It was truly an honor for me to serve my first term in the Ohio House of Representatives during such a transformative and critical time in our state’s history. I was pleased with the amount of work that was accomplished, and I look forward to beginning another legislative term tackling even more issues.
Simply stated, Ohio was not in great shape just a couple years ago. Our state faced a massive $8 billion budget gap that, if not addressed in a responsible and timely manner, would have saddled future generations with debts that would have become increasingly difficult to pay off.
By looking for ways to make government more efficient and not raising taxes on Ohioans, we were able to fill the budget gap. That in large part led to Ohio’s credit rating remaining stable at the same time the country was being downgraded for the first time in its history. Over the same time period, Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped by 2.1 percent, while the federal rate has dropped only by 1.2 percent.
Since January of 2011, Ohio’s entrepreneurs have created more than 125,000 jobs, making it fifth in the country in job creation and tops in the Midwest. During my first term as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, I sponsored eight substantial pieces of legislation, four of which were passed unanimously and
enacted into law.
As our state continues to expand in a wide range of fields, it is critically important that we put our best foot forward to attract new businesses within our borders. Seeing new businesses relocate to Ohio is obviously a great sign that our state’s economy is growing, and I think the SiteOhio program will help make that possible.
In his inaugural address last week, Speaker William G. Batchelder mentioned that the next two years will bring new challenges and will require a lot of hard work in order to maintain Ohio’s momentum. I am excited to get back to work serving the people of the 6th House District.
