There are 29 days until the 2018 Ohio General Election, with Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and a number of State Officer and State legislative positions on the ballot. To underscore just how fast approaching November 6th is, voters in Ohio will pass two election milestones this week. Early and absentee voting begins this Wednesday October 10, and the deadline to register for voting is tomorrow Tuesday October 9 (see the full schedule at the Ohio Secretary of State website).

Last month, GOPC released whitepapers on recommendations for dedicated transit funding and the creation of a new Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund for brownfield redevelopment. Earlier in the summer, we released our Questions for Candidates handout, which outlines GOPC issues on transit, revitalization and economic development, and poses questions which ask candidates to consider tactics to address legacy city and sustainable growth concerns.

This is all based on GOPC’s 2018 Policy Platform, in which we recommend six essential policy reforms necessary for building vibrant cities and towns across the state. Among these recommendations, we advocate for creating a new Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund to fund brownfield clean-up and revitalization; ensuring dedicated funding for public transportation to make certain that workers are able to get to work without being limited by geography; and expanding the scope of economic development to support activities which assist cities and towns to create attractive places for both residents and prospective businesses.

The past decade has seen considerable progress as job growth has remained steady and communities across the state have experienced promising comebacks. Yet, cities and towns across Ohio still struggle to provide funding for new business sites and connect workers to jobs. A variety of issues are up for consideration in this round of elections, and we at GOPC have been thinking about a range of quality-of-life and redevelopment matters that have the possibility of impacting the ways our communities grow and become more resilient in the future.

Ohio’s next Governor, legislature, and statewide officers must create a policy environment that helps communities increase new opportunities for job growth, better connect workers to jobs through an innovative transportation network, and ensure their own economic competitiveness.

Candidates, voters, and advocates can look for more information on GOPC’s policy platform, and the Questions for Ohio’s Next Policymakers by visiting https://www.greaterohio.org/policyplatform/  and you can read more about GOPC research into our key issues at https://www.greaterohio.org/neighborhood-revitalization/