Republican candidates talk about issues

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert Republican Women’s Club sponsored a second Candidates’ Night on Tuesday, which provided a more spirited discussion by candidates for contested county and state office.

All six people running for contested positions that include county commissioner, county prosecuting attorney, and representative for the 82nd Ohio House District were on hand to made presentations to a large group that met at the Black Angus on Main restaurant in Van Wert.

First up on the agenda were incumbent State Representative Tony Burkley and Republican challenger Craig Riedel.

Riedel, a Defiance resident and former design engineer and sales executive for steelmaker Nucor Corporation, talked about his reasons for entering the race for state representative, restating his position from the Heart Land Patriots’ Candidates’ Night that he feels God has directed him to run for office to provide strong, conservative, Christian leadership for the state that would have the “courage and integrity to do the right thing.”

Riedel said he feels Ohio’s economic challenges can be successfully met, and that the state can return to its former glories as an industrial power.

“I truly believe that our best days are out there,” Riedel said.

He also talked about the state’s heroin problem, noting that he feels creating good-paying jobs would help solve that problem, since he feels the lack of jobs for many young people and the increasing heroin problem are interconnected.

Riedel also stressed that he would work to make Ohio a right-to-work state, noting that he feels that is needed to help return the state to its former prosperity and is a reason why Ohio loses jobs and businesses to Indiana, which is a right-to-work state.

Riedel also spoke out on the subject of alternative energy in response to a question about subsidizing wind energy and other renewable energy, noting that, while he is not opposed to alternative energy, he is firmly against providing subsidies to renewable energy companies, something he opposes as a free-market capitalist and which he feels is a redistribution of wealth, as well as “morally and ethically wrong.”

“I’m a capitalist and proud of it,” Riedel noted.

The Defiance resident also spoke about House Bill 190, which Burkley has co-sponsored, which would give local government more say in wind turbine setbacks and other related renewable-energy decisions, noting he feels the power to decide such issues should reside in townships and villages, rather than with a board of county commissioners.

Burkley talked about the successes of the Ohio General Assembly during his term in office, noting that the state went from having an $8 billion deficit to a $2 billion rainy day fund during his tenure.

“I think that is quite remarkable in the short period of time we’ve gone through since the Republicans took over the legislature, all three branches of government,” Burkley said, adding that he feels the same thing could happen at the federal level if Republican is elected president.

He also noted that the unemployment rate has also been dropping, while $1.9 billion of tax relief was included in the most recent state budget, adding that the budget was also the first since 1982 where the top tax bracket was below 5 percent.

Burkley also noted that 75 percent of small business’ first $250,000 of gross revenues is now exempt from tax, with that figure going to 100 percent next year, ensuring that small companies can create more jobs and build their businesses.

While he didn’t specifically state his opinion on the right-to-work issue, Burkley did say he felt Senate Bill 5, which addressed that issue, was “a little bit of an overreach,” later leading to its being repealed.

He said he firmly believes that people shouldn’t have to contribute to an organization they don’t believe in, but feels better legislation is needed to deal with the right-to-work issue.

A question about the large increases in property taxes for those who own farmland was also addressed by Burkley, who while noting that how farmland tax rates are determined is complicated and “worked great until about four years ago,” did say he feels more adjustments are needed by the Ohio Department of Taxation.

The state representative, a former Paulding County commissioner who also is a small business owner in Paulding, restated his opinion on wind farm setbacks and other renewable energy issues, noting that he feels it is unwise to make a “knee-jerk decision” on HB 190, but favors allowing the legislative committee process to determine what is appropriate in the way of setbacks and who should make those decisions.

“I’m a person that takes a stance that, if I don’t have all the information yet, I don’t like to do a knee-jerk reaction and say ‘this is what I want’,” Burkley said, noting that he feels the committee process will work out the details of the alternative energy field.

Incumbent County Commissioner Todd Wolfrum spoke next, reiterating the commissioners’ accomplishments during his first term. That included cutting $500,000 from the county budget in health insurance costs, and finding a clause in the county’s liability insurance policy that allowed the county to avoid paying a $365,000 judgment to the federal government for the failures of a county employee to meet mandatory grant deadlines.

“So if you’re wondering what good an attorney is in this position, it’s worth $365,000,” Wolfrum said.

He also talked about how well county government is currently working together, noting that, if there are disagreements, they are worked out in private before

He also discussed the middle school physics program the county paid for to be implemented in the local school systems.

“Our problem is not attracting employers right now … it’s building a workforce,” Wolfrum said. “We’re going to be short on people over the next 10 years, we’re short on people now.”

The idea of the middle school physics program was to help local students to begin thinking in a more innovative manner and to make them better employees down the road when they were ready to enter the job market.

Wolfrum also addressed claims that the program was implemented illegally, noting that he had talked to the state auditor’s office, which said the program was legal as long as it was an economic development effort. He also said County Prosecutor Charles Kennedy had signed off on the program.

Wolfrum noted that Van Wert County is one of the poorest counties in northwest Ohio, with only Hardin County having a lower per-capita income in the region, which is a prime reason the commissioners are working to develop an economic development program that includes workforce improvement — one of the reasons for the middle school physics program.

“This problem is region wide,” Wolfrum said, adding that only a few high-paying companies are finding enough qualified workers. “You build something, there’s nothing to draw from; nobody’s coming here because the region has this problem.”

Wolfrum also answered a question that criticized the commissioners for leaving the city development program and wondering whether current efforts would be successful.

The commissioner said the new effort is not a continuation of other programs, but an entirely new effort to combine city and county development programs to provide equal opportunity to both the city of Van Wert and rural areas of the county.

Wolfrum also talked about how he feels HB 190 could be a benefit to the county when it comes to alternative energy, adding that the current commissioners’ decision to eliminate the Alternative Energy

Zone created to assist projects such as the Blue Creek Wind Farm would allow the county to better negotiate with companies such as Apex Clean Energy on future wind projects.

He also said he feels much of the decision-making power for those projects should rest with local government, such as township trustees.

Staci Kaufman again criticized the commissioners for the middle-school physics program, noting that she felt the commissioners should have gotten input from local school officials before going ahead with the program.

She noted that she supports the highest standard of care for utilizing taxpayer dollars. “That’s why the manner in which the middle school curriculum was selected and the fact that it was purchase with county funds is disturbing,” Kaufman noted.

She also talked about the heroin epidemic in Ohio and the need to come up with solutions to the problem.

“There are skilled and unskilled workers who cannot pass drug tests for employment and it has been that way for years,” Kaufman noted. We need to help the people we have living in this community now to become healthy and responsible citizens.”

She also talked about the need to address the increasing human trafficking problem, noting that if it isn’t addressed, the county is putting “our children and vulnerable adults at risk.”

Kaufman said she would bring greater transparency to county government, if elected, and would consult those impacted by county decisions.

She also noted that she supports tax exemptions for wind turbine projects, noting that she feels the current choice to negotiate the best deal possible is a wise one and criticized the Ohio General Assembly for changing the setbacks without any public debate or discussion.

“Taxpayers and each landowner has the right to sign a lease or not sign a lease,” Kaufman noted. “If they want to take part in it they should be able to, if they don’t want to take part, they should be able to.”

The Vantage superintendent also noted that the legislature’s decision had a negative impact on economic development in Van Wert County, something she hopes would change for the better if setbacks were rolled back.

The final candidates for contested county races were those running for Van Wert County prosecuting attorney.

Incumbent Prosecutor Charles Kennedy first talked about his background as a decorated Vietnam War veteran and his career as an attorney, and also gave a brief rundown of his community involvement.

Kennedy talked about the caseload of the county prosecutor’s office, noting over 4,300 criminal files and 5,000 juvenile files.

He talked about the trials he has personally handled as prosecutor, including a murder case, noting that he obtained guilty verdicts in all those cases.

Kennedy also talked about the county’s heroin problem, noting that the majority of cases his office handled are related to heroin, including its use, sale, and crimes committee to obtain money for drug purchases.

“Something needs to be done about it,” Kennedy said, noting the county is fortunate a drug court program was implemented by retired Judge Charles D. Steele, which was continued under current Judge Martin Burchfield that “offers a ray of hope” for those addicted to drugs.

“The quandary I’m in is some people have said to me: ‘Mr. Prosecutor, what are you doing to help these people,?” Kennedy added. “I took an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Ohio … I’m not a social worker; I took an oath, my job is to support the law.”

The prosecutor did note that his office has pleaded down some drug cases in order to allow defendants to qualify for drug court and other local programs.

His opponent, Assistant Prosecutor Eva Yarger, who noted she is pro-Second Amendment, then addressed the heroin problem, stating that there were 19 unintentional deaths from drug overdose

“Something has to give and doing nothing is not an option any more,” Yarger said, adding that she feels the prosecutor’s office needs to explore other options, including working with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office on statewide efforts to deal with the heroin epidemic.

Yarger also said she feels the prosecutor’s office needs to modernize, noting that the office has no website, which makes it hard for some people to contact the office. She also noted it would be helpful to do a PowerPoint presentation during trials, which is technology the prosecutor’s office also does not have.

“We need to come into the 20th century, get some technology, do something new,” she said, while also saying she feels the prosecutor’s office needs to be more responsive to all the political divisions in the county.

Also speaking briefly was a representative for Ohio 3rd District Court of Appeals judge candidate Amy Ikerd, a Mercer County prosecutor; Van Wert County Common Pleas Judge Martin Burchfield, who is running unopposed for the unexpired term of retired Judge Charles D. Steele; and three other unopposed county officials: County Clerk of Courts Cindy Mollenkopf, County Recorder Kim Hughes, and County Coroner Dr. Scott Jarvis.