By Peter Kuebeck
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
Incumbent Republican Theresa Gavarone and Democratic challenger Paloma de la Fuente are facing off in the race for the Ohio State Senate District 2 seat.
Gavarone is in her first term in the senate. Senators are term-limited after two terms in the state of Ohio.
“We’ve gotten a lot done in the legislature,” said Gavarone about successes during her tenure. “I’ve got to say, we had record tax cuts, we’ve been fiscally responsible, allowing us to cut taxes for all taxpayers, and we’ve also made investments in our community that are really going to matter to the people back home. In my senate district, I was able to bring back over $47 million in capital projects through the capital budget and the one-time strategic community investment fund this year.”
Among other highlights, Gavarone also said she authored legislation requiring photo IDs to vote in the state, and increased transparency through the Data Act, which created an online dashboard that shows election data.
“You can actually see how many people have requested absentee ballots,” among other information, “and this is updated regularly.” The dashboard, she said, is “going to help people across the state see what’s going on. … It’s going to create greater transparency across the state.”
Gavarone also pointed to work helping small businesses, including making the first $200,000 in income for small businesses tax free. She said that working to make things easier for business across the state is very important and “this has resulted in historic new small business startups and Ohio is now one of the best places in the country to start a business.”
If elected to a second term, Gavarone said she would “really like to continue the positive momentum,” including work on mental health issues in the state.
“I want to make sure that when someone needs help, that have greater access to mental health professionals,” she said, also noting she wants to make sure Ohio is continuing to work on improving Lake Erie and other state waterways.
“It’s been really exciting,” Gavarone said of what she enjoys most about being in the Senate. “I’ve been an attorney for 30 years now and coming through the judicial branch, where you’re arguing an interpretation of the law before the court, to be able to go to Columbus and work on changing those laws, I found really exciting.”
She said she’s enjoyed helping those she represents and “to make sure that we have laws that will really move Ohio forward and help people across the state.”
A Perrysburg resident and graduate of Perrysburg High School, de la Fuente is a pre-law major at the University of Toledo, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in legal and paralegal studies. She said she’s been involved in activism since she was in the sixth grade – for her, the 2016 election – when she said she began paying attention to politics. Further, after experiencing a lockdown incident at another high school she attended, “I started paying attention to … specifically gun violence legislation that was being passed in Ohio.”
Witnessing others’ struggles also pushed her into activism, both on the legislative and policy side of things, and led her to pursue a law degree, she said.
“I decided to run (for the state senate seat) because I believe there is not a specific age or requirement to be able to stand up and want to help other people through a legislation solution, because I believe that being an elected official means that you’re there to serve your constituents and not your personal political interests,” de la Fuente said, adding she wants to bring that ethos back to politics, and give voters a reason to vote for leaders they feel embody “the values of decency and honesty. I want to run to fill that void in Ohio politics, and possibly American politics as well.”
De la Fuente said that she decided to run a year ago and “seeing the hope that my candidacy provides to people, on both sides of the aisle, and the middle as well, is the most rewarding thing. I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing it for everyone else.
“I bring honesty, compassion, understanding and, most importantly, the ability to listen,” de la Fuente said. She said that being an activist has prepared her and taught her to listen to others and understand “what the impact of legislation, the impact of disproportionate balances of power in Ohio means for people. I’m connected to my constituents and what it means to live in this area.”
As to what she would like to accomplish if elected, de la Fuente discussed protections for Lake Erie and other waterways in the state, protecting women’s reproductive freedom, and expanding opportunities for young people to stay in Ohio, including job opportunities in high school. However, she said little can be done unless the current supermajority in the state legislature is ended.
“Bipartisanship is great, but not when you have a party that is more consumed by their own power than the issues and they people they are supposed to represent,” de la Fuente said.
