04/16/18 – 10:17 P.M.

The Republican candidates running for the 83rd Ohio House District seat met in a public forum Monday. Jon Cross and Cheryl Buckland discussed many topics, one of which was the attacks from political action committees. Both candidates said they didn’t approve of the actions done in their name.

Cross called the attacks deceitful and said that they are just trying to throw off his campaign. Buckland said that she doesn’t like the actions that these committees. She added that she doesn’t think there’s any way to stop them though.

Aside from the committee actions, the candidates were also asked about the opioid epidemic. Buckland said that there needs to be more people in the House and the Senate with backgrounds in health. She added that the efforts against the epidemic should be more consolidated so that services don’t get duplicated. Cross focused more on prevention citing school resource officers and the DARE program.

The candidates agreed that education should be handled at a local level. Cross said that reducing over-testing will help lead to better education and provide more vocational opportunities. Buckland agreed that children are over-tested. She added that making children learn subjects that they may never need is a disservice to them.

The winner of the race will face off with Democrat Mary Harshfield in the November general election. You can watch the full forum below.