COLUMBUS, Ohio — There is nearly over a month until Election Day in November. While the elections for president and U.S. Senate are grabbing most of the headlines, there are some compelling races to watch at the Ohio Statehouse.
Among them, House District 4, which is located in central Ohio, features one of the newest state lawmakers trying to fend off a Republican challenger. Democratic state Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio was appointed to the seat when State Rep. Mary Lightbody resigned during her term.
Now, Jason Allevato, who works in the private sector and served as an economist in the U.S. Department of Commerce under President George W. Bush, is facing off Brown Piccolantonio.
Brown Piccolantonio has only been at the Ohio Statehouse for seven months. But she is proud of how quickly she’s been able to make an impact during her time there.
"I pretty much hit the ground running," said Piccolantonio. "I had my first committee meeting at 9 a.m. the day after I was appointed. It was really important to me that my constituents not feel any impact from having their state representative step out early."
The former Gahanna-Jefferson school board president is looking to win her first full term, and said one of her priorities is to help school boards across the state.
"There has been a tremendous amount of legislation that has actually encroached on the ability for our locally elected school boards to make decisions," Brown Piccolantonio said.
During her short time in office, Brown Piccoloantonio has already introduced nine bills. They range from election-related legislation, to reproductive care, and even school bussing improvements. She believes heavily in bipartisan work to turn proposals into law.
"I feel like I am exactly where I'm supposed to be right now," Brown Piccolantonio said. "I feel like I'm doing the work that I should be doing."
This November the district seat is up for grabs, and Jason Allevato who is running as a Republican in the district is no stranger to politics.
"I have a deep and extensive professional and academic background," said Allevato who is a candidate for the Fourth Statehouse district. "That is particularly well suited to address the litany of different business and development-related issues."
Allevato has experience in both the public and private sectors, and has served as an Economist in the U.S. Department of Commerce under President George W. Bush before launching his own investment firm which focuses on growing local mom and pop shops. He says he wants to help with a broad range of issues impacting local Ohioans.
"I think the primary driver at least in the eyes of the constituents are really the property taxes," Allevato said.
He believes the recent jump in taxes could begin to price some people out of their homes. But Allevato said if he takes office,then he will make it a priority to help alleviate the heavy tax burden on local Ohioans.
"I guess increasing homeownership in the homeowner affordability would be a primary concern of mine," said Allevato.
Meanwhile, Allevato also has an eye on the growth that’s expected in his district which includes the area near the Chips plant that Intel is building. While acknowledging the benefits that could bring, he also describes it as a double-edged sword.
"Are we going to have sufficient power to handle all the development things like that really are of primary concern," Allevato said. "And, very important both to make sure the economic development here goes smoothly, but also to make sure that we're able to maintain our quality of life, which is very high already in District 4."