Oct. 6 – Democratic newcomer Joseph Wilson challenges incumbent state Rep. Brian Lampton in the November election for a state House seat in Greene County.
Both are vying for the District 70 seat in the Ohio House of Representatives (formerly District 73), which covers much of western Greene County, including Fairborn, Beavercreek, Bath Twp, Bellbrook, Sugarcreek Twp and Spring Valley.
Ohio House terms last two years and members can serve four consecutive two-year terms.
Brian Lampton
Rep. Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek) is running for his third term and has owned and operated Lampton/Engle & Associates Insurance for more than 30 years. He chaired the Insurance Committee in the House of Representatives, as well as the Business First Caucus.
Lampton’s biggest legislative priority by far is addressing his constituents’ property tax burden, he said. The Legislature is considering a tax freeze for seniors, he said, and that he would explore an alternative financing model for school districts that still need the funding.
“It’s kind of an unvoted, automatic increase for property taxpayers,” Lampton said of the recent property tax revaluations. “So maybe there’s a way for the state to add more money to those school districts, and then eliminate that on the property tax side… Let our seniors live in the communities and in their homes, but at the same time not continue to reduce funding to schools.”
On the topic of schools, Lampton added that he would advocate for an adjustment in the distribution of state funding versus local taxes.
“I was in favor of the new school funding formula,” Lampton said. “I believe we set it up to be fully funded, but I still think it falls short of the districts that are considered wealthy districts.”
For example, Beavercreek City Schools, located in Lampton County, is considered a wealthy district and relies more heavily on local property taxes than other schools under the state’s recently adopted funding model.
In terms of overspending, Lampton said he thinks the state is spending too much money on “much of its bureaucracy”, particularly in the Department of Education and Employment, but also in other government departments, and that it could do with some reduce labor costs and certain inefficiencies, including outdated teacher training. course.
Lampton and Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) recently introduced a bill that would reduce and ultimately eliminate Ohio’s income tax, which has a companion piece in the Ohio Senate. Although Lampton said he doesn’t expect the bill to be passed and signed into law during the General Assembly, he and other lawmakers wanted to “get the conversation going.”
Alternative financing streams should be sought by drilling Ohio’s natural gas resources and implementing an energy tax model, Lampton said. He added that he would also consider looking at Ohio’s sales tax to offset lost revenue from other tax cuts.
On national issues, Lampton said he is firmly pro-life, but believes there should be “some discussion” about the issue in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
“I am against abortion because of any form of contraception,” he said. “But there are probably some rare, but very emotional decisions that have to be made, and then by the family… That kind of thing is an extremely personal family decision for me at that point. I don’t see where the government has the right to dictate that to families.”
Addressing immigration, especially with the spotlight given to Springfield’s Haitian community in recent weeks, Lampton said addressing the medical needs of U.S. citizens is the first priority. However, there are residents and business owners doing positive things for the community that should also be supported.
“Basically give kids something to do in the evenings and on weekends,” he said. “I love that kind of thing, to give people constructive things to do again. They learn skills, and again, not just hang around on the street.”
Joseph Wilson
Democratic candidate and political newcomer Joseph Wilson is a Marine Corps veteran, a graduate of Wright State University and a defense contractor involved in research and development. Wilson said part of the reason he chose to run for political office is because of his three-year-old daughter.
“She’s going to be starting school in a few years, and a lot of the moves that I’ve seen at the state level, what’s going on in education, have concerned me, and so this is my main focus,” he said.
Wilson’s top priorities are housing, health care and education. The state should take a more active role in ensuring enough housing for Ohioans and stop “micromanaging what is taught” in local school districts, Wilson said.
“Most people can’t afford to buy a house anymore. That’s a tragedy,” Wilson said. “My grandparents could buy a house for minimum wage in the 1960s. Nowadays I earn quite well myself, and looking for houses was quite a job.”
The state should also take a more active role in lowering health care costs, Wilson said, citing California’s decision to produce its own affordable insulin as an example.
“We have some of the best health care in the world, but it’s not very well distributed and it’s incredibly expensive,” he said. “Sometimes markets fail, and then it’s the government’s job to step in, and the two biggest examples I see of that are healthcare and housing.”
Wilson said the state needs to increase education spending, especially in pre-K and higher education.
“We need to make sure that in-state tuition is at least affordable for the average Ohioan, without putting itself in a massive debt burden,” he said.
Wilson said property taxes are also a huge burden, especially for Beavercreek residents, and more education funding needs to come from the state.
“We have been working for years to reduce the amount of taxes we collect at the state level. That doesn’t mean things are going away,” he said. “Someone else has to pay for it, and that’s being forced on people in property taxes.”
On abortion, Wilson said his policies are “very closely aligned” with the First Issue passed by voters last November.
“Most of these decisions have to be made between a doctor and a patient. There’s no point in having a bunch of non-medical professionals stick their noses into things they don’t understand.”
Regarding immigration, Wilson said that while it is important to respect the laws of the land, immigration standards are currently too restrictive. Wilson added that he believes a geolocation visa would be a smarter course of action to manage immigration.
“The only reason we haven’t had a shrinking population is because we allow immigration. And many people don’t just talk about (reducing) illegal immigration. They want to eliminate immigration,” he said. “When it comes to things like Springfield, the evidence I’ve seen has shown that it has helped Springfield economically to have these immigrants there.”