One of the nice things about living in Perry, Hocking, Licking or Pickaway counties is that our people have a heightened sense of community. We value local control and flexibility. Whether it’s the decisions being made for our school districts or what zoning regulations we will have in our corporation limits, there is a great feeling that these choices are best handled by the people closest to home, who know the situation best.

This is, in large part, one of the reasons I am constantly striving to limit the government’s role in our lives. When it comes down to it, I want to make the decisions that will most affect my family, and I wish for other people to have that same right. As you can imagine, that’s also why as your state representative, I voted in favor of SJR 1, which was companion legislation to House Joint Resolution 2, the Ohio Health Care Freedom Act.

The Health Care Freedom Act would have allowed Ohioans to vote on whether or not a law or rule can force our citizens, employers or health care providers to participate in a health care system. Although, I believe that President Obama’s federal health care law was an unconstitutional overreach of government, this particular vote was not to overturn it, but simply to let Ohioans have their say at the ballot box in the November election.

With SJR 1 already having passed in the Senate, you and your family would have been able to vote for or against this repeal had it passed the House. Unfortunately, we were just one vote shy because not a single Democrat believed that Ohioans ought to have that opportunity. Rather, they chose not to reflect their constituents, believing government knows best.

I believe that Ohioans should have a choice in their health care and that these decisions are best made closest to home—not by bureaucrats in Washington.

Had SJR 1 passed the House, the views of those across the state would have been respected by allowing them the option of a constitutional amendment on the ballot, but it did not. Rather, citizens from across the state put in many long hours, collecting the signatures to get it on the ballot themselves this November.

As your state representative, I will continue to find ways of empowering your family and limiting government involvement in your life from my seat at the Statehouse. Votes such as the one I made on SJR 1 are important to the livelihood of our citizens.