Regionalism

Government in Ohio was designed for pioneers. Literally. This system works great for rural counties with a traditional county-seat in the middle, but it does not provide metropolitan regions the flexibility to be competitive nationally. People blame the “rust-belt” for the decline of large Ohio cities, but places like Pittsburgh and Indianapolis have demonstrated that midwestern decline is a policy failure, not an inherent one. Columbus has long been the most regional-centric Ohio city and it has succeeded where others have faltered. The Ohio Constitution provides a solution for cities ravaged by fragmentation in the form of county charters but so far only two counties—Summit and Cuyahoga—have taken advantage of this provision.

Dayton may never be able to achieve a county charter thanks to some dirty tricks by local politicians, but we can follow Columbus’ model of regional cooperation and coalescing around the urban core.

Election Reform

Ranked-Choice voting is a system that allows voters to “rank” candidates from most to least preferred. If your first choice is eliminated then your vote goes to your second choice.

There are many advantages to ranked-choice voting. It is more fair, it ensures candidates are accepted by the majority of voters, and it allows for voters to choose non-party or third-party candidates without feeling like they’re throwing their vote away.

We’re working to bring ranked-choice voting to all local elections in Montgomery County, starting with the City of Dayton. From there, we will work with like-minded organizations to bring voting reforms to the entire state of Ohio.

We also support other forms of election reform such as automatic voter registration, nonpartisan boards of elections, and removing barriers for nonpartisan or nontraditional candidates.

Equitable Taxes

Property taxes are essential to pay for local services but the way they are assessed and levied are fundamentally unfair. They penalize homeowners for making improvements and being good stewards to the community.

Corporations, on the other hand, are offered all sorts of tax incentives to move into the area. These incentives vary wildly depending on whose campaign they donated to or who has a connection with the local government.

But nobody gets shafted by unfair taxes like Ohio students, who are burded by a funding system that was declared unconstitutional over twenty years ago. Ohio school districts are drawn to ensure that wealthy Ohioans attend the best funded schools and poor Ohioans don’t stand a chance.