GOP Statehouse hopefuls both deeply into politics

Both Republican Primary candidates seeking the nomination to challenge Albany Democrat, state Rep. Debbie Phillips, this November say they were motivated to run for office due to their longstanding interests in politics and the political process.

Neither Charles Richter, of Little Hocking, nor Micah Martindale, of Reedsville, have held political office before, but both say they've been interested in politics from an early age.

"My family has always been politically active," said Richter during an interview on Monday. "We always talked politics over the dining-room table. It's always something we were interested in."

Martindale said that he has been interested in politics since his youth, and as he has pursued his education, he has understood the importance of listening and working toward finding solutions.

State Auditor David Yost predicted last week that local government funds will face more cuts going forward. As they have throughout the state, cuts to this funding have led to a number of austerity measures both for Athens County and the city of Athens. Athens County has already laid off some employees.

Asked about further threats to these monies, Richter cited the $8 billion budget deficit the state had faced (the Cleveland Plain Dealer has since reported the actual deficit came in around $5.9 to $6.1 billion).

"Now we can start trying to come back and work on helping local communities," Richter said. "Local communities have been suffering from 2008 since the economy went down."

Martindale said that it's hard to deny the economic stimulus that's needed in southeast Ohio. He said exploring opportunities to bring in revenue is necessary.

"This district is just loaded with beauty and nature," he said. "We have some fine qualities here in southeast Ohio. I think private tourism is a huge boon for other communities, and that's something that needs to be looked into."

Richter said it relates back to jobs, and if more jobs can be created, then that brings in more tax revenue for governments.

"You don't want to cut services but we can't get to the point where we're dealing with massive deficits," he said. "We're talking about an issue where you have to balance money coming in and money going out. And I feel as if as the economy grows, we can start getting more money coming in."

Martindale said that there's an obvious lack of jobs and opportunity in this area. Regulations and red tape hinder the growth of business, he argued.

"I think that those mandates that come down that limit small businesses limit the creativity of the people," he said. "And I think that people of Athens County have talents; they have creativity. They absolutely have the ability to develop businesses but they are restricted."

He said that business growth begets job growth that in turn generates revenue for local governments.

Richter cited horizontal hydraulic fracturing (aka, fracking) bringing in more revenue across the state. He also mentioned Ohio Gov. John Kasich's statement in his State of the State address that Ohio had gone from 43^rd to ninth in job creation.

"That's a big first step," he said, adding that once Ohio is attracting businesses, then southeast Ohio can step up and show what's attractive about locating in this part of the state. He also said the appropriate job training is necessary to attract companies looking for skilled labor.

MARTINDALE SAID THAT looking at manufacturing, it's one area where revenue is truly generated instead of just being spread around.

"You're creating money, if you will," he said. "So manufacturing is huge to bring in."

He said that this area is primed with infrastructure to take advantage of manufacturing opportunities.

"The highway coming in around Nelsonville is going to really free that up even more," he said. "I think we're primed and ready for it, and that is definitely a direction we should head."

In his State of the State address, Gov. Kasich also spoke about partisanship. Richter said that political and ideological polarization has to be avoided in favor of working together for the greater good.

"I know both parties have different agendas and different ways of looking at things," he said. "And we both can't have everything we want. We have to be able to compromise on some issues for the betterment of everybody."

Martindale said his approach will be to listen.

"Too often, instead of listening we start talking and sharing our problems," he said. "But if you are willing to listen, even if they are your so-called enemy across the aisle, you're going to find out you have a lot more commonalities than you think. That's the approach I take."

With regard to the controversial heartbeat bill that the Ohio House has passed and is awaiting consideration by the Ohio Senate, Richter said he views it as a compromise. The bill would prohibit abortions in Ohio if a heartbeat can be detected, and critics say it's among the most extreme abortion bills in the country.

"That's a compromise there," Richter said. "We still allow up to the heartbeat. Whatever their reasons are, that (gives) women time to do something. But it doesn't give them six to nine months. And I'm definitely against partial-birth abortions."

Martindale said that he is pro-life and that the heartbeat bill is legislation that was put forward with positive intent.

"There are 70-plus children a day that are aborted in the state," he said. "I think it's a good attempt to try to address the issue."

Turning to the state of the education system in Ohio, and its declared unconstitutionality, Richter said rural areas have to be taken care of just as well as urban areas are. He said that everybody needs to have opportunities, and the unconstitutionality question has to be addressed.

"We need to work with the school systems but we also need to see what we can do better and to be more efficient to save money," he said. "Now that we've balanced the budget, what can we do for schools? What can we do for education? What can we do for smaller governments? That all ties together."

Martindale said that input from educators is a crucial component to developing an appropriate plan for Ohio.

"Get someone who has a foot in the door of the school to help write this legislation," he said. "Otherwise, they're spending all this money to try to work (mandates) into their system, and it's just slipping through the cracks."

Richter said he's excited about broadband expansion in the state and the Athens area, and cited it as an issue he has been advocating for a while.

Martindale said that his goals in office will be to have the voice of the people heard and to bring to Columbus the issues he's learned about by listening on the campaign trail.