News Herald Election Questionnaire

Date completed: 9/30/2014

Office Sought: Ohio House District 99
Political Party: Republican
Name: Nancy McArthur
Age: 57 DOB: 9/23/1957 Place of birth: Houston, TX
Home Address: 117 Cedar Glen, Chardon, OH 44024
Length of residence: 18 years
Facebook: McArthur for Ohio
Twitter: @Nancy_McArthur
Campaign Website: www.nancymcarthur.com
Occupation: Small Business Banker
Employer: KeyBank, 220 Center Street, Chardon, OH
Elected Office Experience:
Vice Mayor and Councilman in Chardon, serving 2
nd
term since 2009
Chaired Legislative, Finance, and Audit Committees
Non-elected experience: Lake Communicators Board Member, 2010-2012
Chardon Planning Commission, 2004-2009
Education: BA in Communications from Cleveland State University
Marital Status: Married 34 years to Michael McArthur
Children: Kelley Bodwell, 23, and Keenan McArthur, 16
Organizations: Red Key Network, Chardon Chamber of Commerce, Chardon Square Association,
Chardon Tomorrow
Areas Id like to Change:
The main reason Im running is that I want to fix the violent crime and drug problem in District
99. In the City of Ashtabula, there is a 1 in 20 chance of being a victim of property and/or
violent crime. Over the last five years, Ashtabula County has had an average of 700 felonies a
year and the county jail only has a capacity of about 150 beds. When you factor in jailable
misdemeanor offenses, Ashtabula County has well over 1,000 people who should be doing jail
time, but dont because there is no room for them! This means at any given time during the
year there are seven times as many criminals needing incarceration than we have the space to
hold them. This problem is well known by drug traffickers and they manipulate this broken
system to their benefit. The first thing I will do is to sit down with all the solicitors, county
prosecutors, Village Police Chiefs, and the County Sheriffs to see what they need in resources to
combat this problem. Second, I will attempt to secure money in Columbus to build more jail
space and/or look at unoccupied beds in other correctional facilities to put our criminals behind
bars. Lastly, I will meet with those organizations and institutions who deal with drug addiction
to see what they need to help addicts get help to become drug free. In order to improve the
economic and jobs situation in District 99, we need to first clean it up so that we can build it up.
In addition, Ill focus on improving education and workforce development so that employers
have the labor they need to maintain and grow their businesses and so that our young adults
have the promise of good jobs to keep them from having to move away.
Past accomplishments: I have a proven track record of public service, leadership in my
community, and results. Im serving my second term on Chardon City Council where I initiated a
State Performance Audit to improve our city operations which identified a potential savings of
over $460,000 (7.8% of the city budget) and improved administration and service delivery to
residents. We are currently implementing most of these recommendations. I also introduced
legislation creating a Revitalization District which has brought in new business and allowed
current businesses to expand. And I helped to reduce red tape and fees to businesses and
residents through common sense changes to our Planning & Zoning code. Due to the hard work
and teamwork of our Council and staff, our bond rating was increased by S&P this year to AAA,
the highest rating a city can achieve. Only 10.1% of Ohio cities are in the AAA rating. We
currently have four new businesses building commercial space which will bring in more jobs
and secure our tax base so that we can continue to provide superior services to our businesses
and residents, and provide a great quality of life. My opponent has little to no experience in the
private sector, in local government, or prior legislative experience and passed only one bill
during his two year term, designating March maple syrup month. I have over 25 years of private
business experience and 10 years of serving in local government. Im proud to be endorsed by
the following PACs: Ohio Society of CPAs, the Ohio Restaurant Association, Lake & Geauga
Realtors Association, the Ohio Chiropractic Association, and Ohio Right to Life. If you want
someone to go down to Columbus, work with the majority and fight for you, vote for me and Ill
get the job done!