Latest / Chuck Douglas / Ohio Senator Michele Reynolds

Transcript

Ohio Senator Michele Reynolds · Chuck Douglas

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  Speaker 1: Greetings, salutations, welcome, my friends, to another edition of the
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  Speaker 1: Power Hour on 610 WTVN. I'm Chuck Douglas. You know
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  Speaker 1: who you are. We take it from there. We get
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  Speaker 1: one hour together, which means I talk really fast and
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  Speaker 1: you must listen even faster. My number is 821-9886, 821-WTVN, 1-800-610-WTVN.
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  Speaker 1: And tonight in studio, once again, because I'm trying to
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  Speaker 1: get as many candidates in here as I possibly can.
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  Speaker 1: I'm cramming them in like sardines is what I'm doing.
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  Speaker 1: She is the incumbent state senator, District 3. Her name
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  Speaker 1: is Michelle Reynolds. Kind enough to stop by tonight. And
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  Speaker 1: spend some time with me. And first of all, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for that. I know you've been busy.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, Chuck. Good to be on your show.
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  Speaker 1: You've been kind of wearing out the shoes and knocking
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  Speaker 1: on doors and doing all that political stuff. And are
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  Speaker 1: you enjoying it?
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  Speaker 3: I am.
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  Speaker 2: I'm covering all the bases. We are going to win
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  Speaker 2: November 3rd.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I mean, when you talk politics with people, generally,
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  Speaker 1: if they have something to complain about, they complain freely.
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  Speaker 1: I can't think of anything that somebody's coming to me
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  Speaker 1: and going, oh, I can't stand that about her. You
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  Speaker 1: seem to be pretty well received. I mean, maybe it's
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  Speaker 1: just my perception, but are you doing okay according to
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  Speaker 1: most of your folks in District 3?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: You know, they know me as a results-driven candidate, somebody
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  Speaker 3: who gets the job done. I'm known for my results, and,
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  Speaker 3: you know, I show up for work every day. I
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  Speaker 3: work hard, and I try to solve problems, which is
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  Speaker 3: why I ran for office.
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  Speaker 1: What do you put your, what's the feather in your
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  Speaker 1: cap moment for this first term? Is there something you thought,
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  Speaker 1: I got this done. I'm so proud of that.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I'm very proud of my work in housing. Obviously
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  Speaker 3: it's a national platform. Now people are talking about affordable
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  Speaker 3: housing and that's kind of one of the big ticket items.
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  Speaker 3: But look, we were doing this four years ago when
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  Speaker 3: I first came to office, I knew housing was a
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  Speaker 3: challenge and that it was something that we need to
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  Speaker 3: pay attention to. And we weren't doing that at the
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  Speaker 3: state house. There wasn't even a committee on housing and,
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  Speaker 3: I got to lead the charge of having the first
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  Speaker 3: Senate select committee on housing. And now it is a
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  Speaker 3: standing committee because of the work that we've done going
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  Speaker 3: across the state, finding out what the challenges and opportunities
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  Speaker 3: are for more housing in Ohio. And now we have
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  Speaker 3: people coming together, Democrats and Republicans alike, are talking about
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  Speaker 3: this issue. But we didn't just talk. We got things done.
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  Speaker 3: We got $ 125 million in the budget for more housing
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  Speaker 3: in to be built in the state of Ohio to
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  Speaker 3: make it more affordable for the jobs that are also
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  Speaker 3: coming in. So I'm very proud of that work.
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  Speaker 1: Is there any conversation that's been had about the existing housing,
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  Speaker 1: the vacant housing? I don't know what the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the state is like, but man, I'm sick of seeing
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  Speaker 1: orange stickers on doors in Columbus and especially around my
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  Speaker 1: beloved West side. I'm thinking there should be neighbors in
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  Speaker 1: here making this a neighborhood again, instead of all these
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  Speaker 1: abandoned structures.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: We need everything. I mean, We're growing leaps and bounds
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  Speaker 3: in the state of Ohio. It's like the tale of
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  Speaker 3: two cities. On the one hand, in your urban corridor,
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  Speaker 3: we don't have enough housing to take care of the density,
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  Speaker 3: the population that we have that's growing. And then in
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  Speaker 3: our rural corridors, we are losing population because it's just
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  Speaker 3: very expensive to build there and the infrastructure is not there.
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  Speaker 1: It's old.
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  Speaker 3: And for developers to come in and develop there, it's expensive.
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  Speaker 3: And also we want to preserve farmland. So You know,
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  Speaker 3: it's a toss up. But one thing that we're doing
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  Speaker 3: in Ohio is we're growing leaps and bounds. People are
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  Speaker 3: not only moving here, people are staying here because of
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  Speaker 3: the jobs. And we continue to push jobs as an
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  Speaker 3: economic creator here in Ohio. And so we love our state.
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  Speaker 3: We want it to be affordable. We want our kids
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  Speaker 3: to be able to stay here, thrive here, live here, work,
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  Speaker 3: play here. And that's the kind of thing that we're
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  Speaker 3: doing in Ohio. But at the same time, we have
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  Speaker 3: property taxes that we're contending with.
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  Speaker 1: And that's everybody's issue right now, and I don't suppose
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  Speaker 1: there's anybody that's been on the air that I haven't
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  Speaker 1: talked about property tax. Do you have a plan in
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  Speaker 1: the back of your head somewhere? Because I hate property taxes.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I understand.
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  Speaker 1: It's ridiculous to continue to rent something that you bought
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  Speaker 1: with your post-tax dollars. You've paid it off, and you're
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  Speaker 1: still paying the government for the right to have it. However,
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  Speaker 1: we have an entire infrastructure built on those property taxes.
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  Speaker 1: How do we refund... everything that is funded through property taxes.
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  Speaker 3: So it's definitely like peeling an onion. And I mean, look,
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  Speaker 3: I'm paying property taxes well above what I think is
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  Speaker 3: a fair share. However, because the current system has us
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  Speaker 3: paying for and funding everything in our local government, local community,
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  Speaker 3: first responders, also our schools, until we fix that equation,
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  Speaker 3: we have to do something about property taxes. And so
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  Speaker 3: what we've done in the Ohio General Assembly is we've
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  Speaker 3: tried to bring a significant amount of relief with the
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  Speaker 3: current system to the tune.
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  Speaker 2: Of $ 3. 2 billion in.
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  Speaker 3: Property tax relief, especially for our homesteaders, that you will
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  Speaker 3: start to see in 2027 when the tax bills come out.
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  Speaker 3: I understand that it's counterintuitive. I'm a real estate agent,
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  Speaker 3: and I've seen the market go up and down and
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  Speaker 3: up and down. And even as a property owner myself,
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  Speaker 3: I pay just as much in property taxes as I
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  Speaker 3: do in my regular mortgage.
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  Speaker 2: And that's not okay.
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  Speaker 3: So I understand that this is a problem and we
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  Speaker 3: have to fix the root of the problem. We can't just,
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  Speaker 3: you know, fix the top. We have to fix the bottom.
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  Speaker 3: And so that's what I'm looking forward to us doing
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  Speaker 3: in the General Assembly.
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  Speaker 1: And you, you're the District 3. It's like New Albany, Worthington.
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  Speaker 1: What are your boundaries?
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  Speaker 3: So because of redistricting, my district has changed. When I
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  Speaker 3: first ran for office, it was New Albany and Westerville
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  Speaker 3: and Gahanna and Reynoldsburg, now Winchester, where I live. But
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  Speaker 3: now due to redistricting starting a year ago, my district
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  Speaker 3: is now all the lower part of Franklin County, which
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  Speaker 3: starts at Reynoldsburg and goes kind of like this inverted
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  Speaker 3: C up to the hilltop. And then all of Madison
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  Speaker 3: County and all of Pickaway County.
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  Speaker 1: Holy smokes. And I say that with all reverence. That
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  Speaker 1: is difficult not to. not just because of the spread
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  Speaker 1: of the land, but the diversity of the interest of
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  Speaker 1: the people in those areas.
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  Speaker 3: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: You start talking about Madison and Pickaway County and Canal Winchester.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 1: Completely different beasts. The people on either side, they've got
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  Speaker 1: completely different worries. That's got to be kind of challenging
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  Speaker 1: to try to make sure that you're hearing and responding
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  Speaker 1: to such diverse people.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that's what makes it unique, me unique
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  Speaker 3: as the candidate, to be honest with you, because, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I have rural roots.
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  Speaker 2: I grew up in Jefferson County. I'm from the Ohio Valley.
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  Speaker 3: So I understand rural areas very much so because that's
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  Speaker 3: where I grew up.
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  Speaker 2: I grew up in Appalachia.
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  Speaker 3: I've also been in Franklin County for the past 25 years.
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  Speaker 3: And I, you know, I live in the suburbs as
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  Speaker 3: well in Canal Winchester and have raised my family there.
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  Speaker 3: So this district reflects the diversity that I bring to
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  Speaker 3: the table. And I've also been a business owner for
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  Speaker 3: the last 30 years. So before I even came to office,
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  Speaker 3: I actually understood the other side of public policy and
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  Speaker 3: how it affects your life. And I worked creating jobs,
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  Speaker 3: building a business, understanding what it takes to sign a
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  Speaker 3: paycheck to make sure that people continue to be paid.
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  Speaker 3: So I bring a job creator's perspective to the statehouse.
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  Speaker 3: And then I'm here to solve problems. But I understand
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  Speaker 3: that those that are closest to the problem are closest
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  Speaker 3: to the solution. So District 3 needs a unique person,
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  Speaker 3: and I'm that person. And I love representing this district
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  Speaker 3: because it is the breath of the diversity that I
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  Speaker 3: bring to the table.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I ask you about what you hang your hat
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  Speaker 1: on for this first term. What about the second bite
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  Speaker 1: at the apple? Is there anything that has passed you
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  Speaker 1: by and you're thinking, man, I've got to get back
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  Speaker 1: in there because we've got to get this handled. I
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  Speaker 1: want to be a part of this. Is there something
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  Speaker 1: that is in your mind?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: What do you want to go back after?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I'm proud of various things that I've done. I
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  Speaker 3: love passed a bill in child care that is much needed.
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  Speaker 3: But there is a bill that is pending right now,
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  Speaker 3: and we may have to bring it back, but it
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  Speaker 3: is to keep our children safe online. And we know
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  Speaker 3: that our kids have a whole life online that parents
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  Speaker 3: at middle age don't necessarily even know the depths of
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  Speaker 3: how kids are getting into things online. But I have
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  Speaker 3: a bill called Haley's Law, and it's after the young
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  Speaker 3: lady that was murdered in Ohio, but she's from Indiana,
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  Speaker 3: but she hooked up with a man, an Ohio man
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  Speaker 3: playing Roblox and got into a chat room or what
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  Speaker 3: have you. And they hooked up and he picked her up,
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  Speaker 3: brought her to Ohio and killed her. And he just
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  Speaker 3: recently was on trial for that. But we have to
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  Speaker 3: tighten our laws. And obviously there's, you know, First Amendment
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  Speaker 3: protections about, you know, speech and, things like that. But
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  Speaker 3: I have a parental consent bill that actually helps our
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  Speaker 3: parents be able to give parental consent about, you know,
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  Speaker 3: teenagers online prior to them downloading certain apps and things
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  Speaker 3: like that. So it's an app store bill, but it's
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  Speaker 3: a parental accountability bill that we can actually help our
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  Speaker 3: parents be able to govern our kids online because they
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  Speaker 3: have a whole life beyond us. Used to be when
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  Speaker 3: we were kids, if our parents saw somebody that was,
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  Speaker 3: you know, a shady character and said, Hey, I don't
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  Speaker 3: want you hanging out with them. They could see your friends.
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  Speaker 3: Now you can't see their friends online. And that's very scary.
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  Speaker 3: And we're getting people that are perpetrating our kids online.
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  Speaker 3: So I want to bring that back. I want to
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  Speaker 3: get that done.
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  Speaker 1: Hand in hand with that. You know, you're going to
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  Speaker 1: have to also educate and inspire parents because I had
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  Speaker 1: been singing about Roblox for at least two and a
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  Speaker 1: half years. The FBI actually warned about these chat rooms
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  Speaker 1: on Roblox, which, can be commandoed, taken over, and your
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  Speaker 1: kid thinks they're talking to some other kid, and that
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  Speaker 1: kid is no longer in the conversation. Some pervert somewhere
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  Speaker 1: has taken over.
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  Speaker 2: That's exactly what's happening.
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  Speaker 1: And I don't know why that game is allowed to
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  Speaker 1: exist with those chats available inside for people to be
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  Speaker 1: able to do that. Until that hole is patched, they
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  Speaker 1: shouldn't be accessible.
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  Speaker 3: And for a middle-aged parent like me, it takes almost
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  Speaker 3: a younger person to even train us on how these
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  Speaker 3: things work. You know, I have legislative aides that are
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  Speaker 3: younger and they had to teach me how a kid
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  Speaker 3: can even go into these rooms and how you can
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  Speaker 3: hide because parents just don't know that they don't understand it.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, we have social media apps that disappear after
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  Speaker 3: you send a message, and then they just disintegrate. So
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  Speaker 3: how do we keep our kids safe online or in
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  Speaker 3: these gaming systems when we don't even understand.
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  Speaker 2: How they operate?
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  Speaker 1: When you pursued that the first time around and started talking,
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  Speaker 1: did you feel like you had support within the Senate?
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  Speaker 1: Is it something where we can see people come together
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  Speaker 1: quickly and start getting it done?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: We have support in the Senate. We have support in
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  Speaker 3: the House. We even have co-sponsored legislation and also companion legislation.
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  Speaker 3: The challenge is that the lobby is so strong. And
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  Speaker 3: so it depends on, you know, what side is on
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  Speaker 3: the table. If it's Meta, Google, if it's Roblox, you know,
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  Speaker 3: it's a strong lobby about, you know, which one is
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  Speaker 3: going to support, what's going to be in opposition, you know.
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  Speaker 2: So it's hard. It's difficult.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure it is difficult because you're going up against
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  Speaker 1: these industrial titans that are going to say, look, if
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  Speaker 1: you want us to spend that $ 32 billion here. There
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  Speaker 1: it is. And, you know, money makes the world go round.
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  Speaker 1: And even if you don't like that thought, it is
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  Speaker 1: the reality of our existence.
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  Speaker 2: That's right.
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  Speaker 3: And it becomes about everything but keeping our kids safe.
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  Speaker 3: And truly, you know, we're trying to hold the developers
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  Speaker 3: accountable for, you know, having parental consent and things like that. However,
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  Speaker 3: we also need to train our parents. And I know
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  Speaker 3: it's a busy world. We're all working and things like that.
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  Speaker 3: But we need to educate our parents and make it
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  Speaker 3: easy for them to keep their kids safe online.
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  Speaker 1: Her name is Michelle Reynolds. She is the incumbent senator
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  Speaker 1: in the Ohio Senate District 3. And, yeah, we have
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  Speaker 1: her for the whole hour. So just hang on. Plenty
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  Speaker 1: more questions to come. And I don't think she's going
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  Speaker 1: to bolt for the door. She seems pretty comfortable at
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  Speaker 1: this point. Right now, though, it's time for us to
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: get a check of traffic. So let's get that handled.
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  Speaker 1: From Ches Brown, Chevrolet GMC on Route 23 in Delaware.
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  Speaker 1: How's it going?