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Democrat John Boccieri, a former congressman and state legislator, and Republican Heather Fronk, a political newcomer, are facing off in the 58th Ohio House District election.
Democrat Lauren McNally of Youngstown, the two-term incumbent, is not seeking reelection and is running as her party's nominee for Mahoning County commissioner.
The 58th District includes Youngstown, Austintown, Poland, Lowellville, Jackson, Milton, Craig Beach and Coitsville. The district favors Democrats by more than 20% based on partisan statewide voting results during the past decade.
Boccieri of Poland served nine years in the Ohio House, two years in the state Senate and two years in the U.S. House. He is a United Airlines pilot and has spent the past 32 years as a member of the Air Force, Air Force Reserve and National Guard.
Fronk of Poland is president and founder of Clothed in Strength. Before that, she spent 13 years working for Huntington Bank.
Boccieri said: "I've served in Washington and Columbus, but I've never seen our politics so broken. I'm concerned about the condition of our country and while I've won races and lost races, I've never lost my integrity while serving in politics. I've wanted to make our Valley proud of my service, to serve with integrity, find ways to move to consensus and do what's right."
Fronk said: "My commitment to the residents of Ohio's 58th House District is simple: show up, listen and deliver. I believe effective representation requires more than identifying challenges. It requires building relationships, understanding how state policies affect our communities, identifying available resources and working collaboratively to deliver meaningful results."
Both candidates said affordability and property tax reforms are key issues.
Boccieri wants Ohio to "shorten supply lines with incentives for local farm-to-grocery programs," provide stability for small businesses from tariffs and the cost of the Iran war by offering temporary reductions of the commercial activities tax, energy relief through Home Energy Assistance Programs, and petition the state's congressional delegation to restore the Medicaid cuts made by the federal government.
Fronk said she will "support responsible tax relief and work toward a more predictable property tax system that protects homeowners, particularly seniors and families on fixed incomes. This includes evaluating reforms to property tax calculations, strengthening targeted homeowner relief where fiscally responsible and reviewing state mandates that shift costs onto local governments and taxpayers."
Fronk also wants to advocate for small businesses and entrepreneurship by "reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens, improving access to state business assistance programs and ensuring that small employers have a voice when legislation affects their operations."
While Boccieri said he supported the inflation cap credit bill that limits the rate of inflation versus huge jumps after property reappraisals, "substantive tax reform is needed to help senior citizens on fixed incomes."
Boccieri said: "Proposals to outright eliminate property taxes as a local revenue source will devastate our communities, schools, local governments and emergency services. We can reform property taxes by providing real relief for senior citizens while allowing a stable funding source to remain."
If elected, Fronk said she would advocate "for a school funding system that is fair, sustainable and understandable to taxpayers." Fronk said she wants to expand career technical education, apprenticeships and workforce partnerships. Fronk also said she supports school choice, but "public investment in education should be accompanied by measurable expectations for student outcomes and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars."
Boccieri said the reduction in the percentage of school funding provided by the state puts more of a burden on property tax owners. Boccieri wants to scrutinize state funding that goes to charter schools.
Boccieri said during his time in elected office, he worked in a bipartisan fashion and would do so again.
"We should find a common ground and find the good that we agree on," he said.
Boccieri also wants to "see a focus on rebuilding and renewing our crumbling cities. Infrastructure repairs, economic development and reducing food deserts are critical for our state's cities to rebound."
Boccieri added more attention must be paid to brownfield redevelopment and infrastructure.
Fronk listed her top priorities as public safety, victim advocacy and building stronger communities.
Fronk said: "Public safety is deeply personal to me. As someone who has experienced domestic violence, I understand the fear, uncertainty and obstacles victims face when trying to protect themselves and their children."
Fronk said she would advocate for funding for law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders; she would push for sustained investment in victim service programs, and she said she wants those who commit violent crimes, particularly involving firearms, to be held accountable.
Fronk said: "I recognize that meaningful change requires collaboration, legislative support and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars," and she promises to "do the work, build the relationships, ask difficult questions and advocate consistently for the people I represent."
Boccieri said: "When people write about the history of this moment, I want to be in it -- striving for meaningful change to move our country, state and community toward a brighter future. I want our citizens to have faith in our institutions and believe, like I do, that great opportunity is in front of us."