VOTER GUIDE: Champaign County Commission Republican candidates

The Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun and Journal-News invited local candidates to fill out the following questionnaire to inform readers.

VOTE FOR 1:

Marcia Bailey

No response

Bob E. Corbett

No response

David E. Faulkner

No response

Nino Vitale

Education: I have been a resident of Champaign County for over 24 years, our local family business employs over 350 people, and I have also been Champaign County’s state representative for eight years. I am a dean’s list MBA graduate and I have extensive background in business, finance and government. Most importantly, I deeply care about our community. Having lived and worked in other areas of Ohio and the U.S., Champaign County is unique and an exceptional place to live and raise kids. I am strongly pro-life, pro Second Amendment, and will advocate to ensure our law enforcement has the resources they need to ensure a safe community.

Employment: Answered in previous question.

Community involvement: Champaign County Right to Life, NRA instructor, Caring Kitchen Food Pantry and Shelter volunteer, YMCA kickboxing instructor, eight-year state representative.

Why are you seeking elected office? I fully intend to be creative with economic growth while balancing the unique nature of our county and maintaining the semi-rural, non-urban, industrial problems that exist in major cities. Our Christian heritage is important and has been largely forgotten in the cities. We need to maintain the Christian lifestyle in our lives and in our county. We need proven and strong leadership.

Why should voters elect you? Creating a balance between economic viability and maintaining the semi-rural lifestyle we are used to is a challenge. But that is what we must do. I have been in business and trained by Fortune 500 companies such as Apple Computer, Wendy’s International, Frigidaire and many others. I have also owned and grown both my own marketing business in Columbus from four people to over 30 people. I have worked now for almost 17 years at our Champaign County family factory, Johnson Welded Products, where we have not only maintained, but grown significantly. I know how to create economic growth. But money and wealth is not everything. I also want to live in a community where we know each other and trust each other and have a moral foundation. If you look at what is happening in our cities, it has become mass chaos. While paying our bills and creating growth is important, I also think a moral community and lifestyle and knowing and trusting our neighbors is vitally important.

If elected, what will be your top three priorities? Answered in other questions.

What specific plans do you have to address those top priorities? We have many significant assets in Champaign County. First, we have to ensure we support the businesses and farming community that we live in. Supporting these groups with well-trained employees has become a significant problem. Our schools and education need to reflect an area where students want to work, live and contribute. Additionally, we have several new restaurants and shops that help create a destination feel for our county. We can continue to build our county and become known as a destination area with great shops, food and amazing landscapes. This, too, will draw people who want to move here.

Anything else you would like voters to know? One challenge is to not become a county with constant crime, distrust and no Christian moral center. Living in a community where we do not have a constant threat of crime and rioting is important to the people I talk to. Balancing these factors is critical to preserving the character of our community. A significant challenge to this is our moral foundation. Living in a community with basic Christian morals is critical and supporting our churches and encouraging a solid moral character for our community and children is foundational.