Issues
Economic Development
Stefanie is a strong supporter of business districts and business development. A thriving business community is the backbone of any region as it provides jobs and prosperity for the residents and a tax income to maintain our streets and utility infrastructure.
Economic Development Grants allow local communities to grow and revitalize in ways that would not otherwise be possible. They allow regions to grow by design in order to thrive, giving opportunities to create unique places that people want to visit.
Affordable Prescriptions
Stefanie believes that all Ohioans should have affordable access to healthcare and prescriptions. Ohio has already created transparency in pricing legislation and joined interstate purchasing programs to help lower the costs of prescriptions as a means of lowering their impact on the state budget. More can be done to help individual taxpayers.
Implementing copay caps can alleviate the burden on those struggling with ever-rising costs of their live-saving and maintenance prescriptions. For maximum effect, this coverage should be applied to both state-sponsored health plans and private healthcare plans.
Equality for All
Stefanie will work to ensure that Ohio is a safe and inclusive place for everyone regardless of race, religion, gender, orientation, ability, or economic status. Everyone belongs here.
All that is asked of anyone is to treat others with humanity, dignity, and respect. Someone changing their name or pronouns to better align with their identity shouldn’t be met with ridicule or harassment.
The color of someone’s skin shouldn’t mean a longer prison sentence for the same crime, someone’s gender shouldn’t mean less pay for equal work, and freedom of religion applies to all of us.
We truly are better together and the more we encounter views and cultures other than our own, the wider our understanding grows. It is Stefanie’s goal to promote a diverse environment, encouraging more of our residents to be actively involved in the community and foster an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome on the West Side.
Reproductive Freedom
Stefanie will continue the fight for reproductive rights in Ohio. Passing issue 1 in 2023 was the first step, but the current legislature is still standing in the way of the will of the people. Instead of repealing the existing anti-abortion laws, the Republican majority is forcing the issue to be resolved in the courts. This will waste tax-payer money as the state will be forced to defend laws that it knows are unconstitutional.
The Republican stance on abortion has moved way past any pretense of protecting the life of a fetus into abject cruelty towards women. We’ve seen Republican politicians across the country work to prevent even those experiencing traumatic miscarriages from accessing what should be routine healthcare. Their hardline approach has no basis in reality nor medicine, and we must continue the fight.
Gun Safety
Firearms have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of childhood deaths in 2020 and too little has been done to fix that statistic. Stefanie has no intention of taking guns away from law abiding citizens and respects 2nd Amendment rights, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept the status quo. We ought to require universal background checks to close loopholes that allow firearms sales without a security screening. Gun safety laws are about making it harder for guns to get into the wrong hands, not preventing law abiding citizens from exercising their rights.
Passing secure gun storage legislation would be a step towards protecting Ohio children from accidental gun injuries. It also prevents intentional shootings by preventing unauthorized household members from accessing firearms.
Protecting Democracy & Voting Rights
There is a lot of rhetoric in recent years about stolen elections and ballot drop-boxes. None of it based in fact. Stefanie has served as a Voting Location Deputy since 2018 and will be the first to tell you that Ohio’s elections are secure. In Ohio the vote counting equipment isn’t connected to the internet, making it impossible to remotely hack and our (only) drop-box location is secure at the Board of Elections. Our elections are secure.
Stefanie believes that we should be making it easier to vote instead of putting up roadblocks. She supports automatic voter registration for all qualified Ohio voters when they turn 18 or renew their driver’s license/state ID cards.
Public Education
We need to stop the attacks on public education in Ohio because politics has no place in our schools. Stefanie will push back against Governor DeWine and the Republican efforts to disempower the State School Board. The Board was duly elected by Ohio voters and the will of the people should be respected.
Education policy should be determined by expert educators and not by people who want to ban books or topics from schools because they disagree with the subject matter.
Share your thoughts
Stefanie is asking residents to let her know what you like about our community and where you think we can improve. She's running to represent all of District 30 and advocate for our issues and concerns.
"I can't promise that I'll be able to fix every problem, but I will always listen to your concerns and work to try to find solutions"
- Stefanie Hawk
