Genoa local Steve Mount is the Democratic candidate running for the Ohio District 68 House of Representatives seat.
Mount was born in the Ohio Appalachian community of Nelsonville. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and also a published author.
As a father and grandfather, he is running to offer Ohioans a moderate candidate who will support family values as well as "common sense policies" on gun control, climate change and Obamacare; he told the Mount Vernon News.
Mount is running against incumbent Rep. Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Twp.). He hopes to end the Republicans' long-held majority in Ohio lawmaking, which was obtained dishonestly through gerrymandering, the challenger said.
“Although Mr. Carfagna has not been one of the more extreme members of that supermajority, he has enabled it to take extreme positions that do not help Ohioans or residents of District 68,” Mount told the News. “The Republican supermajority has led to a sense of entitlement, a focus on legislation that benefits only campaign donors, and ultimately to the corruption we have seen recently.”
Specific issues that Mount would focus on if elected include a stronger government response to COVID-19.
“Recent polling has shown that all Ohioans, including residents of Knox County, put issues concerning the coronavirus at the top of their list of concerns,” Mount said. “I believe that our governor deserves credit for recognizing the danger early, but ultimately he gave in to criticism from the president and the Republican supermajority in Ohio, resulting in half measures that have doubled the damage. I believe that we should follow the best science and leave politics out of it; we need to first defeat the coronavirus before we move to repair the economy.”
Mount counts racial equality among his priority issues and said in a Facebook post that he regards the recent police violence and resulting protests as a symptom of a greater disease: implicit racism.
“As I state in the post, this is mostly an individual journey we all need to take; but institutionally, I think police reforms— including civilian review board and limitations on certain procedures, like choke holds— are appropriate,” he said to the News. “I am not in favor of 'defunding' the police. I am disappointed that police unions (of which I am generally a strong supporter) are not taking a more proactive approach to solving the problem.”
Mount also respects the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion, favors raising the minimum wage and supports government-funded maternity and childcare.
