our Priorities

Regardless of our political party affiliations, there is something that most of us know to be true: there is an elite corporate class that does not care about ordinary people. They use their wealth to buy influence, shape elections, and stack the deck in their favor through lobbyists and special interests. While they grow richer, the rest of us are left dealing with stagnant wages, rising costs, unaffordable housing, and opportunities that seem harder and harder to find.

This is not a Republican problem or a Democratic problem. It is an ordinary people versus concentrated power problem. Ohioans work hard, raise families, and contribute to their communities. We deserve an economy that rewards work instead of wealth, a government that answers to voters instead of corporate donors, and leaders willing to fight for the people they serve. We deserve better.

Affordability is not just a buzzword, it is the foundation of a strong Ohio. It is unacceptable that too many people are working hard and still struggling to get by. The cost of housing, groceries, childcare, and healthcare continues to rise while wages lag behind, pushing families to the brink and driving young people out of our state.

• Living Wages: We need to restore the conversation around true living wages so work actually pays. We need to listen to the voices of Labor leaders: a fair days wage for a fair days work.

• Affordable Housing: We must target housing at 30% Area Median Income by reducing unnecessary red tape and tying all development incentives to real affordability.

• Lower Prescription Costs: While we continue to fight for universal healthcare, we can cap the cost of essential medications right now.

Fully funding public education is not just the right thing to do, it is central to fixing Ohio’s affordability crisis. Nearly 30 years ago, in 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that our school funding system was unconstitutional, and yet the state still has not fixed it. Today, Ohio ranks around 45th in the nation in its share of public school funding, and that failure has shifted the burden onto local communities through higher property taxes and constant school levies. When we fix the way we fund public education, we are not just doing right by our students, teachers, and school staff, we are also delivering real financial relief to families. By meeting the state’s obligation and reducing the reliance on local property taxes, we can save the average household around $1,500 a year. This is about doing what is right and making life more affordable at the same time.

Ohio’s property tax crisis did not happen by accident, it is the direct result of the state failing to properly fund public education. Right now, about 51% of your property tax bill goes to fund local schools, when that number should be closer to 25–30% if the state were meeting its obligation. That gap is what homeowners are being forced to cover, which is why real relief never comes. Levies keep appearing, property values rise, and even when you vote “no,” your tax bill still goes up. If we simply fix this imbalance and bring that share back down to where it should be, we can free up roughly $1,500 a year for the average household.

Restoring community means getting back to being neighbors again, and refusing to fall into the cycles of division that keep us apart. Too often, we are told to blame each other, to argue over identity, culture, and differences, while an elite political class benefits from the distraction. When we are busy fighting each other, we are not paying attention to what is happening at the top, where deals are being made with big energy companies and wealthy sports team owners that do not serve everyday Ohioans.

Ohio has always been strongest when we show up for each other, when we check in on our neighbors, and when we stand together around shared needs like affordability, good schools, and safe communities. If we can shift our focus away from division and back toward solidarity, we can rebuild trust, strengthen our communities, and make sure the people, not the powerful, are the ones shaping Ohio’s future.