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ELECTION 2008:
Mandel, Belovich vie for House District 17 seat
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By MARILYN H. KARFELD
Senior Staff Reporter
Democrat Bob Belovich is challenging first-term Republican state Rep. Josh Mandel to represent Ohio House District 17, which includes such eastern and southern suburbs as Chagrin Falls, Pepper Pike, Solon, Broadview Heights, and Independence.
Incumbent Mandel, 31, is a former Lyndhurst councilman who has served two tours of duty in Iraq in the Marine Corps Reserves.
Belovich, 57, of Brecksville, has been a practicing attorney for 30 years and is vice president of the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Democratic Club.
The candidates talked with the CJN about adding jobs in Ohio, prioritizing needs in the state budget, funding education, providing more access to healthcare, and assisting the elderly.
CJN: How can the General Assembly increase jobs in Ohio and improve the economy?
Mandel: All I hear when I knock on doors is the economy. I’m drafting legislation to keep young people here. If they commit to staying in Ohio for five years after college, the state would give them $20,000 in income tax credits for a bachelor’s degree and $30,000 for a master’s.
If they stay here five years, they may fall in love, find a community and a job, and we may keep them here for 50 years.
Belovich: We have a jobs infrastructure bill passed by the current legislature that my opponent voted against. The state can raise money for bridges, roads and sewers by selling bonds. I support that.
We also can reform our home lending laws. Much of that has to be solved at the federal level. But we can strengthen our state laws to protect individuals in real estate transactions and provide better disclosure on both sides of the ledger.
CJN: With tax revenues falling in a faltering economy, what would you cut in a tight state budget?
Belovich: Several years ago, the legislature changed Ohio tax laws, with more tax cuts to come in 2009. The problem is not only declining revenue (due to lower income-tax receipts); the tax rates are declining. We have to look at all unnecessary expenditures. One I’m opposed to is the experiment with (for-profit) charter schools. It’s been costly and in large measure unsuccessful in terms of academics.
Another big expense is prisons, which are housing many individuals because of drug violations. We should be looking at ways to treat individuals’ drug problems instead .
Mandel: It’s not responsible to propose cutting any specific program without seeing what Gov. Ted Strickland proposes in the next budget.
CJN: The Supreme Court has ruled four times that Ohio’s school funding is unconstitutional. How should the state fund its public schools?
Mandel: Republicans and Democrats are waiting for the governor’s proposal on school funding. I do not think we have the best school-funding mechanism now. But I do believe in local control of tax dollars. The more dollars controlled locally as opposed to having state bureaucrats in charge, the better.
Belovich: Strickland has started off the right way by finding out what people think are the proper aims of public education. Once we have consensus, we have to rewrite school funding laws. We may determine other taxes are superior to property taxes or should be used in conjunction with property taxes.
We also have to look at the recent tax changes (which caused schools to lose revenue) to see if those should continue or be altered.
CJN: How do you suggest increasing access to healthcare for the poor?
Belovich: I favor universal healthcare, more likely to happen at the federal level. In the meantime, the state regulates insurance within Ohio. I favor changing the standards of medical underwriting to emphasize primary-care medicine. Now, individuals may not get treatment until they see a more costly specialist, and by then the original condition may have gotten worse.
Mandel: There’s always more we can do. Everything is affected by budget implications.
CJN: What can the state do to ease the financial burden on the elderly?
Mandel: I worked with Ohio Jewish Communities lobbyist Joyce Garver Keller to restore state funding for kosher meals through Meals on Wheels, which the state cut.
Belovich: The state’s Homestead Property Tax Relief Act should help our seniors. We should form buying groups so the elderly can buy prescription drugs at lower cost. We can promote healthy lifestyles such as walking through the design of our communities to make them pedestrian-friendly.
CJN: Where do you stand on abortion, civil rights for gays, and school prayer?
Mandel: While I respect people’s opinions on all issues, I am focused on growing the economy and reversing the exodus of jobs and people from the state.
Belovich: Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land. There’s nothing the state legislature can or should do to change that.
We have a constitutional ban on gay marriage, which I opposed. I favor the fullest extent of civil rights for all individuals.
If prayer is in pubic school, it is intrusive on some members of the community.
mkarfeld@cjn.org
Interview conducted, edited and condensed by Marilyn Karfeld.
Incumbent Mandel, 31, is a former Lyndhurst councilman who has served two tours of duty in Iraq in the Marine Corps Reserves.
Belovich, 57, of Brecksville, has been a practicing attorney for 30 years and is vice president of the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Democratic Club.
The candidates talked with the CJN about adding jobs in Ohio, prioritizing needs in the state budget, funding education, providing more access to healthcare, and assisting the elderly.
CJN: How can the General Assembly increase jobs in Ohio and improve the economy?
Mandel: All I hear when I knock on doors is the economy. I’m drafting legislation to keep young people here. If they commit to staying in Ohio for five years after college, the state would give them $20,000 in income tax credits for a bachelor’s degree and $30,000 for a master’s.
If they stay here five years, they may fall in love, find a community and a job, and we may keep them here for 50 years.
Belovich: We have a jobs infrastructure bill passed by the current legislature that my opponent voted against. The state can raise money for bridges, roads and sewers by selling bonds. I support that.
We also can reform our home lending laws. Much of that has to be solved at the federal level. But we can strengthen our state laws to protect individuals in real estate transactions and provide better disclosure on both sides of the ledger.
CJN: With tax revenues falling in a faltering economy, what would you cut in a tight state budget?
Belovich: Several years ago, the legislature changed Ohio tax laws, with more tax cuts to come in 2009. The problem is not only declining revenue (due to lower income-tax receipts); the tax rates are declining. We have to look at all unnecessary expenditures. One I’m opposed to is the experiment with (for-profit) charter schools. It’s been costly and in large measure unsuccessful in terms of academics.
Another big expense is prisons, which are housing many individuals because of drug violations. We should be looking at ways to treat individuals’ drug problems instead .
Mandel: It’s not responsible to propose cutting any specific program without seeing what Gov. Ted Strickland proposes in the next budget.
CJN: The Supreme Court has ruled four times that Ohio’s school funding is unconstitutional. How should the state fund its public schools?
Mandel: Republicans and Democrats are waiting for the governor’s proposal on school funding. I do not think we have the best school-funding mechanism now. But I do believe in local control of tax dollars. The more dollars controlled locally as opposed to having state bureaucrats in charge, the better.
Belovich: Strickland has started off the right way by finding out what people think are the proper aims of public education. Once we have consensus, we have to rewrite school funding laws. We may determine other taxes are superior to property taxes or should be used in conjunction with property taxes.
We also have to look at the recent tax changes (which caused schools to lose revenue) to see if those should continue or be altered.
CJN: How do you suggest increasing access to healthcare for the poor?
Belovich: I favor universal healthcare, more likely to happen at the federal level. In the meantime, the state regulates insurance within Ohio. I favor changing the standards of medical underwriting to emphasize primary-care medicine. Now, individuals may not get treatment until they see a more costly specialist, and by then the original condition may have gotten worse.
Mandel: There’s always more we can do. Everything is affected by budget implications.
CJN: What can the state do to ease the financial burden on the elderly?
Mandel: I worked with Ohio Jewish Communities lobbyist Joyce Garver Keller to restore state funding for kosher meals through Meals on Wheels, which the state cut.
Belovich: The state’s Homestead Property Tax Relief Act should help our seniors. We should form buying groups so the elderly can buy prescription drugs at lower cost. We can promote healthy lifestyles such as walking through the design of our communities to make them pedestrian-friendly.
CJN: Where do you stand on abortion, civil rights for gays, and school prayer?
Mandel: While I respect people’s opinions on all issues, I am focused on growing the economy and reversing the exodus of jobs and people from the state.
Belovich: Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land. There’s nothing the state legislature can or should do to change that.
We have a constitutional ban on gay marriage, which I opposed. I favor the fullest extent of civil rights for all individuals.
If prayer is in pubic school, it is intrusive on some members of the community.
mkarfeld@cjn.org
Interview conducted, edited and condensed by Marilyn Karfeld.
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