Nominate Holmes, Yoder for Trumbull House seats

Trumbull County voters next week will nominate the Democratic candidate for the 63rd Ohio House of Representatives seat in the state Legislature and the Republican candidate for the 64th House district. These state lawmaking posts wield great responsibility and authority over shaping state laws on taxation, education, economic development, public health and many other domains and therefore require thoughtful and well-reasoned choices by the electorate.

In the 63rd District, three Democrats – Glenn Holmes, Marianne James and Benjamin Kyle – are vying for the seat held by state Rep. Sean O’Brien. O’Brien has chosen to seek his party’s nomination for the 32nd state Senate seat, thereby ensuring fresh leadership for the district that includes Niles, Girard, Hubbard, Liberty, Cortland and Liberty.

Kyle, vice president of the Stewart-Kyle Funeral Home in Hubbard and an elected councilman in that city, presents a credible and diverse platform. It includes restoring state funding to local communities lost in recent years, greater regulation of charter schools, infrastructure improvements and initiatives to fight the heroin epidemic in Trumbull County and the state.

He also vows to work to achieve compromise, a skill that any Democrat state lawmaker will need in order to make inroads in a Legislature that likely will remain largely Republican.

Though voters would elect a capable and thoughtful representative in Kyle, The Vindicator gives the edge and its endorsement in this race to Holmes, mayor of McDonald since 2008, for the greater depth and breadth of his public-service record.

Holmes’ eight-year tenure as mayor reflects well on his leadership acumen. The village is healthy financially without having placed additional tax burdens on residents. It’s also witnessed progress in road and street improvements, despite the loss of some $85,000 in Local Government Funds from the state.

Holmes also serves or has served on more than a dozen public or quasi-public decision-making boards for the county and state. Through those associations, he would arrive in Columbus with a strong knowledge of government operations and a long list of contacts to assist in resolving local problems.

He also presents specific ideas on growing business and labor capabilities in the district and state, improving charter schools and helping communities update and repair aging water, sewer and roadway infrastructures.

James, a retired Cleveland schools educational specialist, is passionate about improving public education in school districts, particularly to ensure greater equity in the quality of instruction among all school districts. She vows to fight against erosion of local control by local school districts. Her campaign is well-intentioned, but she lacks the broader focus and public-office experience that Holmes and Kyle both possess.

The winner of the Democrat primary will face Republican Devon Stanley in the Nov. 8 general election.

64th District race

In the 64th state House District that includes Warren, Howland, Champion and parts of Ashtabula County, two candidates – Farmington Township Trustee Martha Yoder and Howland Atty. Richard Hlaudy – seek the Republican nomination to square off against Democrat incumbent Michael O’Brien in the fall.

Hlaudy vows to work to reduce and eventually eliminate Ohio’s income tax as a tool to stimulate economic growth. He also advocates entitlement reform. “Our government needs to move towards a system that not only gives our citizens aid when in need but also gives them the ability to eventually become independent.”

Other positions he holds include fighting for business growth, ensuring adequate safety regulation of injection wells and protecting the rights of gun owners. When it comes to providing specifics on some of his plans, however, Hlaudy fell short in comparison with his challenger.

Yoder, who has strong elected-office experience, offers concrete proposals, such as her plan to serve as a go-between to bring state and county officials to the table to amend a consent decree on sewer development for cost savings to taxpayers. She also seeks to reform septic-system rules that she finds burdensome on homeowners. Septic systems and sewers are not glamorous issues, but they are those directly impacting many residents of the significantly rural 64th district.

The Vindicator endorses Yoder’s nomination.