35.586
[SPEAKER_00]: So draw the parents listen and please take your children to vote.
19:36.346 --> 19:39.949
[SPEAKER_01]: And also that was a blast to the past camp led joy.
19:40.169 --> 19:42.011
[SPEAKER_01]: And now and now I'm a girl scout leader and
19:43.552 --> 19:47.336
[SPEAKER_01]: My daughter is in second grade and so yes, so all of that speaks volumes.
19:47.516 --> 19:48.717
[SPEAKER_01]: But let's get to it here.
19:49.238 --> 19:53.703
[SPEAKER_01]: So you're running in a district that has historically been represented by Republicans.
19:53.943 --> 19:56.646
[SPEAKER_01]: What do you think voters in district 31 are looking for right now?
19:56.766 --> 20:00.350
[SPEAKER_01]: And how would you make the case to voters who may not traditionally vote for Democrats?
20:00.953 --> 20:05.519
[SPEAKER_00]: They're looking for leadership, they're looking for someone that's going to work for them.
20:05.919 --> 20:12.468
[SPEAKER_00]: I think, you know, and I don't think I know this, have been on the doors every day, having his conversations every day.
20:12.748 --> 20:16.272
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going up to Republican households, I'm going up to Democrats, I'm going up into attendance.
20:16.833 --> 20:18.836
[SPEAKER_00]: But even though we're looking households that are knocking on,
20:19.256 --> 20:20.977
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, they're waking up and they're smelling the coffee.
20:21.057 --> 20:25.880
[SPEAKER_00]: At your point, this seat's been held, it's largely Republican, but you look at the voter index.
20:25.920 --> 20:31.104
[SPEAKER_00]: It's 0.6, it's a 50-50 split, and it's an open seat for the first time in a long time.
20:31.284 --> 20:35.627
[SPEAKER_00]: And really, we have a shot to better the lives of people here in District 31.
20:36.507 --> 20:39.029
[SPEAKER_00]: and that's by she's my language.
20:39.089 --> 20:40.110
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not blowing smoke.
20:40.811 --> 20:41.872
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not pumping gas.
20:42.192 --> 20:45.595
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not saying the buzzwords to get a response.
20:45.976 --> 20:48.458
[SPEAKER_00]: It's really sharing them to your point.
20:48.478 --> 20:51.380
[SPEAKER_00]: My 26 years I will say I agree with you.
20:51.400 --> 20:52.181
[SPEAKER_00]: I've lived a lot of life.
20:52.501 --> 20:54.643
[SPEAKER_00]: I know what it's like to struggle to make it.
20:54.683 --> 20:56.445
[SPEAKER_00]: I know it's like to work three jobs in college.
20:56.945 --> 21:00.987
[SPEAKER_00]: I know what it's like, you know, I was a bartender, I worked with the university.
21:01.627 --> 21:21.795
[SPEAKER_00]: I did various, you know, odds and ends, jobs, landscape this day or the other at summer camp to make a few bucks, but even still, to go through some of life's hardest moments, like a chance, you know, your spouse, your partner gets a cancer diagnosis, and you got to figure it out, and you got to be there to support them while, so, you know, eventually that, I'm very proud of this, you know, she gets diagnosed while starting for the bar exam.
21:26.437 --> 21:53.775
[SPEAKER_00]: That's why I was sitting for the bar and I passed it my first time and you know you take those experiences because I think it's you know we are built out of our experiences and what we do with them that shapes our future and it shapes you know the opportunities
we have um you know when she passed away you know I know it's like to to work through that process of you know she passed away and it's half hour I'm on the phone with life bank to you know she had one question when she went to hospital's care because like can I still donate my eyes at home thanks to her
21:56.417 --> 22:00.281
[SPEAKER_00]: I knew what it's like to fight through some of those traumatic experiences.
22:00.661 --> 22:06.927
[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, it was on the date of the primary year to the date, you know, I was with her as she was being cremated.
22:07.188 --> 22:10.971
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, and it's, you know, again, it's how we're using those experiences.
22:11.331 --> 22:13.794
[SPEAKER_00]: And just being honest with the voters is like, I've lived my worst day.
22:13.874 --> 22:15.435
[SPEAKER_00]: I know what's like to be down the dirt.
22:15.756 --> 22:16.837
[SPEAKER_00]: I know what's like to be in the hole.
22:17.277 --> 22:19.820
[SPEAKER_00]: And right now, so many people are in the hole.
22:20.360 --> 22:28.604
[SPEAKER_00]: that's been dug by a a a a a super Maggi for the past 20 years and regression policies of oppression policies that aren't helping out.
22:29.064 --> 22:31.045
[SPEAKER_00]: I say look at your property tax assessment, right?
22:31.145 --> 22:32.565
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh, don't even get me started.
22:32.725 --> 22:33.586
[SPEAKER_00]: Look at your utility bill.
22:33.606 --> 22:35.307
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my god, the iron rules, the size.
22:35.607 --> 22:38.708
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's, I look at them and say, this just didn't happen overnight.
22:38.948 --> 22:45.471
[SPEAKER_00]: The barbed in schools going into fiscal emergency didn't happen overnight, nor none of the brink of the same didn't happen overnight.
22:46.339 --> 22:54.002
[SPEAKER_00]: These have been long time policies in the making and it's the same people that keep coming back to us and saying trust me I'm gonna fix public schools trust me.
22:54.062 --> 22:56.943
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna lower you to the rest of trust me I'm gonna make life affordable.
22:57.383 --> 23:10.948
[SPEAKER_00]: You have the keys to the kingdom here You have a super majoria in the house this Senate the governor's mansion now with politicized this Supreme Court We know you have the Supreme Court five two so you're telling me you're gonna fix it
23:11.228 --> 23:17.292
[SPEAKER_00]: Why did you choose to go on a two month plus recess to go back and campaign saying, I'm gonna fix it, get back to work.
23:17.892 --> 23:18.753
[SPEAKER_00]: Go to work today.
23:18.873 --> 23:23.356
[SPEAKER_00]: Don't leave me with this with the BS and saying, I'm gonna fix it and really get on the care and the instinct.
23:23.456 --> 23:24.897
[SPEAKER_00]: Voters are smarter than that.
23:25.377 --> 23:34.723
[SPEAKER_00]: And voters are waking up, smelling the coffee, and seeing right through it, and saying, enough enough, whether you're a Democrat Republican, I don't care who's going to be the fighter for me now and there.
23:35.360 --> 23:41.942
[SPEAKER_00]: who is going to actually do something about it, who has shown the resiliency to work against and possible situations.
23:42.202 --> 23:56.986
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, again, just sharing money, store, sharing the hate, I'm a guy, I have tattoos, I've worked my way through law school, but myself through law school, I'm very successful attorney now, I've been a full-time caretaker in the process, I've loved, I've lost, yet we're still here.
23:57.326 --> 24:00.087
[SPEAKER_00]: We're still showing up, I think there's been different,
24:00.787 --> 24:05.510
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, markers of indication of where the selection is going to this campaign, I go back to two things.
24:05.891 --> 24:11.975
[SPEAKER_00]: My campaign kickoff in March, we had tables reserved for 50 folks at a local brewery, high-ho, and cargo falls on front street.
24:12.555 --> 24:14.336
[SPEAKER_00]: Over 200 people signed in.
24:14.857 --> 24:16.178
[SPEAKER_00]: Those are just the people that signed in.
24:16.318 --> 24:19.540
[SPEAKER_00]: We packed the bartender's repost until the tips are coming in.
24:20.883 --> 24:21.864
[SPEAKER_00]: and you look at the primary.
24:22.124 --> 24:23.725
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I was running on a post.
24:23.745 --> 24:25.526
[SPEAKER_00]: I received 170% of the vote.
24:25.886 --> 24:32.130
[SPEAKER_00]: We had 3,000 people register and pull Democrat ballots for the first time when they had no reason to.
24:32.150 --> 24:35.312
[SPEAKER_00]: And there was no contested primaries going on minus the AG race.
24:35.932 --> 24:41.295
[SPEAKER_00]: I had 800 more votes than the two Republicans who had a hotly contested primary.
24:41.575 --> 24:44.757
[SPEAKER_00]: And one of them, my opponents spent a hundred thousand dollars.
24:44.777 --> 24:46.518
[SPEAKER_00]: I spent four, half of that was on pizza and beer.
24:46.978 --> 24:48.159
[SPEAKER_00]: That was the campaign kick-off.
24:48.519 --> 24:48.880
[SPEAKER_00]: Great.
24:49.740 --> 24:59.850
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I think you see those different markings and metrics and people are really coming back and saying, I'm fed up with this part, you know, Republican Democrat to me, it doesn't matter.
25:00.130 --> 25:00.591
[SPEAKER_00]: And it doesn't.
25:00.931 --> 25:02.833
[SPEAKER_00]: At the end of the day, it's who's going to be that fighter.
25:02.993 --> 25:04.194
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's what we're here to do.
25:04.214 --> 25:04.755
[SPEAKER_00]: We're here to fight.
25:04.775 --> 25:05.535
[SPEAKER_00]: We're here to work.
25:05.555 --> 25:07.457
[SPEAKER_00]: I've shown that throughout my career.
25:07.898 --> 25:12.222
[SPEAKER_00]: I've shown that as a caretaker, as a family man, and, you know, I'm going to do that as a legislator.
25:13.848 --> 25:18.479
[SPEAKER_01]: That's wonderful and that is what we're all about here at American Motherhood is getting past the party label.
25:18.599 --> 25:19.662
[SPEAKER_01]: It is not about the party.
25:19.682 --> 25:21.766
[SPEAKER_01]: It is about who is going to be fighting for us.
25:22.038 --> 25:25.300
[SPEAKER_00]: because I've learned cancer doesn't care every Democrat Republican.
25:25.760 --> 25:28.221
[SPEAKER_00]: That kid that goes to school hungry, home hungry doesn't care.
25:28.241 --> 25:34.845
[SPEAKER_00]: That person working three jobs to barely scrape by and put food on their table, the end of the day, they do not care.
25:34.885 --> 25:39.068
[SPEAKER_00]: They want to make sure their kids are taken care of, make sure they can build quality life on affordable life.
25:39.728 --> 25:43.710
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, before the building we talk about $4 billion, it just means making ends meet.
25:43.770 --> 25:45.351
[SPEAKER_00]: It means being able to go out to the movies.
25:45.371 --> 25:48.373
[SPEAKER_00]: It means taking the family out to their, go on to the ballpark, go on bowling.
25:48.713 --> 25:50.014
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what you're pulling across these days?
25:50.034 --> 25:52.496
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that is making us, um, it's a lot.
25:52.997 --> 26:03.306
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, so, and I don't know if a fan was out there feel as well, but like, really making sure that there's money coming back to you because right now your dollar does not go as far as it used to, even a month ago, two months ago.
26:03.626 --> 26:09.752
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, really kind of making sure that not only are we making life affordable, but we're raising the board of the quality of life, you're no higher.
26:10.190 --> 26:11.471
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
26:11.491 --> 26:12.891
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, I'm going to go straight there.
26:12.951 --> 26:18.174
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's talk about affordability and restoring affordability for our working families, like you just said.
26:18.614 --> 26:25.377
[SPEAKER_01]: What are the biggest costs you believe state government can realistically influence and where would your focus be first?
26:25.737 --> 26:26.897
[SPEAKER_00]: first is property taxes.
26:27.818 --> 26:44.243
[SPEAKER_00]: I know largely that is, you know, there's measures being passed as state of capping property taxes where, you know, I think there's a petition out there to get rid of property taxes, but the two devices out there too, when it comes to property taxes, is that they're there would become overreline on them to a fault, but that's not, it's not our fault of our local communities.
26:44.763 --> 26:49.248
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been the reduction in state dollars coming back to our local communities.
26:49.729 --> 26:56.776
[SPEAKER_00]: Why, you know, over half of our schools, but it's now have to come from our local property taxes, or on the library board, the same.
26:57.217 --> 27:05.906
[SPEAKER_00]: Why are fired in EMS up as ballot measures in a lot of our communities, like incomplete, and in this past May, the Valley Fire District and Boston Heights in Peninsula?
27:06.346 --> 27:09.989
[SPEAKER_00]: As a state, what we can do is prioritize.
27:10.009 --> 27:11.651
[SPEAKER_00]: We talk with people all the time.
27:11.711 --> 27:13.432
[SPEAKER_00]: A state legislature has three, really three jobs.
27:14.233 --> 27:17.656
[SPEAKER_00]: One is to be your zealous advocate and your fighter on that house floor.
27:17.676 --> 27:23.261
[SPEAKER_00]: Like a dog on a poem and going after policies and fighting for the interests of your district left it right.
27:24.084 --> 27:32.911
[SPEAKER_00]: to is regulating the conduct and policy of the state, regulatory actions to criminal reform and to regulate the conduct of our society here in Ohio.
27:33.291 --> 27:38.655
[SPEAKER_00]: And the third, and I think it's the number one thing that we're gonna hit January one once we're sworn in, is the budget.
27:39.454 --> 27:46.339
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a $90 billion state budget, $90 billion with a beat, and it's up to the legislators, and the governor and their approval.
27:47.540 --> 27:49.101
[SPEAKER_00]: Where does that money go?
27:49.181 --> 27:51.723
[SPEAKER_00]: Do we give $2.5 billion?
27:52.083 --> 27:54.305
[SPEAKER_00]: The private institutions had choice and voucher programs.
27:55.145 --> 28:17.533
[SPEAKER_00]: or do we fully fund our schools to we give 600 million of my dollars your dollars are list the listeners dollars to Jim and D. Haslam to build a football stadium outside of Cleveland or do we put that money back into our schools back into our local infrastructure back to it you know trying to find ways to create great paying jobs here in the state so it's a matter of how we prioritize that budget.
28:17.913 --> 28:20.234
[SPEAKER_00]: that means fully funding our local schools.
28:20.775 --> 28:35.762
[SPEAKER_00]: So we don't have to keep coming back to property taxes every May in November for our student success, for our teacher's success, for our community's success, and that in turn will create job growth that in turn will create, you know, for the people who want to be in our communities, create job growth, you know, have these incentives to build out our communities,
28:36.542 --> 28:52.187
[SPEAKER_00]: because we have such strong school systems, it means higher and more teachers, it means being able to, you know, go back to open enrollment or they have to not have to pay to play systems that hinder the learning and experiential experience of a high school for many of our students out there, especially your locally.
28:53.007 --> 28:57.152
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it means fully investing and fully funding aren't even so pofons at the state.
28:57.172 --> 29:03.100
[SPEAKER_00]: So they don't have to keep going back for renewals of, you know, for levees, for libraries, for road infrastructure grant money.
29:03.500 --> 29:08.827
[SPEAKER_00]: How in a world we live in a system where we have to have a fire in EMS as a ballot measure.
29:09.127 --> 29:10.529
[SPEAKER_00]:
Keep the lights on the firehouse.
29:11.810 --> 29:25.285
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm proud to be endorsed by the Ohio Association Professional Firefighters that is such an untenable thing to put our fire departments and the people you know the people that have stepped up to serve the run towards the danger and that we have to ask them to be supported through a ballot measure.
29:26.428 --> 29:28.210
[SPEAKER_00]: that is beyond wrong.
29:28.610 --> 29:31.012
[SPEAKER_00]: But again, it's having those money come back to our local communities.
29:31.032 --> 29:34.374
[SPEAKER_00]: We do have to be over-reliant as we are on our property taxes.
29:34.414 --> 29:37.857
[SPEAKER_00]: And the second, we look at utility rings here in the state of Ohio.
29:38.057 --> 29:40.119
[SPEAKER_00]: What we can do as a legislator is cap utility rings.
29:40.619 --> 29:45.603
[SPEAKER_00]: Work with the PUCO and energy companies and really go out from and say, hey, fair is fair.
29:46.163 --> 29:52.128
[SPEAKER_00]: We got to make sure people are making ends meet and not shutting off that they're power because of exorbitant rates and we've seen them.
29:52.448 --> 29:52.969
[SPEAKER_00]: There was report.
29:54.418 --> 30:01.925
[SPEAKER_00]: before the list of your broke for session, before the Supermajority list of your broke for session to come back to their districts to campaign to lead this round of care to an instinct.
30:02.265 --> 30:08.210
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew that there was gonna be a spike in a hike, but you tell your rates, they knew this, right?
30:08.250 --> 30:10.272
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew this, they were well informed about this.
30:10.452 --> 30:13.595
[SPEAKER_00]: And there was a measure to, especially in terms of data centers,
30:13.914 --> 30:19.681
[SPEAKER_00]: to put data centers in a different utility bracket and not have their costs come back to local residents.
30:20.261 --> 30:21.723
[SPEAKER_00]: They knew this, they tailed it.
30:22.203 --> 30:25.507
[SPEAKER_00]: And then they brought for session to a campaign and say, hey, are you tillews or high trust us?
30:25.788 --> 30:26.488
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to lower them.
30:26.989 --> 30:27.950
[SPEAKER_00]: I call BS on that.
30:28.230 --> 30:31.914
[SPEAKER_00]: In addition, that's what we talk about, lowering property taxes.
30:31.995 --> 30:33.556
[SPEAKER_00]: We talk about and lowering your utility raise.
30:33.757 --> 30:34.938
[SPEAKER_00]: But also childcare.
30:35.138 --> 30:39.142
[SPEAKER_00]: We as a state can afford to provide child care to working families.
30:39.583 --> 30:51.174
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we see a lot of times a single income earner households, you know, and one parent stuck to stay home to do child care or would be reliant and, you know, if they're fortunate to have relatives in the area, but you live in the exorbitant costs.
30:51.234 --> 30:56.520
[SPEAKER_00]: I might be appreciative of part of Bethany until listeners can talk tens of thousands of dollars a
year on child care.
30:56.820 --> 31:02.042
[SPEAKER_00]: I was talking to a friend of mine, you know, the summer is over and kids just went into preschool and kindergarten.
31:02.242 --> 31:07.804
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, the school system has a preschool program where it's getting that, you know, we see school districts cutting those left and right.
31:07.824 --> 31:09.125
[SPEAKER_00]: That's one of the first things we're cutting.
31:09.425 --> 31:10.985
[SPEAKER_00]: We wonder why our reading levels are so low.
31:11.426 --> 31:13.966
[SPEAKER_00]: But he said, man, oh man, kids are back in school now.
31:14.367 --> 31:16.247
[SPEAKER_00]: I can save $400 a week.
31:16.547 --> 31:17.648
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not paying for child care.
31:18.308 --> 31:19.569
[SPEAKER_00]: It's like, oh my gosh, no one.
31:19.669 --> 31:27.332
[SPEAKER_00]: The opportunities I can now insulate my base or insulate, you know, my home for the winter or do, you know, go fix the car, get a new set of tires or actually save up to go on vacation.
31:27.492 --> 31:29.712
[SPEAKER_00]: I have $400 a week back in my pocket.
31:29.913 --> 31:33.014
[SPEAKER_00]: My gosh, the impact of that is immeasurable.
31:33.954 --> 31:41.297
[SPEAKER_00]: And these are measures that we as a state as a legislature can allocate in this $90 billion budget is putting working families.
31:41.817 --> 31:50.085
[SPEAKER_00]: First, putting a local community's first and prioritizing every day, oh, high on ones and not some company or someone else's bottom line And that money come back to us.
31:50.346 --> 31:53.309
[SPEAKER_00]: I say it as though it's as simple as that at the heart of it.
31:53.329 --> 31:56.852
[SPEAKER_00]: It is The heart is truly What are we going to do?
31:56.872 --> 32:02.458
[SPEAKER_00]: Are we going to work for our constituencies and the people that have elected us to go off and represent them?
32:03.034 --> 32:09.359
[SPEAKER_00]: or who we were working for, it was right now, the love of corruption in the state house, it is not the people's house, it is not the people's house.
32:09.679 --> 32:11.880
[SPEAKER_00]: So we restore the people's house back to the people of Ohio.
32:11.921 --> 32:15.403
[SPEAKER_00]: My gosh, you're gonna see the state of Ohio, you know, take off like a rocket.
32:15.863 --> 32:17.945
[SPEAKER_00]: Mm-hmm, I truly do believe that.
32:18.185 --> 32:31.358
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's taking, you know, these efforts to, to elect persons that myself, like Samantha Solomon, up in the 35th, like Mike Roberto, right for the Centers for 27, to really break through supermajority and say, hey, enough to enough.
32:31.679 --> 32:32.780
[SPEAKER_00]: You have to now talk with us.
32:32.860 --> 32:41.729
[SPEAKER_00]: You now have to talk with Ohioans and come back to the fold and find common sense solutions to these, you know, glaring problems that have been pervasive for the past 20 years.
32:43.248 --> 32:57.094
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that leads to another great question, I'm with you, I'm behind this wave and I really hope that you get an office and that are our other democratic candidates as well, but the fact of the matter is we're still going to have to negotiate, right?
32:57.114 --> 32:58.855
[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to have to go in there and you're going to have to fight.
32:58.915 --> 33:00.196
[SPEAKER_01]: So how do you approach that?
33:00.276 --> 33:04.438
[SPEAKER_01]: How do you make a difference through those negotiations?
33:08.380 --> 33:16.203
[SPEAKER_00]: not only do they have to have conversations, but when we elect Dr. Amy Acton's governor because she's going to be elected governor of the state of Ohio, she's going to need a veto to protect.
33:16.843 --> 33:20.184
[SPEAKER_00]: That's what we need to have in the state is this checks and balance system.
33:20.244 --> 33:21.564
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not seeing it federally.
33:21.965 --> 33:22.645
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
33:22.765 --> 33:30.027
[SPEAKER_00]: And people will become again married, disassociate because it's just you know, there's no checks and balances anymore, but the state we can reignite them.
33:30.727 --> 33:33.548
[SPEAKER_00]: And we're supposed to have checks and balances, but for the past 20 years we haven't.
33:33.909 --> 33:37.930
[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, right now, even if I go under the wine and we're to veto a bill, the house gets overrated.
33:38.290 --> 33:38.771
[SPEAKER_01]: like that.
33:38.791 --> 33:43.176
[SPEAKER_00]: We need to make sure we have checks and balances and that's how we keep the level swing here in Ohio.
33:43.357 --> 33:54.191
[SPEAKER_00]: But how do you work with even still being a minority with a majority, you know, it's just much like being an attorney and my experience is so far and it's just being an everyday person.
33:54.371 --> 33:55.032
[SPEAKER_00]: It's listening.
33:55.212 --> 33:56.514
[SPEAKER_00]: It's having conversations.
33:57.014 --> 34:00.136
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, when I have a client, we're talking about, hey, what's the best result?
34:00.536 --> 34:07.199
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, when I talk to a attorney on the other side, I know, you know, they're going to do everything they can to advocate for their constituents, for their client.
34:07.239 --> 34:07.799
[SPEAKER_00]: Same is here.
34:08.199 --> 34:12.121
[SPEAKER_00]: But the other day, we need to talk because, you know, we can find a solution.
34:12.421 --> 34:15.443
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, whether it's settlement or like, hey, we can be sensible and reasonable with one another.
34:15.783 --> 34:25.566
[SPEAKER_00]: because in the day, you pay you to your utility rate, I pay my, you know, your property taxes, you know, we have all these problems that it impacts us all, especially every Ohio and goes to the same thing.
34:26.027 --> 34:35.850
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's really just having those conversations being listening, open and receptive, I think you'll talk to anybody that's known
me, I'm not one to the look for trouble.
34:36.030 --> 34:37.330
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not one to cost trouble.
34:37.390 --> 34:40.831
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not one to be a divisive person.
34:41.411 --> 34:42.552
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a guy that puts my head down.
34:42.772 --> 34:46.673
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, I put my nose through the grinds down and says, hey, we got to get this done.
34:47.113 --> 34:48.974
[SPEAKER_00]: We got to work and we got to work together.
34:49.634 --> 34:52.494
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, you know, we'll be last with your leadership style mostly, it's listening.
34:52.935 --> 34:55.935
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm the type of guy that sits in the back of the room in listens.
34:56.556 --> 34:59.116
[SPEAKER_00]: And then once I've heard, hey, this is where you're coming from.
34:59.216 --> 35:01.737
[SPEAKER_00]: And I have an understanding and a full on appreciation of that.
35:02.077 --> 35:05.398
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, now I'm going to tell you where I'm, and how I think we can work together in that process.
35:06.058 --> 35:10.860
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what's been really missing is, I think, having those conversations.
35:10.900 --> 35:14.121
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a Democrat Republican silos and nothing gets done.
35:14.541 --> 35:17.242
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, we really need to start having those conversations across those aisles.
35:17.723 --> 35:22.384
[SPEAKER_00]: And a lot of these issues, be honest with you, like, school lunch funding, universal school lunch programming.
35:22.684 --> 35:23.485
[SPEAKER_00]: They're not partisan.
35:24.565 --> 35:42.807
[SPEAKER_00]: you know there there's counts out there in votes that we can get that done if we break this or much alright there's people on the other side there are willing down those conversations we just gotta make sure that you know we have enough of them to to bring about those comments and solutions so yeah to have those conversations being less and open receptive and never ever you know turning away people just because
35:43.528 --> 35:45.669
[SPEAKER_00]: We have a different letter at the end of a last name on a ballot.
35:45.709 --> 35:47.709
[SPEAKER_00]: At the end of the day, we're Ohioans.
35:47.869 --> 35:49.970
[SPEAKER_00]: At the end of the day, we're all just trying to make ends meet.
35:50.090 --> 35:52.270
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, like I said, cancer doesn't care of them, care of a public end.
35:52.330 --> 35:53.391
[SPEAKER_00]: Tick on a school or your own care.
35:53.711 --> 35:54.851
[SPEAKER_00]: Why should we care in the state house?
35:54.911 --> 35:57.352
[SPEAKER_00]: Because we need to make sure that those are the people we're fighting for, right?
35:57.372 --> 36:01.113
[SPEAKER_00]: The end of the day, we just need to come together as Ohioans and really work together.
36:01.133 --> 36:01.673
[SPEAKER_00]: Simple as that.
36:02.714 --> 36:03.394
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
36:03.414 --> 36:14.160
[SPEAKER_01]: For our financially conservative listeners, when we start talking about funding these services and expanding these services, is there other areas where we would have to reduce the budget that we haven't mentioned yet?
36:14.441 --> 36:20.084
[SPEAKER_00]: In terms of reducing the budget, it goes back to how our programs are administered here in the state.
36:20.724 --> 36:27.669
[SPEAKER_00]: I will say is when I talk to more conservative voters out there and they're concerned about, you know, Medicaid fraud, they're concerned about,
36:28.329 --> 36:34.556
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, a lot of the duplicativeness between our state and income taxista or state and local income tax system.
36:34.837 --> 36:39.342
[SPEAKER_00]: We like people in office not only in a state house, but in a treasurer's office.
36:39.522 --> 36:48.032
[SPEAKER_00]: The attorney general's office to be the watchdog for the state and the state's chief lawyer and John Kuluwitz and you know also the auditor and then at Blackwell.
36:49.061 --> 36:55.088
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, you get people in office that can really have this oversight, again, you know, that we have a one price saying, there's Medicaid fraud.
36:55.588 --> 36:58.091
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's been all who's been watching the past 20 years?
36:58.432 --> 36:59.573
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's been staffing it out?
36:59.653 --> 37:00.554
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's been administering?
37:00.574 --> 37:01.615
[SPEAKER_00]: Who's been making those forums?
37:01.815 --> 37:01.955
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
37:02.236 --> 37:02.936
[SPEAKER_00]: Not Democrats?
37:03.923 --> 37:15.015
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been one party doing this, but we get against some balance back to it in a more effective oversight and people that are accountable to the people of the state of Ohio.
37:15.175 --> 37:23.685
[SPEAKER_00]: We can see our tax dollars going a lot farther and actually more tax dollars coming back to us because of greater efficiency, transparency and accountability.
37:24.745 --> 37:32.371
[SPEAKER_00]: And so that's, I think, when you look at the budget perspective and how our money is being used, very yet, of the accountability that it comes with it.
37:32.751 --> 37:35.253
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Ohio voters will really see the dividends in that.
37:35.705 --> 37:36.445
[SPEAKER_01]: mm-hmm.
37:36.765 --> 37:38.386
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, I want to circle back to public schools.
37:38.586 --> 37:46.628
[SPEAKER_01]: We've touched on this and I hear where you would prioritize those funds, you know, for our teachers and our resources.
37:46.828 --> 37:50.809
[SPEAKER_01]: But I want to acknowledge that school districts have very different needs.
37:51.130 --> 37:55.391
[SPEAKER_01]: So how would you approach school funding in a way that recognizes those differences?
37:55.451 --> 37:59.252
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, also making sure Ohio is meeting its responsibility to students all across the state.
37:59.572 --> 38:10.296
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, again, we look at the Fair Funding Act, the most bipartisan funding
structure for public schools in the state of Ohio, based on students at teacher ratios and school needs in different metrics like that.
38:10.476 --> 38:15.438
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's so comprehensive, and again, the bipartisan effort that went into it can be understate.
38:15.478 --> 38:19.460
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just, but at the same rate, you know, we have largely allocated that.
38:19.940 --> 38:27.843
[SPEAKER_00]: It's been $700 million shortfall in this year at all, and being phased out in different massive ways just through the budgetary process.
38:28.757 --> 38:31.280
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think when we talk about fair funding, right?
38:31.320 --> 38:32.141
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not equal funding.
38:32.441 --> 38:33.202
[SPEAKER_00]: You're exactly right.
38:33.262 --> 38:34.984
[SPEAKER_00]: Different school districts have different needs.
38:35.725 --> 38:38.408
[SPEAKER_00]: Acropalic city schools is not norming.
38:38.948 --> 38:41.311
[SPEAKER_00]: Barbon and it's not high or falls.
38:41.411 --> 38:42.532
[SPEAKER_00]: Woodridge is not revered.
38:43.033 --> 38:44.875
[SPEAKER_00]: We look to equitable funding, right?
38:45.315 --> 38:47.117
[SPEAKER_00]: Where can we provide the greatest number of equity?
38:47.738 --> 38:49.500
[SPEAKER_00]: And the equitable is not equal.
38:49.940 --> 38:54.204
[SPEAKER_00]: and I think the fair funding plan strikes that balance really well.
38:54.684 --> 39:02.250
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, it gets this as close as we have ever gotten to the holding of the Rolfi State of Ohio in our constitutional obligation as a state.
39:02.270 --> 39:07.775
[SPEAKER_00]: And we have again lawmakers that have thrown the Ohio Constitution to the wind in that sense, and we're not fully funding our public schools.
39:08.175 --> 39:11.038
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's making sure again, our resources are going to where they need to be.
39:11.618 --> 39:20.264
[SPEAKER_00]: I look at my district and funded for public schools also not only was a personal to me back when I was a student and the age of 18 inspired my first run for public office.
39:20.284 --> 39:23.566
[SPEAKER_00]: I come from a family of educators, my grandparents, all the magic gears, aunts, uncles.
39:23.707 --> 39:25.328
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so proud of my two young sisters.
39:25.728 --> 39:28.550
[SPEAKER_00]: Identical twins both of them now are public school teachers themselves.
39:28.970 --> 39:31.272
[SPEAKER_00]: Marching was the middle school band director at Streets, probably.
39:31.392 --> 39:34.174
[SPEAKER_00]: They just gutted their middle school band program because she signed a contract.
39:34.194 --> 39:35.775
[SPEAKER_00]: She did it for the choir director, sales of the jump.
39:36.942 --> 39:41.383
[SPEAKER_00]: But in the day, we've seen schools know how being run like a business.
39:42.064 --> 39:43.104
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not what they are.
39:43.384 --> 39:46.665
[SPEAKER_00]: Their centers for learning, for creativity, discovery.
39:47.305 --> 39:57.529
[SPEAKER_00]: And then stilling in our students means in ways to reach their fullest potentials and to inspire them, to go as far as they want to go on life and beyond.
39:58.509 --> 39:59.810
[SPEAKER_00]: how far we've come from that.
40:00.111 --> 40:20.469
[SPEAKER_00]: We start to look at metrics and data and make students a data point on a spreadsheet and we lose, I think, sites of really what we're supposed to be doing here to stay as a society and gets, you know, it gets a very philosophical, but, you know, we've lost the forest from the trees and then we got to get back to that, but it starts with fully funding our schools
40:21.289 --> 40:41.127
[SPEAKER_00]: We talk about job growth and creation on one side so we want to make our own strong good-paying jobs Barbon had just had to let go 70 faculty members The guy who falls had to let go 50 and oftentimes their school districts are number one employers So what we saying we want job growth, but they can't be teachers can't be our schools got forbid to camp your schools Why not?
40:42.047 --> 40:46.692
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, looking from the force and the trees here, again, equal is not equitable, right?
40:46.712 --> 40:47.472
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's not equal.
40:47.692 --> 40:58.382
[SPEAKER_00]: But making sure that every student has an opportunity to go out and be whatever they want to be, it's not as full as often as we think, because that's the truth of the matter.
40:58.522 --> 41:05.849
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think any parent will want the same for their kid, their child, provide them with that opportunity, but it starts with our public school system.
41:06.249 --> 41:07.110
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's what I'm trying to do.
41:07.290 --> 41:08.210
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.
41:08.411 --> 41:14.433
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was also funding for our public schools that got me more interested in local politics and state politics.
41:14.513 --> 41:30.120
[SPEAKER_01]: And so for any of our new listeners here, just to learn more about Noah, also look for our series or schoolhouse series and we dive into how complicated the funding system is, but the solution that was put into place and what it actually means to fully fund our schools.
41:30.800 --> 41:32.161
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so let's talk about healthcare.
41:32.401 --> 41:40.669
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, you have a really personal and difficult experience with getting to know our healthcare system and I think that is really valuable for our listeners.
41:40.789 --> 41:50.897
[SPEAKER_01]: To hear, especially those who haven't had a similar experience or who haven't really needed healthcare, I find that a lot of people don't really think about it until that day comes and they need
41:51.678 --> 42:01.967
[SPEAKER_01]: So what did you learn from navigating the health care system that you think policy makers may not fully understand without having experienced it firsthand?
42:02.411 --> 42:09.797
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess I'll
take it from, you know, a step back, we have a system, you know, healthcare and Medicaid, especially, start with that Medicaid.
42:09.877 --> 42:23.387
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a system that was built to help people to provide them insurance coverage to make sure that, hey, you know, when you're doing everything right in life, in life, those you're a massive curveball that you're going to be supported and we're going to help us, you know, society see you through it.
42:23.687 --> 42:26.809
[SPEAKER_00]: because that's what, you know, just being a good, good, honest human being.
42:26.849 --> 42:27.870
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the golden rule, right?
42:27.930 --> 42:29.471
[SPEAKER_00]: Love your neighbors, you love it as I love you.
42:29.691 --> 42:31.232
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's really what it's all about.
42:31.333 --> 42:34.595
[SPEAKER_00]: But it's become a system now designed for fraud prevention.
42:34.715 --> 42:41.700
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we've heightened our our senses when we're so to deny people that really need the help, the help they need, and to pick
42:41.860 --> 42:42.220
[SPEAKER_00]: choose.
42:42.320 --> 42:47.244
[SPEAKER_00]: And again, I say this just from my personal perspective, I can't speak to the greater system.
42:47.825 --> 42:56.152
[SPEAKER_00]: But yours shall be 24 years old, do everything right in life, work for the county, do more work every, has its state's recovery to cancer, terrible prognosis and diagnosis.
42:56.392 --> 43:00.095
[SPEAKER_00]: And she's being the thing, what checkbox did we not hear?
43:00.115 --> 43:02.397
[SPEAKER_00]: Telling her that we're going to reassess you in eight to ten months.
43:02.417 --> 43:04.819
[SPEAKER_00]: We don't know if she's going to be around in eight to ten months.
43:05.119 --> 43:07.821
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's, it's got, we got to come back to the
43:10.203 --> 43:33.499
[SPEAKER_00]: as a state, as a government, we're here to make sure that people's lives can be better, you know, I mean, pay for my own insurance right now and Lord knows that's a lot and hearing a lot of people on fixed income that don't have, you know, get to qualify for Social Security or, you know, aren't I Medicare or still are in, you know, the private insurance companies are like, my gosh, I've just spent X amount of year, it's poor my deduct, all this different things, it becomes so untenable.
43:34.199 --> 43:38.101
[SPEAKER_00]: and everyone feels it in their own way, but really it gets back down to basics.
43:38.721 --> 43:40.361
[SPEAKER_00]: It's, you know, protecting Medicaid.
43:41.442 --> 43:46.484
[SPEAKER_00]: Something I think a lot of folks take for granted is that, you know, we're going to have this parent, it's not a parachute, right?
43:46.724 --> 43:47.644
[SPEAKER_00]: It's meant to help people.
43:48.244 --> 43:52.306
[SPEAKER_00]: It's meant to, you know, we work hard, we all pay into it, we should have the available.
43:52.346 --> 43:57.428
[SPEAKER_00]: But we have serious people running for serious office that want to take away Medicaid was a mistake.
43:57.448 --> 43:59.689
[SPEAKER_00]: I want to take Medicaid away from three
44:03.130 --> 44:13.679
[SPEAKER_00]: talking with folks from African children's hospital, over half of their patients are dependent on Medicaid, over half of their patients are dependent on Medicaid, and all of their patients are children, right?
44:13.819 --> 44:15.441
[SPEAKER_00]: And we're saying Medicaid is going to take it away.
44:15.461 --> 44:26.730
[SPEAKER_00]: You're taking away from those kids, you know, doing everything right in life, and they get, you know, leukemia, or they break their bone, playing soccer, and you're going for x-rays, and that's who we're talking about.
44:26.771 --> 44:27.932
[SPEAKER_00]: This is how real it becomes.
44:28.572 --> 44:33.754
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, in addition, it's making sure that insurance companies aren't playing the role of doctors.
44:33.914 --> 44:44.037
[SPEAKER_00]: When your doctor prescribes you something and a midstream and treatment because more economical alternative, but not the drug that your doctor prescribes you is available.
44:44.517 --> 44:51.020
[SPEAKER_00]: In your sense, that's, hey, we're not going to cover, I know your doctor who's went to med school and knows what they're talking about.
44:51.140 --> 44:53.520
[SPEAKER_00]: We're not going to go with their prescription.
44:53.540 --> 44:55.581
[SPEAKER_00]: We're going to only improve you for this one.
44:58.562 --> 45:00.344
[SPEAKER_00]: I have effective, but get the job done.
45:00.364 --> 45:01.445
[SPEAKER_00]: No, that's not right.
45:02.205 --> 45:04.347
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, top insurance companies from playing the role of doctors.
45:05.648 --> 45:13.395
[SPEAKER_00]: And in addition, we got to make sure we put patient first health care here in the state of Ohio and we do that again by making sure insurance companies are playing the role of doctors.
45:13.435 --> 45:15.817
[SPEAKER_00]: Make sure that people that need the help can get the help.
45:16.157 --> 45:19.260
[SPEAKER_00]: But it also means supporting those that are providing the help.
45:20.540 --> 45:34.468
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm talking about our healthcare workers, our nurses, our doctors, you know, administrators, you know, coastal services, volunteers of hospital systems, everyone top down being supported, especially those that on the front line every day.
45:34.628 --> 45:38.250
[SPEAKER_00]: The average time a nurse has spent bedside, I was talking with a nurse association the day.
45:38.650 --> 45:39.710
[SPEAKER_00]: I learned this from that process.
45:39.751 --> 45:46.314
[SPEAKER_00]: It was that in the 1990s, it was 19 years, I believe, don't quote me on this, but 19 years a nurse spent bedside.
45:46.574 --> 45:47.174
[SPEAKER_00]: the average time.
45:47.695 --> 45:48.976
[SPEAKER_00]: Now it's like 19 months.
45:49.296 --> 45:54.459
[SPEAKER_00]: Because we, you
know, aren't looking after her health care workers, providing them with the resources to succeed.
45:54.479 --> 46:00.363
[SPEAKER_00]: They're asking them to work longer and harder for less and less and really intense and difficult situations.
46:00.463 --> 46:05.906
[SPEAKER_00]: We're talking about nurse welfare and safety, you know, locations, maybe attacking them in the different
46:06.246 --> 46:13.916
[SPEAKER_00]: Regime, different protocols have to do before they can defend themselves or before they can, you know, seek safety and just also distress the work environment, the pay structure and scales.
46:14.076 --> 46:19.943
[SPEAKER_00]: We have been looking after those angels every day that are coming out and, you know, if the dead a kid their lives to helping in healing people.
46:20.724 --> 46:22.586
[SPEAKER_00]: That's very crucial and that's what I saw every day.
46:22.626 --> 46:23.127
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm so.
46:23.787 --> 46:37.918
[SPEAKER_00]: So beyond grateful for all the health care professionals we interacted with and shall be processed, you know, from palliative care to her oncology department to the nurses, you know, administering chemo and our hospice nurses, you know, on a day of our wedding, she was in hospice at home at this point.
46:38.118 --> 46:43.522
[SPEAKER_00]: We get a call from the director of hospice care and saying, hey, not only am I registered hospice nurse,
46:44.402 --> 46:53.869
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a photographer on the side, can I come photograph her getting ready, but it'll also be an extra set of hands in case something goes wrong in a ride, you know, and there are two of her hospice nurses.
46:54.249 --> 47:04.736
[SPEAKER_00]: After their ship was over and they have kids, they got babysitters for their kids at night to come and help she'll be getting into her address, take her to our wedding and take her home and get her out of her dress.
47:05.736 --> 47:07.558
[SPEAKER_00]: These are the people we're talking about and, you
47:08.518 --> 47:16.421
[SPEAKER_00]: not given them the dignity and respect that not only they earned but I believe our entitled to in the fact that they are giving so much of themselves to others is really beyond me.
47:17.402 --> 47:27.586
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's prioritizing again our healthcare professionals making sure that insurance companies aren't playing the role of doctors and that people that need the help are getting the help because we're behind the curve and then making sure that we're looking out for everybody.
47:27.846 --> 47:28.827
[SPEAKER_00]: That's actually putting patience.
47:28.967 --> 47:29.747
[SPEAKER_00]: Healthcare first.
47:30.427 --> 47:30.908
[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
47:31.048 --> 47:33.569
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely and that was a beautiful story.
47:33.609 --> 47:35.510
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for sharing that with us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You also talk about making health care more transparent.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Can you elaborate maybe just where your priorities would be and what a typical Ohio family could expect to see change in that way?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think sometimes we talk about also, you know, when you get a medical bill, where is that money?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Where is that money going towards?
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[SPEAKER_00]: What do we pay for in the medical bill?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And our insurance company is the same.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think being more honest and open with each other about what is the true cost, you know, how much are we paying into it and can we make it more affordable?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's a larger question that I will be honest with you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We need to think a lot more about.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's something that,
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, we have this account of building transparency, but also from the states perspective in terms of state administrative health care and Medicaid and being more Open about that and transparent about the process, you know reducing some of those administrative barriers and to access to health care We talk about them representative care brownies proposed legislation the Medicaid savings act that reduces a lot of that administrative hurdles that prevents people from even you I think they see on my cash
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[SPEAKER_00]: even from the administrator side or from the physician side of things and so they can continue to see patients and not be overly burdened with, you know, do clickative or extraneous of paperwork in this process.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I think that's a big thing as well is making sure that we kind of reduce those barriers that are put up there arbitrarily.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, it's just some design, I built to help people now design for fraud prevention.
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[SPEAKER_00]: getting back to the core of helping one another and making sure that the people they need to help are getting the help comes along with making sure that what we can control especially the administrative level make it more accessible because the last thing that someone going through you know what shall we did and it's also the last thing that caretaker who's trying to you know not to care of the patient but
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[SPEAKER_00]: maybe make ends meet, taking care of other family members who aren't as coping as well.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You often times, I've talked a lot of caretakers on the doors and always asking, how are you doing?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Because no one asks that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How are you doing?
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[SPEAKER_00]: What can I do to help you?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, because you're always focused on
helping your loved one.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The last thing you want to do in that time is fill out a little book, you know, like right in a dissertation about this there the other it's got to be more accessible it's got a more easy because you look really need to help They see that and they're like, oh my gosh, how am I able to do this, you know, that's the last thing that I think any of us should hope or want that they're thinking about is, you know, the cost of having to choose between their health care and and making ends meet and so it's producing those administrative barriers making more accessible with transparent
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[SPEAKER_00]: and just holding each other accountable as a state, which I think we've gotten away from as well, again with no checks and balances, what's been the incentive.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so, you know, being really true to the voters and being there, there's two words and representatives and multiple capacities, and that's, it starts with being accountable and transparent, especially in terms of Medicaid administration.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, no, thank you so much for sharing your story for sharing your priorities with us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I am energized by you and by what you want to do for the state of Ohio.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Is there anything else that you want to share with our listeners?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Bethany, I first and foremost again want to thank you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I want to thank the listeners so much for taking time to learn more about me here on a story.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, we're at a pivotal time here in Ohio.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I think we hear that every election, but this is there's something different in the wind, the tides are changing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And it's because people are getting more educated, they're learning more about how our system is working, and how it's not working for them.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you know, I encourage you to please the listeners to go out, educate yourself.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We, I know that the, we're going to have a very long balance, especially here in some
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know county council persons and state reps and senators and it can be overwhelming no doubt
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[SPEAKER_00]: But it's so important, especially here in Ohio, when we're in the crux of providing universal school lunches for our students, making sure we have provide child care to work in families, lowering utility rates.
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[SPEAKER_00]: These are all things on the line.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, school closures.
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[SPEAKER_00]: These are real realities that we're facing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's a scary time here in Ohio.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But there's a lot of fighters on the ballot that are working hard.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Myself included to change that story, change the direction of the state.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and they really put it in a position where it's money's coming back to our districts back to your wall, your dollar goes a lot farther, they're creating good paying jobs, creating safer communities, making sure that you know, working people in every deal of highlands are prioritized in everything we do with the state house.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so there's a lot of hope, there's a lot of promise,
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[SPEAKER_00]: and there's a lot we can do to build a better Ohio, but it's coming together to do so.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I really appreciate you and would invite you to learn more about our campaign.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's been aphohound.com and maybe find a way as you can be involved, you know, whether or not new or more far.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Oh wonderful.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you, Noah, for taking the time to talk to us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: This has been a wonderful conversation and I wish you the best of luck.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Bethany, thank you again so much.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for joining us for this Ohio candidate conversation.
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[SPEAKER_01]: As always, please check the show notes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You'll find our sources, extra context, and any corrections or updates tied to today's episode.
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[SPEAKER_01]: While you're here, take a look at more American motherhood episodes, exploring how politics and society shape our motherhood experience, regardless of how you vote.
52:47.562 --> 52:52.430
[SPEAKER_01]: If you like what you hear, subscribe, leave us a review, and please share an episode with someone who might find it useful.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If you have a question we didn't ask, a topic you want us to dig into, or a candidate you'd love to hear from, reach out to us on Instagram at americanmotherhood underscore podcast, or email us at americanmotherhood edgmail.com.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.