This race is between incumbent Republican Thomas Hall and Democratic challenger Lawrence Mulligan. The candidates’ answers are below, in their own words. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Thomas Hall
Residence: Madison Township
Organizations, boards, previous elected positions: Two Term Madison Township Trustee
Education: Bachelors Degree, Miami University
Current employment: State Representative
Why are you seeking elected office: I am currently seeking a second term in office to continue on the work that we have started as a State Representative and a state as a whole. I am proud of the work that we have been able to accomplish in my first term with getting multiple pieces of legislation passed and signed into law. I hope to continue to work in our newly drawn 46th District with the business community and local elected officials to grow and produce even more economic development then we have already seen.
Why should voters elect you: It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve this great district as their State Representative. A vote for me is a vote for safer communities, economic investment, and opportunities for all. Voters should elect me because of my ability to get things done for this district in Columbus. I have been a strong voice in advocating for our area and hope to continue that advocacy into a second term.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? Safer communities by supporting our first responders, modernizing state government to make it more efficient and save taxpayer money, and work to cut red tape and lower taxes
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? In my experience there is no other option or plan you can have in the legislature or in life but to work hard. Throughout my first term, we have established a proven record of working with colleagues from all across this state to deliver results. Even working across the aisle, as two of my bills that have been signed into law carry bipartisan support. I will continue to work hard and advocate for the things I have set forth as a priority for my district.
Anything else you would like voters to know? It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as a State Representative. While we have had arguably one of the most successful freshman terms, there is still a lot of work to do. I will continue my outreach to voters by taking my message directly to them. This district and county is home. I am from this county, and have lived in this county my entire life. I hope to earn the support for a second term to continue to make this district and county a better place to live and work.
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Lawrence Mulligan
Residence: Middletown
Organizations, boards, previous elected positions: Board Secretary, Sorg Opera Revitalization Group
Education: Bachelor’s Degree; Bowling Green State University
Current employment: Teacher, Bishop Fenwick High School
Why are you seeking elected office: I believe that being a representative requires the person to, in fact, be representative of the people in their community. Butler County is one of the fastest growing regions in the state; as a result, a more diverse population of demographics, backgrounds, and values need to have the issues that matter to them addressed in the Statehouse. Rather than focus on these important issues, the incumbent representative has taken national, hot-button topics that have a detrimental effect on our local communities to score political points. As many of us have witnessed, controversial bills that affect not only school funding but controlling school curriculum and bringing guns into the classroom are being passed at an alarming rate. As an educator, I can provide insights and contribute to meaningful discussions to safeguard and improve our quality of life in Ohio. Local schools have a cascading effect not only on the students who attend but the communities that support them. Growing up in a historically conservative family, I feel that my platform reaches a broad coalition of voters in our district to support common-sense policies that matter to all households regardless of party affiliation.
Why should voters elect you: Hardworking Ohioans are continuing to suffer enormous hardship from low wages, childhood hunger, and limited access to basic needs. A recent report by the Ohio Capital Journal emphasized that the top 1% of earners in the state collectively take in the same total amount of income as the bottom 50%.
The current leadership in Columbus has lined their pockets with the House Bill 6 scandal and created a culture of corruption—ignoring the needs of everyday citizens and running off to cash in with special interests due to the legislative supermajority enabled by gerrymandering. Because of this, reckless and corrupt politics dominates the statehouse and results in painful, real-world impacts on people’s lives.
Locally in Butler County, we have witnessed multiple indictments levied against our County Auditor and ethics investigations into Township Trustees. I believe that we need transparency and accountability alongside a platform that empowers working families in Ohio.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities? Education reform, Gun Sense Legislation, and Climate Change
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? Climate change is a clear and present danger to our way of life as we witness more extreme weather events dominating the news cycle. As a state, Ohio needs to take leadership on the issue to build infrastructure and policies to preserve our most crucial assets and natural resources such as our Great Lakes and riverways. We also see the effects of air pollution hotspots in and around Middletown. Statewide, 1 in 12 children in Ohio suffer from asthma due to lax environmental standards. We have the tools and resources to combat climate change and it’s time to end the red tape and corruption that props up older, polluting energy methods and instead create new jobs and renewable infrastructure.
Regarding gun safety, my opponent is the primary sponsor of House Bill 99 which passed into law this summer and arms teachers and staff with as little as 24 hours of training. This legislation is overwhelmingly opposed by educators, police unions, students, and parents. Recently, Ohio passed controversial gun laws that increase the amount of risk in our communities that weapons end up into the wrong hands. We should instead pass legislation to close the “gun show loophole” that is supported by most Ohioans and gun owners.
Finally, we need to ensure that the recently passed fair school funding formula is a permanent fixture in future state budgets, and that efforts to defund, dismantle, and undermine public education through the “Backpack Bill,” “Divisive Concepts Bill” and other controversial legislative pieces are stopped.
Anything else you would like voters to know? I’d like to leave voters with a story, a vision, and a question.
During my time as a student at Bowling Green, I passed a mural on my way to classes with the quote that “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” It’s an idea that I hold dear and ask myself when I go to the ballot box every fall.
When the time comes to look back at this inflection point, I want to tell my child that we did everything we could to combat the gerrymandering and corruption in Ohio to preserve our representative democracy. I want to tell them that they don’t need to wear a bulletproof backpack to school because we came together as a community to solve the epidemic of gun violence. And I want them to know that the communities we love and cherish will be here beyond their own children, because we invested in their future to combat climate change.
You will see two distinct campaign platforms this fall: one that looks to build on the idea of a coalition and consensus to decide what is best for our communities and preserve the rights of all citizens. Another, built on the idea that “might’ is right.” That more guns will solve the issue of violence, we should censor ideas in the classroom, and control the personal decisions of residents across Ohio.
My question to voters will be, what future do you want for your children?