There are 53 days until the 2018 Ohio General Election, with Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and a number of State Officer and State legislative positions on the ballot. 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 the state still struggle to provide funding for new business sites and connect workers to jobs.

GOPC released our 2018 Policy Platform last December, 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.

As Election Day approaches, Ohioans should think about the changes they want the next legislative body of the state to carry out. Among these, we at GOPC have been thinking about a range of quality-of-life and redevelopment issues, such as:

• Brownfield remediation to unlock prime real estate

• Public transportation’s role in connecting employees to workplaces and Ohio’s vulnerable population to vital services

• The role of JobsOhio in revitalizing Ohio’s legacy communities

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/