This race is between Democrat Joy Bennett and Republican Adam Mathews. There is no incumbent. The candidates’ answers are below, in their own words. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Joy Bennett
Residence: Mason
Organizations, boards, previous elected positions: North Cincinnati Community Church, Mason Deerfield Democratic Club, Executive Committee for Warren County Democratic Party, Kiwanis, MADE Chamber
Education: B.A. Professional and Technical Writing, Cedarville University
Current employment: Founder and Chief Strategist, Jumpstart Marketing
Why are you seeking elected office?
People in the district asked me to run to represent them in the Ohio House after I led a few different community projects and earned name recognition over the last 3 years. My district features a vast beautiful diversity (religious, spiritual, cultural, professional, etc.) of people from all over the world. Changes to our community require a new representative who seeks out their unique experiences and needs, values their perspectives, and commits to advocate for all of us, not just a small minority who happen to agree with the representative’s personal views.
I have experience collaborating, listening, and working with an intentionally diverse group to make things better (when leading the Family Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children’s). I believe in public service, the common good, and our American values of justice, freedom, and opportunity. I am committed to representing everyone here, regardless of political party.
Why should voters elect you?
I have experience collaborating, listening, and working with an intentionally diverse group to make things better (when leading the Family Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children’s). I believe in public service, the common good, and our American values of justice, freedom, and opportunity. I am committed to representing everyone here, whether we see eye to eye on any given issues or not. And I hear each of you when you plead for a “normal” person who will do the hard work that doesn’t make sensational headlines.
I’ll do a much better job representing our district than my opponent who is far more extreme and uncompromising than the people who live in our district. Unlike my opponent, I won’t favor one religion over others, defund our public schools, or embarrass our district by making headlines for all the wrong reasons. You deserve better than that!
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
- Freedom (a.k.a. Liberty). We should be free to make our own decisions. This is a foundational right named in our Declaration of Independence, and I believe the role of government is to protect freedom and personal autonomy. I’ll work to protect the right of everyday people like you and me to decide what we want to do (and not do).
- Life (a.k.a. Justice). Children in Ohio are bearing the brunt of years of pandemic life. They’ve lost years of learning in school, and many are being neglected, abused, and otherwise harmed by adults who aren’t equipped to be the parents they need. Our state agencies can’t handle the volume of children in Child Protective Services today. With Ohio’s new 6-week abortion ban, thousands more babies will be born next year and beyond. I’m focused on ensuring sufficient funding, staff, and foster parents for Child Protective Services so our children have a chance to grow up to be independent happy adults.
- Opportunity (a.k.a. the Pursuit of Happiness). Education is essential for each person to fully enjoy their inalienable right to opportunity. I’ll work to ensure that every child can participate in a quality education no matter where they live, have opportunities to find and do good work, and attain their personal goals.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities?
- I’ll fight to protect our freedom and personal autonomy. Polls show more than 80% of Ohioans support some access to abortion. The largest city in my district resoundingly rejected a total abortion ban introduced in the city in 2021. So I’ll work to modify Ohio’s current 6-week ban on abortion to allow for common sense exceptions and more time for a pregnant person to discover they’re pregnant and make a decision. I’ll reject government mandates on our bodies, favoring individual responsibility.
- I’ll fight to protect our children. Research shows that trauma and neglect in the first 2 years can cause irreparable harm that cascades into mental health challenges, poverty, and repeating the cycle of abuse. I’ll advocate for programs that support parents who can’t afford health care and child care for their children, provide robust trauma and abuse services for children, and improve access to mental health services and proactive treatment so people can be the parents their children need.
- Ohio’s schools lack sufficient resources to educate every child to the same level. We must fund our schools better, pay our teachers better, and educate our children better. We’ve had unconstitutional school funding for 25 years. It is time to fully implement and fund the Fair School Funding plan. Every child in Ohio should have access to a quality education regardless of their school district or zip code.
- We must attract and retain businesses that treat their employees well and provide valuable products and services. We must roll back some of the extreme laws passed recently that make Ohio an unappealing place to live and work.
Anything else you would like voters to know?
You deserve a representative who is an everyday person like you – a mom, small business owner, and community-focused advocate for everyone in her district. You deserve someone who has common sense, can find common ground with almost anyone, and rejects today’s divisiveness. I value the vision our Founding Fathers had of a government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. I’m asking for your vote on November 8.
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Adam Mathews
Residence: Lebanon
Organizations, boards, previous elected positions:
Vice Mayor, City of Lebanon, Ohio
Board of Directors, Past Chair, Elizabeth’s New Life Center
Substitute Teacher, Mason City Schools
Presidential Election Attorney
Board of Directors, Cincinnati Federalist Society
Board of Directors, 2021 Red Mass Chair, St. Thomas More Society of Cincinnati
Chair, Intellectual Property Section, Ohio State Bar Association
President, Dayton Intellectual Property Law Association
Board of Directors, Treasurer, Warren County Republican Central Committee
Parish Council, St. Francis de Sales Parish, Lebanon, OH
President-Elect, Notre Dame Club of Dayton
Economic Development Committee Chair, Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce
Volunteer and speaker, Warren County Small Business Development Center
Volunteer and speaker, Minority Business Assistance Center of Cincinnati
Board of Directors, Past President, Lebanon Kiwanis
Coach, Mason SAY Soccer
Trustee, Past Grand Knight, St. Francis de Sales Parish Knights of Columbus, Lebanon, OH
Education: Bachelors of Science, Mechanical Engineering Honors Program from the University of Notre Dame; Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School.
Current employment: Intellectual property and small business attorney, previously an engineer with P&G and civilian engineer for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
Why are you seeking elected office?
As a city councilman and a small business attorney, I see the impact that government regulation and overreach can have on hampering the American dream. Warren County is growing because it successfully embodies pro-family, pro-business, and pro-liberty policies, and I believe Ohio would benefit from following our lead. I will continue to promote and protect the conservative values that make Warren County great and build an Ohio that is strong for our children and our communities.
Why should voters elect you?
I successfully enacted and protected victories for our community, as well as given my time, talent, and treasure to build our communities where government shouldn’t operate. I stand with the police, as shown by my endorsement from Sheriff Larry Sims and the Fraternal Order of Police. I bring people together to serve our community, collaborating and standing firm as needed. On Council, this skill allowed us to support our businesses while also paying off $2 million of debt that had accrued before I arrived. When our schools needed help, I signed up as a substitute teacher to keep our kids in classrooms. I testified multiple times in front of the General Assembly, including in favor of laws to provide voters with more information at the ballot box. As a small business attorney and owner, I stand with those building the American Dream, and they stand with me, as shown by my endorsements from NFIB and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. On Council, we worked with our local shops and chambers of commerce to keep all our downtown businesses alive through the government shutdowns. Voters can expect me to take what works in Warren County and protect and promote it in Columbus.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
I will work on making Ohio the most pro-business and pro-family state possible, strengthen our education system and workforce, and defend our police.
What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities?
I will continue the Republican victories of bringing in businesses like Intel to Ohio, as well as working with small businesses to build the workforce of the future. By getting people back to work, businesses up and running, and controlling government spending, we can fight the inflation that is smothering the middle class.
I took on interns from Lebanon’s Career Experience program, and I believe this type of first-hand experience while in high school should be promoted statewide. Further, I have promoted the Backpack Bill, which would fund students not systems and strengthen parental rights.
We need to support children and families in tough situations. As an attorney, I served as a Guardian ad Litem, representing children in foster or neglect and abuse cases. We need to empower families, making adoption more available, and create a culture in which children can thrive.
As a councilman, I sponsored and passed legislation to fully fund and equip our police department so they have the resources to keep themselves and our families safe. Ohio needs to build relationships between police and their communities.
Anything else you would like voters to know?
I am married to my college sweetheart Amanda, and we have four lovely children. I am grateful for the endorsements and support I have earned so far, and I would be honored to have the support of Warren County voters.