| Make Ohio Great Again ! Elect Connie Pillich ... Ohio House of Representatives - 28th District |
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I believe that the key to the state’s future lies in advancing our economy to keep up with the changes in the national and emerging global markets. It’s no secret that Ohio is trailing the national economy. Read More .... An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure ..... Our mothers and fathers taught us this. And it makes such perfect sense to us, as parents and adults. Why, then, can our legislature not see this proverb holds true today? Read More ....
What is there to show for it? Ohio Republicans, including my opponent, talk big about illegal immigration, but haven’t done anything. They mislead and frighten the public with their claims about illegal immigrants and public benefits. Read More ....
Health Care and Ohio After 12 years of court orders and complete control of the state house, state senate, and governor’s mansion, the Republican party has failed to fix the K-12 school funding issue. Read More ...
Stop Eminent Domain Abuse Every organization, regardless of its effectiveness, needs to periodically step back and examine itself. In the Air Force, we called this a self-inspection. Every year, we reviewed our operations and administrative procedures; and every 12-24 months, the Air Force Inspector General visited our base to see how we were doing our jobs. This evaluation process confirmed our successes, showed where there was room for improvement, and ensured our accountability to the citizens who depended upon us. Ohio can do the same. Our state auditor can conduct performance audits. Unfortunately, the state auditor’s office has not conducted a performance audit of any state agency in a very long time, and the legislature refuses to require performance audits as a part of the budgeting process. These audits are needed. A timely audit would have revealed problems in Hamilton County’s Jobs & Family Services that surfaced recently and will cost taxpayers over $200 million dollars. Performance audits will show us where we can trim fat in expenditures. This will free up revenue to be diverted to other uses. But where to spend it? I believe that the key to the state’s future lies in advancing our economy to keep up with the changes in the national and emerging global markets. It’s no secret that Ohio is trailing the national economy. Ohio is last in the nation in job growth and nearly last in new companies. We need to attract 21st century businesses in order to compete. How do we this? I’ve been meeting with economic development directors from municipalities throughout northern Hamilton County. What I learned is that 21st century businesses don’t make location decisions on tax gimmicks. Instead they look for a stable, educated work force and access to reliable infrastructure. Both are key elements to business success. A stable workforce is the product of good schools – K-12 schools and higher education such as technical and trade schools, colleges, and universities. Without an educated population to work at 21st century jobs, 21st century industries cannot survive. Unfortunately, Ohio’s colleges and universities are becoming less accessible to many young people each year due to escalating tuition costs. Tuition at Ohio public colleges and universities went up 6% this year, making it 46% above the national average. And state funding went down. Parents seeking to send their children to college are finding that other states invest more in their universities and lower the tuition rates – even for non-resident students. Correspondingly, all of those other states have better job growth than Ohio. In addition to a stable work force, 21st century industries rely on dependable infrastructure: good roads, highways, rail, communications, water, and energy. We must improve and update our interstate highways and other transportation systems to handle the growing traffic volume. And, we must ensure that all types of infrastructure are well-built and reliable. Ohio collects plenty of tax revenue. We’re just not spending it wisely. Performance audits will let us know where we’ve been and let us start working for our future.
-- Connie Pillich is an Air Force
veteran, attorney, business owner, and parent from Montgomery. She is a
candidate for State Representative for the 28th Ohio House
District. Contact Connie at 792-9322 or through her web site at
www.conniepillich.com.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our mothers and fathers taught us this. And it makes such perfect sense to us, as parents and adults. Why, then, can our legislature not see this proverb holds true today? Marcus Fiesel’s tragic death illustrates the low regard with which our current elected state officials hold Children’s Services, and the short sighted approach they have to the very real problems in today’s Ohio. But I have some real ideas to help prevent another Marcus Fiesel tragedy.
1. Prevent kids from entering
foster care. We then need to dedicate services to keep families intact. This will include intensive family stabilization services, education and treatment for alcohol and substance abuse, counseling, and emergency financial assistance. This is much less expensive than long-term foster care. If a child is in danger, initially move both mom and child into foster care. This reduces the child’s trauma and allows mom to see good parenting skills modeled daily. 2. Improve our foster care system. Case managers should be degreed, licensed social workers and have training in child abuse. Cutting their overwhelming caseload and increasing pay will reduce burn-out and turnover. We must set high standards, such as monthly visits, surprise visits, interviews with the child and all others in the home, developing a trusting relationship, and minimizing the number of moves of a child. Licensed social workers should evaluate, select, and train foster parents. Prospects and all adults in the household should pass a background check and a physical and mental health exam. Through education, enhance foster care honorability and recruitment. Consider group homes as an alternative to single placements. 3. Expand oversight. With computers, reviewing court records regularly – for arrests, convictions, evictions, and civil judgments – is easy. This would also assist daycares and pre-schools. Immediately investigate all court activity, civil or criminal. Remove the child upon any inkling of danger. When cases are in court, the magistrates and judges must demand from social workers and guardians ad litem a detailed record of visits and interviews. Summary reports are not sufficient.
If we set realistic
practical expectations, demand professionalism and dedication, and focus
on prevention, we can save the children who have such a tough time.
What is there to show for it? The fruits of unfettered power are sour: Investigations, indictments, convictions. Power unchecked serves power, not the people. Over a billion dollars misspent, overpaid, unaccounted for. “Pay-to-play” at every level of State Government. Tom Noe’s Coingate scam. The Workers’ Compensation fund pilfered. Congressman Bob Ney’s guilty pleas. Governor Taft convicted of four criminal offenses. The State Treasurer’s office staff - guilty. State administrators resigning amid accusations. Have you had enough? Local State Representatives, including my opponent, have been formally reprimanded for violating House rules for accepting gifts from lobbyists. Quite recently, the Ohio Elections Commission found probable cause that my opponent listed false endorsements on his web site. It all fits a pattern. The arrogance of one-party rule allows people in power to ignore the rules. As historian Lord Acton wrote: “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Ohio’s future is stymied by one party rule. Over 250,000 jobs lost - half in manufacturing. Nearly a third of Ohio jobs are service jobs today. Ohio includes two of the nation’s most impoverished cities. Ohio has experienced record home foreclosures and personal bankruptcies; we lead the nation in those. We’re last in job growth, near last in small business survival. College tuition is up, and young people now leave the state to seek opportunity elsewhere. Ohio needs change. We need more debate, alternatives, and rigorous review in State government. We need new voices, ideas, dedication, and commitment. That’s why I’m running for State Representative. I’m a veteran, with eight years active duty. My dedication and commitment garnered me top evaluations and awards. I served in the United States and Europe, and served in support of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. I’m currently a business owner, attorney, and mom. As a veteran, I understand service, sacrifice, and duty. As a business owner, I understand how difficult it is to make a living yet still treat my employees fairly. As an attorney, I understand how the law can help people, and how the law can hurt people. As a mother, I understand the challenges involved in raising good kids in an increasingly dangerous, expensive, and complex world. In the legislature, I will examine the budget and call for an audit of every state agency. We’ll free up revenues and dedicate them to attracting 21st Century industry. We’ll move funds to higher education. I’ll convene a task force to study and solve public school funding. I’ll launch innovative health care initiatives to offer affordable health insurance to all Ohioans. Other states have done this; we can, too. The difference is other states are working on solutions, not basking smugly in power. New leadership will make the difference in Ohio. If you’re ready for a change, I’m ready to serve. I ask for your vote in November.
Illegal Immigration in Ohio Ohio has over 1.3 million citizens who have no health insurance. Many of these are children. As a society, we should take care of our children. We need to make it possible for all children to have health care. We should also take care of our elderly, and ensure their access to health care, as well. But what about everyone in between? Ohio’s national lead in personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures stems largely from people swamped with enormous medical bills that they cannot pay. Declaring bankruptcy does nothing to pay the bill. Doctors and hospitals don’t get paid for their services, so they must pass those losses on to us who do pay. And we end up paying higher insurance premiums to cover that. Other states are launching innovative solutions to this same problem. They are experimenting with single-payer systems. I propose that we allow individuals and small businesses to buy into the state employees health insurance system. This is perhaps the largest group in the state, and with that size of a group, it can negotiate good premiums. Use this state insurance system as the basis for providing insurance to all who wish to purchase it. We must cover our children and elderly, regardless of our means. Healthy children grow into healthy, productive adults. When parents have the means to provide preventive care to their children, it means greater cost savings later – prevention is always cheaper than treating the illness after it’s progressed. And prevention means fewer missed days of school and work.
School Funding in Ohio Over the last few years, we have seen a local government force people out of their homes using the legal tool, eminent domain. I believe that governments should not seize private property purely for profit. Property holders have rights. If the property owners maintain their property, they should not face eminent domain actions to hand the property over to a private developer. Blighted property – which has not been maintained by the owner – is subject to eminent domain. But the term, “blighted”, must be carefully defined. Old and modestly priced property is not necessarily blighted. Government should put people first. Our quality of life must be maintained. And that includes the right to stay in our homes, so long as we take care of them, and so long as there is no over-reaching PUBLIC purpose.
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Paid for by the Friends of Connie Pillich
Daniel Ticotsky, Treasurer 2328 Easthill Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208