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More With Ohio Senator Michele Reynolds · Chuck Douglas

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  Speaker 1: All righty then. 25 minutes away at the top of
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  Speaker 1: the hour, Chuck Douglas and the Power Hour on 610 WTV.
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  Speaker 1: And we're loaded every night this week, by the way. Well,
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  Speaker 1: of course, there's Bucks line Thursday night, so I'm not
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  Speaker 1: with you. But I've got somebody for you every single night. Tonight,
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  Speaker 1: it is the incumbent state senator, District 3, which is
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  Speaker 1: way bigger than it used to be in the Ohio Senate.
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  Speaker 1: And how many people, when they changed those boundaries, how
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  Speaker 1: many people did you pick up? Obviously, you picked up
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  Speaker 1: a lot of square miles.
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  Speaker 2: But Yes, there's still about 360,000 constituents. It's a big district.
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  Speaker 1: That is, I mean, yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And now it's three counties and not just the one county.
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  Speaker 2: I had Franklin County, and now I have all three counties. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: so people wonder why I have an RV. Well, I
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  Speaker 2: have an RV because I have three counties that I
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  Speaker 2: like to make sure people know I am there.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, you do look like Elvis is touring again when
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  Speaker 1: you pull up somewhere. She's got a big RV with
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  Speaker 1: her face on the side of it and all that,
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  Speaker 1: and I'm like, get out of here with that. Man,
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  Speaker 1: if I was running for office, I'd show up on
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  Speaker 1: a moped. But you got style. I'll give you that.
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  Speaker 1: Pickaway County and Madison County, I imagine one of the
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  Speaker 1: things you kind of alluded to it before the break,
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  Speaker 1: you're hearing the most about is data centers, probably solar farms. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: That's a hard, hard call right now. Yeah. What are
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  Speaker 1: your thoughts? Where do you stand? Have you drawn any
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  Speaker 1: lines in the sand on the issues?
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  Speaker 2: Well, let me tell you what I have done. So
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  Speaker 2: in Madison County, when I was– brand new to the district,
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  Speaker 2: they were facing a biodigester that was coming into the community.
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  Speaker 2: And it was something that the locals did not like whatsoever,
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  Speaker 2: not because biodigesters per se are bad, but because where
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  Speaker 2: they wanted to locate this in a residential neighborhood.
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  Speaker 1: What is that, like a big composter?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, like a big composter. And it makes a lot
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  Speaker 2: of noise. There's environmental implications about this. And it just
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  Speaker 2: didn't belong in the residential neighborhood. And so I actually
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  Speaker 2: attended one of my first town hall meetings with the locals,
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  Speaker 2: and there was over 300 people there, no lie, like
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  Speaker 2: in an auditorium. And, I mean, people were coming out
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  Speaker 2: with almost like pitchforks. They did not want that there.
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  Speaker 2: And it's a BlackRock. It's a BlackRock development. So, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I delved in with my counterpart, Brian Stewart, And with
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  Speaker 2: the local county commissioners, and I started to go to
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  Speaker 2: Senate majority, and I said, look, we got to do
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  Speaker 2: something about this because they don't want to hear. Look,
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  Speaker 2: I don't live in that area. Biodigesters I hear per
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  Speaker 2: se are okay, but where it's going to be located
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  Speaker 2: is bad. And so single-handedly, we sat down with the
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  Speaker 2: development of BlackRock and had some conversations and said, look,
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  Speaker 2: if you don't back down, we're going to pass some
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  Speaker 2: legislation that'll not only back you down and give the
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  Speaker 2: locals a say in what you'll be able to do
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  Speaker 2: in their communities all over the state of Ohio, not
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  Speaker 2: just here. And they backed up. They dropped the project. Now,
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  Speaker 2: they could legally do it. They went through Ohio Power
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  Speaker 2: Siding Board. They did everything according to law that they
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  Speaker 2: could do, but we were able to get that back down.
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  Speaker 2: So that was one. Second test was there was also
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  Speaker 2: some dumping that was going on, sewage dumping in Lake
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  Speaker 2: Choctaw in Madison County. And the county commissioner came to
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  Speaker 2: me and said, look, you know, the board has voted
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  Speaker 2: to allow this. It's something we don't want here. I
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  Speaker 2: wrote a letter to the Ohio EPA and citing board
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  Speaker 2: and said, look, you know, I'm strongly opposed this because
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  Speaker 2: my local constituents don't like it. And somehow it stopped.
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  Speaker 2: So we were able to get that done. I'm not
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  Speaker 2: suggesting that I can stop the data centers. However, What
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  Speaker 2: I recently have done at the request of my residents
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  Speaker 2: in Asheville is requested that there be an independent assessment
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  Speaker 2: done on the aquaphor at Taze Valley because it is
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  Speaker 2: very sensitive and they want, and rightfully so, constituents want
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  Speaker 2: to know that what would be the impact of that
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  Speaker 2: if there's a data center? What would be the impact
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  Speaker 2: to that water infrastructure? What would be the impact to
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  Speaker 2: water bills? You know, energy, all of that. They want
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  Speaker 2: to know, they want to have all the facts before
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  Speaker 2: that decision is made to build a data center there.
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  Speaker 2: And so, you know, giving them the voice that I
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  Speaker 2: was elected to do, I did that for them. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I am very sensitive about local issues because
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  Speaker 2: I was a township trustee prior to coming to the
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  Speaker 2: state house. I serve my local community and I realize
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  Speaker 2: here in Ohio that, you know, a lot of these
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  Speaker 2: issues are local and I feel like I have a
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  Speaker 2: call to the small and I can't make decisions for
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  Speaker 2: a community that has to live with it. But what
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  Speaker 2: I can do is use my influence, use my voice
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  Speaker 2: to speak for them and say that they need to
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  Speaker 2: be taken seriously.
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  Speaker 1: Both those stories, immediate common sense questions pop into my head.
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  Speaker 1: First of all, with the biodigester, both Pickaway and Madison
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  Speaker 1: County have plenty of way out there. What was the
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  Speaker 1: reasoning for wanting it in a residential area to begin with? Exactly.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, and they feel like they've been already imposed
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  Speaker 2: on with solar farms. You know, they're very agricultural. This
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  Speaker 2: is where we feed America. This is where we grow
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  Speaker 2: our food. You know, I sit on the Agriculture Committee,
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  Speaker 2: and I can respect because I'm from the Ohio Valley.
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  Speaker 2: I'm from Appalachia. I can respect God's country and all
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  Speaker 2: of the things that we do there. to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that we are raising our families, growing our food, feeding America.
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  Speaker 2: So some places don't need development. But the areas that do,
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  Speaker 2: we need smart growth because we're also building in Asheville area,
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  Speaker 2: we're also building Andral. So, you know, that's where when
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  Speaker 2: you have big developments like that for jobs, then you
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  Speaker 2: need some housing infrastructure that's in closer proximity so that
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  Speaker 2: people can live close to where they work. So we
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  Speaker 2: need to grow strategically, but that doesn't mean we need
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  Speaker 2: to grow everywhere. And I feel like our residents in
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  Speaker 2: Madison Township and Pickaway and some of our rural communities,
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  Speaker 2: they feel like we've already given up enough of the
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  Speaker 2: farm to these major developments. Not to say that, you know,
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  Speaker 2: the thing is, is that if they want to be there,
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  Speaker 2: if the community welcomes them there, then it should be
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  Speaker 2: some sort of community benefit agreement of how everybody wins,
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  Speaker 2: but not on the backs of residents. not on the
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  Speaker 2: backs of people that live there should they be able
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  Speaker 2: to grow. And they shouldn't get any tax incentives. So
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  Speaker 2: I think that's already been made clear. But we need
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  Speaker 2: locals to be able to have a seat at the
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  Speaker 2: table and to voice their concerns. And then if they
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  Speaker 2: welcome a development there, so be it. Then, you know,
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  Speaker 2: everybody wins in that respect.
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  Speaker 1: We are to the stage now where tax incentives at
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  Speaker 1: any level make me angry. Yeah, absolutely. We are the
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  Speaker 1: great state of Ohio and, you know, even here in Columbus.
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  Speaker 1: There's this it's almost I've called it a streetwalker mentality
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  Speaker 1: where we just we act as if we are desperate.
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  Speaker 1: The fact of the matter is we are a prime
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  Speaker 1: place for these people to do business, to bring their businesses.
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  Speaker 1: And we need to start acting like we have something
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  Speaker 1: to offer instead of begging for business with tax incentives
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  Speaker 1: all the time.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. And then our communities also have needs. So, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they're not bad per se. Obviously, we love our technology.
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  Speaker 2: But there's a time and place for everything. You know,
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  Speaker 2: where I'm from, I grew up where there were coal fields,
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  Speaker 2: there were coal mines, and we shut that down. So
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  Speaker 2: now we have all this blight and dilapidation in these
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  Speaker 2: old coal mines. That's a perfect place to put a
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  Speaker 2: data center because it was already a big coal mine. Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Yes.
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  Speaker 2: At brownfields. You know, there are areas that need growth
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  Speaker 2: and development that need jobs. Back in my hometown, because
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  Speaker 2: I'm from a small community outside of Steubenville, it's called Smithfield, Ohio,
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  Speaker 2: there's no infrastructure. There's no jobs. There's no economic development.
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  Speaker 2: People are raising families off of Walmart income and could
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  Speaker 2: totally use some sort of economic development in those parts.
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  Speaker 2: So we need to be smart and strategic. And I
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  Speaker 2: think that if we take our time and we innovate
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  Speaker 2: a little bit better and smarter, then everybody can win.
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  Speaker 1: You mentioned the mines, and believe it or not, about
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  Speaker 1: 48 hours ago, I was actually thinking about, especially in
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  Speaker 1: southern Ohio, with all of the abandoned mines.
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  Speaker 2: There it is.
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  Speaker 1: Underground is automatically cooled, so that's going to save them
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  Speaker 1: a fortune on having to cool. The water production or
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  Speaker 1: the water need is going to go down. This is
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  Speaker 1: something they need to be talking about. Plus, if it's
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  Speaker 1: in an old mine, it's not an eyesore to the
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  Speaker 1: rest of us. They can put a golf course on top,
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  Speaker 1: and you don't even know it's there.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. And I don't think anyone would have a
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  Speaker 2: problem with that. Like I said, it's about where it's located.
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  Speaker 2: Why are we taking prime land and things like that?
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  Speaker 2: And also, we want to make sure that we are
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  Speaker 2: being smart about environmental protection, the things that we don't
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  Speaker 2: know down the line what it's going to look like.
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  Speaker 2: So I just think everybody having all the facts and
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  Speaker 2: making– Their own informed decision is the right way to go.
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  Speaker 1: And we've got to, you know, believe it or not,
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  Speaker 1: you and I are both realtors. I've got clients looking
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  Speaker 1: in the Madison County area, and the absolute top of
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  Speaker 1: the list of things to consider if they find something like,
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  Speaker 1: is this protected land on the other side because I
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  Speaker 1: don't want a data center, I don't want a solar farm,
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  Speaker 1: that is something that is really starting to become prominent
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  Speaker 1: with people. They want to know that if they build
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  Speaker 1: this home or buy this home, They won't look across
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  Speaker 1: the street and see a bunch of mirrors in two years.
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  Speaker 2: And, you know, the fact of the matter is when
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  Speaker 2: we first innovate anything, it's bigger than it needs to be. Like,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the first computer was the size of a bedroom.
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  Speaker 2: The first car was like two blocks long. So as
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  Speaker 2: we get, you know, as we progress, things get smaller.
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  Speaker 2: So I would hope that the footprint of the data
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  Speaker 2: center could get smaller. I'm not sure. Right now they're
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  Speaker 2: really big and oversized and what have you, but. I
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  Speaker 2: think that as time goes on, we're going to be
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  Speaker 2: able to have more power with less footprint.
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  Speaker 1: The idea of technology moving forward is a frightening one
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  Speaker 1: to me, but it's also a necessary one. And I
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  Speaker 1: don't want to be one of those people, but there
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  Speaker 1: are some practical things to consider. If These dollars, and
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  Speaker 1: we're talking about billions of dollars, are going to roll
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  Speaker 1: into a state in the Midwest. Do you want them
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  Speaker 1: in Ohio or Indiana? That's the first question to answer. Now,
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  Speaker 1: if the answer is Ohio, now we have to sit
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  Speaker 1: down and talk strategy. How do we do it as
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  Speaker 1: to not harm the state, as to not harm the people,
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  Speaker 1: and as to bring the business in all at the
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  Speaker 1: same time? And that's a tightrope to walk.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that is the question, and that's where we
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  Speaker 2: really need to make sure that everyone has all the
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  Speaker 2: facts because it is important. that as we're growing, there's
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  Speaker 2: other states around us that are going to have them, right?
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  Speaker 2: And so as we're looking at developing and being a
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  Speaker 2: place where we can have our kids live here, everybody
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  Speaker 2: can do well, I mean, we're talking about wages that
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  Speaker 2: are very comfortable and being able to afford a home
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  Speaker 2: and all of the wonderful things that life has to offer.
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  Speaker 2: We have to make sure that we're not just cutting
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  Speaker 2: off our nose to spite our face. So the real
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  Speaker 2: conversation is when you're trying to make a decision for
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  Speaker 2: your home, you got to have all the facts. And
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  Speaker 2: once you have all the facts, you say, okay, now
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  Speaker 2: let's look at, okay, I have the facts. If we're
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  Speaker 2: going to have this here, I want to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that there is a value proposition. What am I getting
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  Speaker 2: out of the deal? And if a community has all
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  Speaker 2: the facts and they're willing to take that risk and
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  Speaker 2: also get the benefits, then so be it. But if
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  Speaker 2: they decide as a community, we don't want this here,
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  Speaker 2: regardless of that, then that's their choice.
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  Speaker 1: You got any handshaking, baby kissing things coming up for
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  Speaker 1: the rest of this week where people can come out
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  Speaker 1: and see you, meet you, talk to you, that kind
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  Speaker 1: of thing?
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  Speaker 2: Well, yes. So we just rounded out the pumpkin show.
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  Speaker 2: It was wonderful in Pickaway County. So that's over. But,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Trick or Treat is right around the corner.
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  Speaker 2: So every community is having Halloween Trick or Treat, and
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  Speaker 2: I'll be showing up to various spots all over the
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  Speaker 2: county and all over the district. However, Early Vote Center,
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  Speaker 2: I'm out there with the RV. The RV is there
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  Speaker 2: every day. I make some guest appearances and I talk
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  Speaker 2: to voters. I'm still knocking doors every single day, which
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  Speaker 2: is good. I'm getting around the district talking to voters
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  Speaker 2: about what matters to them. And we're just going to
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  Speaker 2: finish strong. We have eight days left. So, yeah, there's
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  Speaker 2: no telling where I'll be tomorrow because, you know, I
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  Speaker 2: have others that keep my calendar, but I show up
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  Speaker 2: anywhere that I'm supposed to be.
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  Speaker 1: Social media, website, how do people look you up and
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  Speaker 1: see more about you?
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  Speaker 2: So Michelle Reynolds, a lot of people like to spell
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  Speaker 2: my name with two L's, but I say that I
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  Speaker 2: have no hell in my name. It's Michelle with one
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  Speaker 2: L Michelle underscore Reynolds, um, for Instagram. And then you
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  Speaker 2: can just look me up on Facebook. I'm on Facebook,
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  Speaker 2: Michelle Reynolds. Um, the name of my campaign committee is
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  Speaker 2: friends of Michelle Reynolds. So, you know, people can, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you can Google me, you'll find me, but I do
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  Speaker 2: have all the socials. So I'm on X, I'm on, uh, Facebook, Instagram,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we even have, uh, the TikTok and all
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  Speaker 2: that kind of stuff. But I'll be honest, I have
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  Speaker 2: younger people around me that manage that stuff. So I
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  Speaker 2: just show up where they tell me to show up
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  Speaker 2: and I do my thing, but I'm all about getting results.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 1: As has been my tradition with every other candidate that's
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  Speaker 1: coming here the last couple of minutes, I get out
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  Speaker 1: of your way, let you make your case and explain
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  Speaker 1: to the world why they should support you on the 3rd.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I am State Senator Michelle Reynolds. It's been an
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  Speaker 2: honor serving the people of Senate District 3 for the
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  Speaker 2: past four years and And I am known for getting results.
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  Speaker 2: And look, there couldn't be a bigger distinction between me
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  Speaker 2: and my opponent. I am someone that gets things done.
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  Speaker 2: And I am looking forward to continuing to serve you
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  Speaker 2: in the Ohio Senate. I've tackled big issues like housing,
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  Speaker 2: child care, workforce issues, making sure that I am listening
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  Speaker 2: and responsive to the needs of the people of the
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  Speaker 2: great state of Ohio and Senate District 3. I represent
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  Speaker 2: and reflect the diversity of this district. And it would
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  Speaker 2: be an honor to continue to serve you for the
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  Speaker 2: next four years. And I humbly ask for your vote.
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  Speaker 1: You're also efficient with your time. You only used about
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  Speaker 1: 50 seconds of two minutes. I'm impressed. Again, she's all
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: over there. All you have to do basically is Google
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  Speaker 1: Michelle Reynolds. And by the way, whose baby was that?
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  Speaker 1: You didn't see the article, did you?
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  Speaker 2: No, I didn't.
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  Speaker 1: Gorgeous child. We were talking about your article, your stance
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: on abortion a couple of years ago. And the baby
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: that is on here on the Ohio Senate website. And
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: I looked, I'm like, is that one of her kids?
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Because that baby's beautiful.
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  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: I haven't seen that one. Let me see. I'm going
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: to turn the screen around live on the air so
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: you can see this little baby's face.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, he is beautiful.
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  Speaker 1: I remember that. Do you remember that picture? Not one
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: of yours, though?
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  Speaker 2: Not one of mine. Okay.
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  Speaker 1: How many kids do you have?
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  Speaker 2: I have six altogether.
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  Speaker 1: Holy moly.
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  Speaker 2: They're grown. But I am a grandmother of a four-year-old
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  Speaker 2: little girl, and she's so adorable.
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  Speaker 1: You're a grandma already?
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  Speaker 2: I am a grandma. I'm a Gigi. Oh, my gosh.
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  Speaker 2: That's what she calls me.
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  Speaker 1: Gigi. I just get, do you have a dollar? That's
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  Speaker 1: my name to my grandchildren. Do you have a dollar?
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  Speaker 1: I love you, but no. All right, music's playing. That
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: means it's time to pack up, wrap up, and get
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  Speaker 1: out here. Tomorrow night, what's tomorrow night? Tuesday.
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  Speaker 2: Tuesday.
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  Speaker 1: Tomorrow night is Matthew Jackson. He is running for the
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  Speaker 1: Ohio House of Representatives. He's a first-time candidate. He's odd,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: but I like him. So he'll be in here with
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: me for tomorrow night's Power Hour. In the meantime, have
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: something good for dinner. Join me tomorrow beginning at 3 o'clock.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: I'm sure we will taste something and complain about other
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  Speaker 1: things and we'll make you laugh a couple of times
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  Speaker 1: on 610 WTVN.