Columbus Dispatch Primary Election Voters Guide Candidate Questionnaire. Aaron Neumann Republican for State Senate District 16

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1 Columbus Dispatch 2016 Primary Election Voters Guide Candidate Questionnaire Aaron Neumann Republican for State Senate District 16 Unabridged Responses What are the top two issues currently facing the state, and what can the legislature do to address them? The job of the Ohio government is to keep our markets competitive, keep our citizens safe, and ensure both remain free. Our state has made tremendous strides in our recovery from the great recession and we can keep up the momentum to make Ohio a Midwestern economic engine focused on the future. With smart planning and efficient use of resources, we have an opportunity to build on our success and give the next generation of Ohioans a growing, prosperous Buckeye State. The first step to strengthening Ohio s finances is simple, routine, and should be obvious: keep a sharp eye on our state tax code and budgets, to ensure that every dollar levied is necessary and put to good use. We must eliminate waste, remove burdensome regulations, and rethink so many outdated approaches that no longer meet the needs of the 21 st century. I have learned sound lessons of fiscal responsibility and market solutions over a successful career in private consulting, and I will bring them to the Statehouse to make our government work again. Then we must strengthen the bond between the public and private sectors that has driven our economy. Such collaboration makes it possible to increase employment, develop a diverse tax base, and maximize societal returns with minimal government investment. And we should push ourselves even further to rebuild our middle class by working closely with those sectors that offer the most opportunities to the most young people: restaurants, manufacturing, small and family farms, and the thousands of wonderful small businesses in every community across the state, not a few of which I am proud to have worked for myself. All the while, we can further promote those sectors driving central Ohio s new economy: health care, technology, research, and, of course, good old-fashioned craft beer. The Columbus region has a tremendous amount of appeal for students, young professionals, and families from across the world, and we can further attract visitors and new residents by aggressively promoting our tourism attractions and through such innovative legislation as expanding the Film Tax Credit, which has shown modest success in its modest start and holds the potential to make Ohio an attractive location for big studios and build a viable domestic arts and entertainment industry. The second major issue that we must finally address is the rampant addiction that has silently spread throughout our communities and now claims 2,500 Ohioans every year from their family

2 and friends, a number that has quintupled from 500 in the year 2000, less than a generation ago. The status quo is literally killing us, with no politicians willing to take the stand necessary to change our outdated approach to a complex and very fluid crisis. We must address the immediate emergency through sensible, life-saving measures, and then push forward on comprehensive strategies to get at the root causes behind the epidemic. I will take immediate steps to enhance such life-saving measures as expanding Good Samaritan laws and access to the opioid antagonist naloxone, which saved thousands of lives across Ohio last year alone. I will pursue smarter, research-based policies that have a bigger impact of limited state resources, instead of pouring more and more money into ineffectual and naïve education and enforcement priorities of the past. I will promote drug courts and diversion programs to keep users and addicts out of our prisons and county jails. I will actually heed the will of 90% of Ohioans and provide limited, safe access to medical marijuana for qualifying patients and scale back state-level regulations to respect local control on marijuana policy, while fighting to keep ill-conceived legalization efforts out of our Ohio Constitution. And of course, there s the big one: access to treatment and services. Anyone with a passing knowledge will tell you that drugs are too easy to find and treatment too hard to get. To their credit, other brave politicians our own Senator Portman comes to mind are bringing the need for recovery to the fore, even if we have to drag our party into the modern world with us. I will continue this trend toward treatment over punishment and ensure that local law enforcement, social workers, and the families and communities are involved in the process, because they know who needs help and how best to help them. Statehouse study groups, task forces, and listening tours make for good press, but they save very few lives. Drug policy in Ohio is an issue of health and safety, and is now literally a matter of life or death, and our current leaders have chosen to ignore the problem. It is true that addiction has risen to epidemic proportions, but we can reverse course if we choose bold leadership now and devote the attention and resources necessary to spare our children this tragedy. If we let the politicians keep their status quo, we will lose countless more Ohioans to a failing war on drugs and to dangerous public policy. February 17, P a g e 2

3 The state income tax has been cut significantly over the last decade, especially for small business owners/investors/sole proprietors. Meanwhile, state sales and cigarette taxes have risen. Do you agree with the overall direction of Ohio s tax changes? I do the recession and its staggering unemployment rates demanded a strong focus on building employment and retaining employers to stem the flow and prevent further decline. Income tax cuts with modest increases in the sales and other taxes have netted more than $3 billion in tax reductions over the past two years, and we have another $2 billion reduction to look forward to in the next budget cycle ( Distorting Kasich s Tax Plan, FactCheck.org, January 28, 2016). These steps undoubtedly have helped Ohio reverse course and establish a positive economic climate that has attracted business and added hundreds of thousands of jobs. I have been proud to receive my paychecks exclusively from small businesses since the age of fifteen, except for a summer scooping ice cream at UDF (at least it s family-owned) and a semester of work study in graduate school, so I certainly appreciate their oversized impact on so many local communities. To that end, I will gladly support any pro-growth measures that reduce taxes, ease regulations, and ensure Ohio s small and independent businesses have a champion in the Statehouse and get their fair share of the Buckeye State s prosperity. Ideally we would be able to cut taxes across the board income, sales, and all while retaining a balanced budget, but until that day a sensible solution must be found that promotes a strong, open market. We are fortunate to have a governor and legislature who, although they may disagree on specific strategies from time to time, agree on the big picture and have the state s economic interest at heart. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to continue this successful course, and I would be open to further pro-growth action until Ohio is not just recovering, but thriving once again. February 17, P a g e 3

4 Testing and funding continue to be major legislative issues for K-12 education. What is Ohio doing right or doing wrong in these areas? It is good that we are considering local resources in state funding for schools, but we must ensure that cuts are made only when necessary and that they are done equitably, lest we rely too much on local tax burdens when too many families are struggling too much as it is. And we must listen to our struggling schools when they request that we continue to refine how we fund our charter schools while retaining competitive education options for our students ( Ohio public schools bill state for money lost to charters, January 21, 2016). I also support Governor Kasich s call for severance taxes on natural gas and oil in Ohio to be increased until our rates our commensurate with our neighbors and I would reinvest a significant portion of that extra revenue in our lowest performing schools and communities ( Lawmakers find Ohio's frack tax to be low but reluctant to increase it, October 23, 2015). When it comes to testing, very little is being done right. Three different standardized tests in four years is wasted time and energy, an entire high school career s worth of data and results lost when we need to be addressing the needs of the immediate future. Most of us will agree that local control and family accountability are the solution for schools, but so long as students are used as political points rather than the future of our state, things likely won t improve any time soon. For all the attention and money spent on our public schools, we continue to see a diversity of results with few gains among the lowest performing schools and students in recent years. Rich schools continue to excel and produce leaders for the next generation, while poorer districts are avoided and neglected by everyone but the families who suffer. Some are quick to blame teachers, their unions, or Common Core, while others attack charters and school choice, but I think the best path forward is to remove politics from the education system altogether and refocus local control driven by the families, educators, and administrators in the schools. There are clear roles for the state in education, including data collection and research, protection of student rights, allocation of resources, and ensuring equal opportunities to succeed. But not one of these key functions requires political appointees. I agree with recent statements by Ohio State Board President Tom Gunlock, who suggested that the board be reduced in size and responsibility while continuing to hire the State Superintendent ( State education board s role should be diminished, board president says, January 15, 2016). However, because I believe in local control, not political control, of our schools, I will urge my colleagues to keep the State Board elected and representative of our families and communities. At the very least, if schools continue to fail we won t have the politicians to blame anymore. We will continue working with the federal government, but such recent moves out of Washington as the recent Every Student Succeeds Act indicates a clear willingness to move away from top-down mandates and one-size-fits-all approaches to rulemaking for states. We should take this opportunity to focus on our state s unique needs and develop a comprehensive, February 17, P a g e 4

5 nonpartisan education strategy for the future that balances core competencies, innovation, and local control while preparing Ohio s next generation for the demands of a global workforce. February 17, P a g e 5

6 Do you agree with the effort to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level? My conservative principles of limited government and equal treatment before the law make it hard for me to agree with public officials picking and choosing who receives public funds and I will legislate based on the public good, not personal beliefs. These recent efforts single out one practitioner of a legal practice, that has been cleared of recent accusations brought by politicians who rushed to conclusions while wading into a complex social issue without first consulting the experts in the field ( Disposing of fetal remains, December 24, 2015). The measures will have the effect of restricting privacy and consent between doctors and patients while disrupting necessary health care for thousands of women across Ohio, especially in our rural and remote communities where access to basic care is already limited ( Privacy continues to be key issue in 'fetal remains' hearings, January 27, 2016; Planned Parenthood defunding bill may take time getting to Kasich, January 28, 2016). I do not agree that spending countless hours and millions of tax dollars to cast vote after vote after vote along rigid party lines, all to withhold $1.3 million of the state budget to a health care organization that some find objectionable, is prudent public policy. Should we let liberals, if they take office, require additional regulations on one specific suburban gun store to make a point about gun safety? Should we let socialists, if they take office, defund one specific bank to make a point about capitalism? I d think most people on any side of any aisle, will admit that all such actions are. There are commonsense, bipartisan solutions, to be sure, to prevent unintended pregnancies, support unexpected pregnancies, and expand basic health and emotional care to newborns and new parents. And we can all be proud of the recent progress hospitals, health officials, and researchers across the Columbus region have made in the fight to lower Franklin County s infant mortality rates with bipartisan support from many government officials, not to mention attention from the Dispatch ( Special Report: Alarming Losses, September 2015; Keys are there to reduce infant mortality, December 5, 2015). On the other hand, I will bring fiscal conservatism to the Statehouse and will always take a critical look at how the state spends our money and I will cut legitimate waste wherever I find it (and I m sure I ll find some). But a legislature by the people and for the people should not single out representative individuals for merit or punishment. February 17, P a g e 6

7 What else would you like to say to voters? I have been proud to share my bold vision for a strong, prosperous Ohio with thousands of my friends and neighbors across the 16 th District, knocking on more than 500 doors from Dublin to Grove City. I am a native Ohioan, so as a child I had the privilege of looking up to such statesmen as George Voinovich, Jim Rhodes, and John Glenn, Democrat though he was. I had the honor to shake then-congressman Portman s hand when he visited Xavier to convince a bunch of college students that we should plan for our future, and I still have the HSA he told me to invest in. The entire state of Ohio has the honor of having the only credible, competent candidate standing in the GOP presidential field as our sitting governor. I learned at an early age that public office in the great state of Ohio is a service to which we should aspire and be elected by our fellow citizens, not a prize to be handed down from distant party leaders. I have a graduate degree in American government from Georgetown University with a focus on federalism and intergovernmental relations, I have built a successful career in private consulting in education policy, and my wife and I are proud to be raising our two wonderful boys in the wonderful city of Columbus. As an independent Republican, my allegiances are to limited government, individual liberty, and my fellow citizens, not to any party donor or special interest. My primary campaign has been one of honesty, integrity, and innovative ideas to make the great state of Ohio even greater, and though I won t claim to agree with anyone on everything, I believe we can always find common ground on the most important issues if we re willing to work together. I am willing to work, every day of my tenure, to make Ohio better. My opponents would consider a term in the Senate as merely one step in a calculated political career guided by leaders downtown, but I would see it as four long years to modernize and simplify our government and take substantive steps against the most pressing issues facing the next generation of Ohioans. I cannot and will not support actions by either side to use our state government for partisan points until and unless Ohio boasts 1% unemployment, our students are all succeeding, and the heroin trade is shut down once and for all. Until then, let s get the Statehouse working again. I have the knowledge, skills, and passion for Ohio s future to bring mainstream conservativism, innovative ideas, and an independent voice to the Statehouse, and offer my neighbors the choice of real leadership in their next State Senator. Thank you to the Columbus Dispatch for the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas, and thanks to the people of the 16 th District for the great opportunity to serve. February 17, P a g e 7