At a public forum for the local Ohio House seat yesterday, one candidate stressed the importance of alternative energy while another voiced his disagreement regarding Ohio University students' voting in Athens.
About 40 people gathered at the Athens Public Library, 30 Home St., as 92nd Ohio House District state representative candidates Debbie Phillips, the incumbent Democrat, and Mike Hunter, the Republican challenger, answered questions from citizens and media members about their goals and plans for the state government.
Ty Collinsworth, the Green Party challenger, did not attend the forum.
Phillips advocated the importance of alternative energy sources in the area, adding that there is access to great resources and research facilities in Athens.
(Alternative energy) is a sector of our economy that is actually adding jobs
and when I say that I'm including everything from clean coal to solar and wind Phillips said.
Hunter said most solar and wind power sources are still in the experimental stage. Alternative energy sources would raise costs and create jobs that would not stay, he added.
The candidates also disagreed on the position of student voters in Athens when asked if they deemed it fair that students vote here.
Students should be allowed to vote where they feel at home, Phillips said. Some students are more involved in the Athens community than they are in their home communities, she added.
Hunter disagreed with Phillips.
I don't think its fair
Hunter said. I think students should be voting where they consider home - and home being the person that is paying the bills.
One of Hunter's major goals is to decrease government spending.
The federal spending has become ruinous
and the state is not that far behind
Hunter said, adding that there has been a lack of leadership in fixing the $8 billion deficit in the state budget.
Phillips said she took over the 92nd seat at a difficult time, and that the state has made progress but more is still to come.
We have been dealing with the impacts of a national recession
and we have seen that very clearly in our local community here as well as across the state
Phillips said.
The candidates were also asked their opinions about medical marijuana. Ohio House Bill 478 was proposed in April to legalize the drug for medical use.
It is important to hear all information and issues about the bill, as well as to hear testimony of people who are for and against the bill before making a decision, Phillips said.
Hunter disagreed and said abuse could happen if the bill were to pass.
I think (the bill) is an excuse to try to come in the back door for popular use of marijuana
Hunter said. I have seen that it has been abused in other states.
Both candidates ended the forum by restating their major goals. Hunter said controlling spending is his largest concern, while Phillips said she finds recovering from the recession her most important goal.
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