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7 running for 2 Trumbull seats in Ohio House
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Three Democrats are on the ballot to replace Sean O’Brien as state representative for the 63rd District in Trumbull County, while two Republicans are on the ballot seeking their party’s nomination to face incumbent Democrat Michael O’Brien in November in the 64th District, also in Trumbull County.
The Democrats seeking the 63rd District seat are Ben Kyle, a Hubbard councilman since 2014 who is vice president of Stewart-Kyle Funeral Home in Hubbard, and owner of Kyle Monuments; Glenn Holmes, mayor of McDonald since 2008 and former president of McDonald Village Council; and Marianne James of Niles, a retired Cleveland Municipal Schools educational specialist.
Kyle says he has experience in Columbus because of his leadership positions in the Ohio Funeral Director’s Association and as a businessman.
Kyle is the embalmer at the funeral home, but he says he’s training an apprentice so that if he’s elected state representative, someone will be available to help out with his funeral-home duties.
Holmes has reached beyond the boundaries of McDonald to participate in the Trumbull County Township Association. He supports legislation proposed by Sean O’Brien to increase regulation of injection wells in the state.
He also served as chairman and vice chairman of the Trumbull County Transit Board from 2010 to 2013 and works for Ohio Edison.
James said she would focus much of her energy on education-related issues.
“The state is working hard to remove local control of our schools and break unions,” she said in a Vindicator questionnaire. “As an educational specialist with experience in both rural and urban districts, I am uniquely knowledgeable in the educational concerns of our families.”
On other topics, she said she believes money from the state rainy-day fund should be shared with local communities, “because building a rainy day fund on the backs of our families is simply wrong.”
The winner in the Democratic primary faces Atty. Devon Stanley of Girard, a Republican, in November.
Sean O’Brien is seeking election to the 32nd District State Senate seat.
Two Republicans seeking the nomination to face Democratic incumbent Michael O’Brien for 64th District House of Representatives are Farmington Township Trustee and business owner Martha Yoder and Howland attorney Richard Hlaudy.
Yoder says one of her highest priorities is to see the consent agreement the Trumbull County commissioners signed with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 amended.
The agreement lists unsewered areas of the county that the county commissioners have promised will get sewers. It also addresses the types of septic systems that can be used in the county.
Yoder says the agreement allows one company to dominate the septic-system market in the county, which makes them unnecessarily expensive. She would like to serve as a go-between to have the consent agreement modified, she said.
For 21 years, she has owned Yoder Supported Living Services, which serves adult customers.
Hlaudy has been an attorney for 14 years and works with a lot of Social Security Disability claimants who also receive benefits provided through the state. Interactions with these clients have shown him a problem with the welfare system that needs to be corrected at the state level, he said in a recent interview.
In many cases, people are offered jobs while on benefits provided by the state, such as food, cash and utility assistance. They would like to work, but going to work will mean losing their benefits, he said.
The federal system allows a person to continue to receive benefits as they start their new job. Ohio should have something such as encouraging a person to work. “They want to work. They don’t want it [government benefits] to become a generational thing,” he said.
The 63rd District includes Niles, Liberty Township, Cortland, Girard, Hubbard, Newton Falls and other areas of southern and eastern Trumbull County.
The 64th District includes Warren, Howland, Champion and other areas in the northern and western parts of Trumbull County and part of southern Ashtabula County.
Trumbull County
63RD DISTRICT
DEMOCRATS
Three Democrats are running for 63rd District state representative to replace Sean O’Brien.
BENJAMIN KYLE
Age: 34.
Address: 212 Princeton Ave, Hubbard.
Employment: Vice president, Stewart-Kyle Funeral Home, Hubbard; owner, Kyle Monuments; Hubbard councilman.
Education: Hubbard High School graduate; bachelor’s degree, Youngstown State University.
Family: Wife, Sable, one son.
Priority: Be a full-time state representative, fight for families, economic development, well-paying jobs, quality education for children, getting a fair share of state infrastructure money for our area.
GLENN HOLMES
Age: 58.
Address: 918 Pennsylvania Ave., McDonald.
Employment: Ohio Edison, McDonald mayor.
Education: Girard High School graduate, Mount Union University bachelor’s degree.
Family: Wife, Carol, a son and two daughters.
Priority: Growing business and labor capabilities by promoting a policy to allow people to use their 401(k) plan or IRA to invest in business capital without penalty.
MARIANNE JAMES
Age: 67.
Address: 2960 Forest Ave, Niles.
Employment: Retired from Cleveland Municipal Schools, self-employed.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in education, master’s degree in special education, doctoral studies.
Family: Husband, Bob, five children.
Priority: Building a strong and prosperous district by making positive decisions in education that result in successful outcomes.
64TH DISTRICT
REPUBLICANS
Two Republicans are running for 64th District state representative to face Democratic incumbent Michael O’Brien in November.
MARTHA YODER
Age: 50.
Address: 5651 Bradford Road, West Farmington.
Employment: Owner, Yoder Supported Living Services for adults, 21 years; Farmington Township trustee.
Education: Graduate of Burton Berkshire High School, attended Lakeland Community College and Liberty University (online).
Family: Husband, Eugene, a son.
Priority: To improve the way that infrastructure is funded at the local level, especially regarding townships.
RICHARD HLAUDY
Age: 45.
Address: 2357 Stillwagon Road, Warren.
Employment: Owner of law firm, attorney.
Education: Graduate of Howland High School, Malone University, law degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Family: Wife, Jeanette, one daughter.
Priority: I will work to lower Ohio’s income tax. It should be – and can eventually be – eliminated, but it would be part of an incremental process.
Source; Vindicator surveys