Ontario resident Mark Romanchuk, 58, believes his experience in the private and public sectors uniquely qualify him to be a state senator.
Ryan Hunger, a 35-year-old resident of Medina County, believes it’s time for a new, independent voice in Columbus.
The contrast is clear in the race for Ohio’s 22nd Senate District, which includes all of Richland, Ashland and Medina counties, as well as a portion of Holmes County.
An Ohio Senate term is four years and the position pays $60,584 annually.
The winner will replace Sen. Larry Obhof, the Ohio Senate president from Medina, who is prevented from seeking re-election due to term limits.
Here is a look at the two candidates, their backgrounds and their positions on key issues:
The 57-year-old Romanchuk is completing his forth and final two-year term in the Ohio House from the 2nd District, representing all of Richland County. Term limits prevent him from seeking re-election.
He defeated three opponents in the Republican Party primary this spring.
Romanchuk is the owner and president of PR Machine Works, Inc., a contract manufacturer providing precision machining, fabrication, and assembly services in the city of Ontario.Â
Prior to his work with PR Machine Works, he worked at Hughes Aircraft Company as a U.S. diplomat to the former Soviet Union in support of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. He was also based in Japan as a team leader and technical advisor to the U.S. Navy in support of the F/A – 18 aircraft.
An Ontario High School graduate, Roman has a degree in electronic engineering technology from DeVry University and a master’s degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University. He is a graduate of Ontario High School.
Crucial issues:
Romanchuk said experience matters, especially as the country and state battle against the worst pandemic in a century.
“My experience in the (House) will help me hit the ground running in the Senate,” he said. “My experience as a business owner is very important when you are talking about the economy and job creation.
“I also have some unique experiences. I have lived and worked all around the world, with different types of governments,” Romanchuk said. “I know what works and what doesn’t work. All of that perspective from my experience goes into everything I do and every decision I make.”
Romanchuk said continuing to revive the state’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential.
“We need to get our economy hitting on all cylinders especially the places and businesses severely impacted by the virus, but we need to do it safely, of course,” he said.
The veteran lawmaker believes the scandal-tainted HB 6, a bailout of the state’s nuclear power industry, must be fixed. He has already introduced legislation, HB 772, legislation that he said would do just that.
The bill would repeal the nuclear, solar, and coal subsidies included in HB6. The rest of HB6, including scrapping the state’s green-energy standards, would be preserved.
“It’s a customer-focused bill that will save $2.93 billion over a 10-year period,” Romanchuk said, “that will put money in the pocket of anyone who pays an electric bill. If we don’t fix it by the end of that, (the HB 6) issue is something the legislature will take up first thing next year.”
A third key effort for the new legislature is a “debrief” on the state’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I hope that results in a report that tells us what we did right, what we did wrong and what we should plan for the next one,” he said. He pointed to the fact the state has largely relied on laws enacted in 1908 in its decision-making process.
“There are some parts of the revised code that need to be updated. What can we do better? What changes do we need to make for the next time we have a public health crisis like this one?” Romanchuk said.
“There was a lot of uncertainty and unknown when this pandemic marched across the globe. I think the resiliency of Americans is pretty remarkable. We came up with therapeutics and hopefully soon a vaccine,” he said, adding he believes the state government should focus its protective efforts on the elderly and high-risk population, while “asking other Ohioans to be in charge of their own health.”
His opponent:
Romanchuk said he has never met Hunger, not surprising since the pandemic has prevented many campaign events.
“I am a little bit older. I have a wide range of life experiences, as a business owner and someone who has traveled and lived overseas. I do bring eight years of legislative experience from the House to the Senate and I think that’s important. We need to be ready to hit the ground running (in January),” he said.
Hunger is a 30-year resident of Lafayette Township who works as a receiving and material specialist in Medina for RFD Beaufort-Survitec Group LTD, which manufactures life rafts and other lifesaving equipment.
He represents his precinct in Lafayette on the Medina County Democratic Central Committee. Hunger graduated in 2005 from Cloverleaf High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Capital University.
Party leaders approved Hunger stepping into the race in August, replacing Steve Johnson of Ashland. Johnson withdrew in July after winning the uncontested party primary due to health issues. He died Oct. 11.
Three crucial issues:
Hunger said three key issues face the new state Senate when it convenes in January — What to do with HB 6, the controversial bailout of the state’s nuclear power plants; a fair political redistricting of the state in 2021; and providing relief for small business owners/renters to combat the economic downturn caused by Covid-19.
“The Senate should consider adopting a partial repeal of HB 6. In its current form, I would consider keeping the solar farm subsidies and wind energy exemptions, but the rest of the law should be repealed and the renewable energy standards that were gutted, should be reinstated,” Hunger said.
He said the Senate needs to “root out partisanship” and adopt fairer and more representative federal and state legislative districts.
“Ohio has historically been a swing state in Presidential races, yet currently the Republican Party enjoys a 61-38 advantage in the Ohio House and a 24-9 margin in the Ohio Senate,” Hunger said, saying the advantage has been achieved through partisan gerrymandering.
He said a fairer redrawing of districts will encourage competition and produce legislators more receptive to the public at large, not just sectors of each party’s partisan base.
Hunger said the federal government’s failure to enact additional COVID-19 relief means the state must do more.
“We need to get economic relief to renters, landlords and small business owners that have been hit hard by the pandemic fueled economic downturn,” he said.
“In light of the federal government’s inaction of late, states like Ohio will have to act to fill the void so the crisis does not deepen with more business closures and potential homelessness,” Hunger said.
Closer to home
Hunger said two important issues to the 22nd District are rural broadband access and education/workforce development.
He said nearly 25 percent of homes in Richland and Ashland counties lack a broadband internet connection. In Holmes County, he said, about half the homes lack that connection.
“Unfortunately, my opponent voted against House Bill 13, which will invest $20 million toward offsetting construction costs to bring broadband access to many Ohioans living in rural areas,” Hunger said.
“I will move this bill forward if elected to the Ohio Senate as a co-sponsor and be a fierce advocate for it on the Senate floor,” Hunger said.
He said education and workforce development are essential to economic growth in the district.
“We need to get a handle on school funding in Ohio. For far too long, numerous legislatures and governors have kicked the can on this issue, despite the Ohio Supreme Court stating on four separate occasions in the 1990s that the funding formula is unconstitutional,” Hunger said.
“We need balance to the funding mechanism between property, income and sales (tax) sources of revenue,” he said.
Hunger said he would advocate for improved trades education and training specific skill sets for workers.
“I am a product of a traditional four-year college, but I know the trap a great many graduates find is they graduate and find there are no jobs in their specialty where they live,” he said.
“In that case the decision is made concerning whether to move or find work in a different area. We need to do a better job at the state level of matching employer needs to the talent in our districts, creating incentive for folks to continue to live and thrive here in Ohio. That will take significant investment, not only in education, but people as well,” he said.
COVID-19
Hunger said Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had an “appropriate response” to the severity of the virus in March when it initially hit.
“Since then I believe his leadership has been steady with regard to his advocacy for masks, public gatherings, sporting events and social distancing,” Hunger said.
“The only thing that I would have done differently would have been to further compensate or provide special tax credits to folks deemed essential workers via legislation, simply to give something extra/incentive to those taking on an expanded risk to themselves and potentially their families during this crisis,” he said.
Hunger said the Senate needs to assert leadership to assist small business owners, specifically restaurant/bar owners who have been especially hit by COVID-19.
He said possible changes could be relaxing the 10 p.m. curfew or through a stimulus payment, if new cases have deemed it not possible to cancel the curfew.
“That’s a debate that has to happen in the next Senate,” he said.
His opponent
Hunger said Romanchuk is “a good family man who values public service and has strode to serve our state.”
He said Romanchuk is “simply wrong on many issues and really has no vision for the future.”
“He follows the Republican orthodoxy of the past 25 plus years; which is cut taxes for the wealthy and corporate interests. And regarding education, infrastructure, health care and environmental standards; the attitude is you are on your own or the free market will take care of it. That mantra does not hold water today,” Hunger said.
Hunger said he and Romanchuk also differ on campaign finance issues.
“I will make it a priority to propose legislation during my first week in office to ban 501-C-4 groups (social welfare organizations) from using ‘Dark Money’ to influence statewide and state legislative races,” he said.
“If the scandal (surrounding ousted Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder) can teach us anything it is, we must get this money out of our political system. This horrendous precedent has basically said that you can buy as much free speech as you want and flood the air waves or TV with what is essentially propaganda,” Hunger said.
“These overwhelming financial interests is why so many people feel like their votes and views do not matter and why many quit participating in the electoral process, I have heard this sentiment time and again through my interactions with voters all over this district; its high time we do something about it,” he said.
