Election: Wilson, Lampton differ on issues in Ohio House race in Greene County

Oct. 6—Democratic newcomer Joseph Wilson is challenging incumbent state Rep. Brian Lampton in the November election for a Greene County statehouse seat.

Both are vying for the District 70 seat in the Ohio House of Representatives (formerly District 73), covering much of western Greene County, including Fairborn, Beavercreek, Bath Twp, Bellbrook, Sugarcreek Twp, and Spring Valley.

Ohio House terms are 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 over 30 years. He has chaired the Insurance Committee in the House, 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 looking at a tax freeze for seniors, he said, and that he would explore an alternative funding model for school districts that still need the funding.

"It's sort of an unvoted, automatic increase to those property taxpayers," Lampton said of the recent property tax revaluations. "So maybe there's a way for the state to add more funding to those school districts, and then eliminate that on the property tax side ... Keep our seniors living in the communities and in their homes, but at the same time, not continue to decrease funding to the schools."

On the topic of schools, Lampton adding that he would advocate for adjusting the distribution of state funding vs. local taxes.

"I was for the new school funding formula," Lampton said. "I believe we've set it up to be fully funded, but I still think it falls short with those districts that are considered wealthy districts."

For example, Beavercreek City Schools, located in Lampton's district, is considered a wealthy district, and under the state's recently passed funding model, relies more heavily on local property taxes than other schools.

In terms of overspending, Lampton said he thinks the state overspends on "a lot of its bureaucracy," particularly in the Department of Education and Workforce, as well as other government departments, and could do with reducing payroll and certain inefficiencies, including obsolete teacher training.

Lampton and Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) recently put forth a bill that would reduce and eventually eliminate Ohio's income tax, which has a companion piece in the Ohio Senate. While Lampton said he doesn't expect the bill to be passed and signed this General Assembly, he and other lawmakers "wanted to start the conversation."

Alternative funding streams should be sought by drilling for Ohio's natural gas resources, and implementing an energy tax model, Lampton said, adding he would also consider taking a look at Ohio's sales tax to offset lost revenue from other tax cuts.

Regarding national issues, Lampton said he is staunchly pro-life, but believes there should "be some discussion" on the issue in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

"I'm against abortion for any kind of birth control issue," he said. "But there's probably some rare, but very emotional decisions that need to be made, and then by the family ... That kind of thing, to me, that is an extremely personal family decision at that point. I don't see where the government has a right to dictate that to families."

Addressing immigration, particularly with the spotlight afforded the Haitian community in Springfield in the last few weeks, Lampton said addressing medical needs of American citizens is the first priority. However, there are residents and business owners who are doing positive things for the community that should also be supported.

"Basically give kids something to do in the evenings and the weekends," he said. "Those kind of things I think are tremendous, in order, again, to give people constructive things to do. They're learning skills, and again, not just hanging out on the street."

Joseph Wilson

Democratic candidate and political newcomer Joseph Wilson is a Marine Corps veteran, Wright State University graduate, and a defense contractor working in research and development. Wilson said the reason he chose to seek political office is in part because of his three-year-old daughter.

"She'll be starting school in a couple years, and a lot of the movements I've seen on the state level, what's going on in education, have concerned me, and that's why it's my primary focus," he said.

Wilson's top priorities are housing, healthcare and education. The state should play a more active role in ensuring adequate housing stock for Ohio residents, and quit "micromanaging what gets taught" in local school districts, Wilson said.

"Most people cannot afford to buy a house anymore. That's a tragedy," Wilson said. "My grandparents could buy a house on minimum wage back in the 60s. Today, I make fairly decent money myself, and it was a stretch looking for houses."

The state should also play a more active role in decreasing the cost of healthcare, Wilson said, citing California's decision to manufacture its own affordable insulin as an example.

"We do 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 that's when the government's job is to step up, and the two biggest examples I see of that are in healthcare and housing."

Wilson said the state should increase education spending, particularly in preschool and higher education.

"We need to make sure at least in-state tuition is affordable for the average Ohioan without putting themselves in a massive debt," he said.

Wilson said that property taxes are also a massive burden, particularly on Beavercreek residents, and said more education funding should come from the state.

"We have spent years cutting back the amount of taxes that we are collecting at the state level. That doesn't make things go away," he said. "Someone else has to pay for it, and that's pushed upon people in property taxes."

Regarding abortion, Wilson said his policies "align very strongly" with the Issue One that was passed last November by voters.

"Most of these decisions should be made between a doctor and a patient. It doesn't make any sense that a bunch of non-medical professionals should stick their nose in things they don't understand."

Regarding immigration, Wilson said that while it is important to respect the laws of the country, standards for immigration are presently too restrictive. Wilson added that he believes a geolocation visa would be a smarter course of action for managing immigration.

"The only reason we haven't had a shrinking population is because we do allow immigration. And a lot of people are not just talking about (reducing) illegal immigration. They want to cut out 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."