Q and A: Meet The Candidates Running for Ohio’s 75th District
To help Ohio voters learn more about local candidates running for representative of Ohio’s 75th District, I sat down and talked with each candidate appearing on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Why are you running for this office?
Randi Clites (D): For me, it became personal in 2002 when our family had a son that was born with a rare genetic disorder, and eventually, 16 months later, he was diagnosed with leukemia. My husband works for a small, family-owned business, and we struggled a lot with health insurance coverage. I got involved at the state level, becoming apart of a coalition working on healthcare issues. I felt very strongly that there are provisions in the Affordable Care Act for people with preexisting conditions, and I want to be a voice for that.
Gail Pavliga (R): I am running toward a better representation of Portage County. Portage County historically and statistically tends to be more conservative. There are a lot of Christian families, farmers, and working-class people that are underrepresented. Kent, being a part of the 75th district, it is quite a liberal area and can tend to skew what the population’s viewpoints are. I’m a two-time graduate of Kent State University, but I don’t think that one area should dictate what the entire community stands for.
Tell voters a little bit about yourself, how long have you lived in the district you want to represent? What platforms are you running on?
Randi Clites (D): I have lived within a five-mile radius of our district my entire life. I have been a part of big sister and big brother programs, a local softball coach, a community volunteer, and my family is connected to our local food pantry. You must be part of your community, so for me, giving back to my community in this way was like a place for me to step up and do that more in public policy.
Gail Pavliga (R): I have lived in this district for about 30 years, and I have been fortunate to raise my family here. My husband and I moved here when we got married, we bought a home, and we have stayed in the area and even raised our two children here. All four of us are graduates of Kent State University, and local schools. We have always been actively involved in the community. I ran this time because I want our people to have an accurate representation of our district.
What experience or strengths are you hoping to bring to Ohio’s 75th District?
Randi Clites (D): I want to bring in more of my experience at the statehouse, I have been engaged around different health issues, working with the department of health, the department of Medicaid, for different coalitions, and for nonprofit work for since 2010. So, decades of experience that I have had in coalition building.
Gail Pavliga (R): A representative must live in the district that they represent. They must understand the people of that area and listen to the people in that area. Being a professional counselor, listening, and bringing stable and logical solutions to problems is what I do hour by hour. When a person votes for me, they will get somebody who listens, but also somebody who can think and is a great problem solver. I will bring argument and strength down into the statehouse as I represent their behalf and work with other people down there in the same way to pass legislation.
Are there any issues you are particularly passionate about that you would like to prioritize?
Randi Clites (D): Issues I want to prioritize is healthcare access and drug costs. Most of the bills that I have introduced in the statehouse have to do with healthcare access. I want to protect people with preexisting conditions, make sure that patients have access to low-cost drugs, and make sure that insurance companies don’t discriminate against those of us who have high-cost medical needs.
Gail Pavliga (R): The economy, I think we do not look at the underlying idea about manufacturing and being self-sufficient in this country. As a country, we need to be self-sufficient. We should be able to take care of ourselves and manufacturer our own supplies. We should proudly say made in the USA on all our products for our citizens. I believe in Northeast, Ohio; particularly, our district is set well to do manufacturing and to be able to provide.
What are the top challenges you feel the district is facing, and what are some proposed solutions to those challenges?
Randi Clites (D): As mentioned before, health care issues, I think making sure that patients in Portage County can access the broad range of healthcare options we have is important. Another big challenge is local government finances. I want to make sure our local government funds continue to see increases. I feel as if our past administration reduced a lot of our local government funds, but through the CARES Act, we could balance that out specifically, in central and southern Portage County. Lastly would be our education funding, I think having strong public schools is the way we continue to build our rural and suburban communities, and I want to make sure schools have an equitable funding source.
Gail Pavliga (R): the issues that were facing Portage County were really within my area of expertise. First and foremost, there are three things that I am running on; one of them is to be able to support businesses, post COVID-19 and economic recovery. I believe the government has interfered with way too many regulations and has driven jobs out. Secondly is the opioid epidemic, we have one of the highest death rates in all of Ohio, and we are overturned as a community because of the things we are facing, and we must find answers to these problems. We must educate doctors and educate communities on what the abuse of drugs can lead to. Thirdly is education. As a college professor and counselor, I have taught and listened to people in our teaching communities about what needs to change in our schools. I’ve talked with many local school boards and districts about their problems and want to help get their levies passed and create a good learning environment for its students.
What changes, if any, do you think local public schools in Portage County should address?
Randi Clites (D): I think we are learning a lot about the model in which we educate our students in public schools, and I think the biggest thing that we need to continue to work on is the flexibility of our schools to be able to educate our communities, in a way that helps our communities.
Gail Pavliga (R): The parents, the schools, and the communities must work together. The state needs to come back with a very transparent plan for school funding and how much each student will receive. That way,, budgets can be made, faculty can be hired, and we know that we can provide a good learning environment for the students.
How do you feel about the state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was? Do you think there needs to be additional measures to help spur Ohio’s economy?
Randi Clites (D): I think Ohio has been one of the standing States that has shown other states how we should be responding to COVID. Having a government that prioritizes public health has been a great thing, but I think the real struggle is how we will respond by helping small businesses? We need to prioritize those small businesses in our next budget by ensuring they have the proper resources from the state to operate.
Gail Pavliga (R): We must spur Ohio’s economy right now by lifting the restrictive and suffocating regulations. Many businesses have put up closed signs, and people are scared. I think what we need to do right now is have fewer restrictions, and we need to have truth in the reporting of COVID-19 so we can help our communities.
What is the main message you would like to tell voters?
Randi Clites (D): I believe that if you work hard, you should get ahead, which was not the result of some of my life experiences. Some people make plans in life, and things do not always go their way. That is the voice I carry to Columbus with me every day that I am there, and I think that we can get to a place where we can help pull people up and support everyone.
Gail Pavliga (R): I want them to understand that their vote matters, each and every vote counts, and voting is a right to be able to speak their voice. You can call the local board of elections or call any of us, we can easily get someone registered to vote, so their voice can be heard. I am a business owner, a wife, a mother, a counselor, and my background and my love of my community will carry me when a person elects me. It isn’t about me winning. It is about a voice being heard.
