The News-Herald Election Questionnaire

Name in full: Dr. John Robert Patterson, Jr.

Date: September 30, 2014
Candidate for what office? Ohio House of Representatives, 99th District
Political affiliation: Democratic
DOB: July 7, 1956 Place: Ashtabula, OH
Full-time residence: 78 E. Beech St. Jefferson, OH 44047
How long have you lived at this address? 28 years
Campaign Web site: PattersonforOhio.com
Business address and phone:
N/A
Cell phone number: 440-228-4826
E-mail address: john@pattersonforohio.com
Chief occupation or profession: Retired Teacher
Name of employer: N/A

Elected office experience: I am completing my first term in the Ohio General Assembly.
Non-elected office experience:
Member of the Henderson Memorial Library Foundation (1994-Present), Vice-President (2010-Present).
Member of Jefferson Memorial Foundation (2000-Present), President (2008-Present).
Education:
Marietta College (1978), BA, Comprehensive Social Studies Education
Ohio University (1979), MA, Political Science/American Government
Kent State University (1996), Ph.D., Education/Curriculum and Instruction
Marital Status: Happily Married
Name of Spouse: Nancy
Name and age of children: Joshua, 29; Jeremiah, 27.
Associations: Geauga County Retired Teachers Association; Member of Adult Choir, Jefferson United
Methodist Church (1986-Present).
Why should voters elect you?
I was born, raised, raised our family, worked, and retired in the 99th District and I care deeply about our
collective future. For twenty-nine years the parents of Jefferson Area Local Schools entrusted me with
their most precious resource--their children. Now I ask those same parents, former students, and the
constituents of the District to place their trust in me.
In sum, I pledge to continue to represent and promote the vast and varied interests of our District in an
inclusive manner so as to stimulate economic development by providing quality education, infrastructure
improvements, health care awareness, and quality of life opportunities for all.
What improvements would you make? What is your platform?
1) It is imperative that we strive to develop our unique blend of agriculture, business, industry, and
tourism to provide for a stable economic system. To that end, I will continue to work with our
agricultural community to ensure a ready supply of foodstuffs for distribution in our area, our region, and
our world by working with and attracting food processing facilities (e.g., the Center for Innovative Food
Technology) yoked with our rail, interstate, and deepwater port transportation links (i.e., Ashtabula and
Conneaut) for easy dispersal. I will continue to work with the Ashtabula and Geauga Growth Partnerships
and the Ashtabula County, Ashtabula City, and Conneaut City Port Authorities to attract and retain
business and industry to our District. Finally, I will continue to work with the tourism boards of Ashtabula
and Geauga Counties to promote this multi-million dollar industry. This includes agri-tourism (e.g.,
Amish farms) and eco-tourism (e.g., three of Ohio's eighteen scenic rivers are located in Ashtabula
County) coupled with traditional tourism attractions (e.g., our wineries, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Conneaut,
SPIRE Institute, etc.).

2) I will continue promote a better quality of life by supporting adequate and equitable funding for
education. In 2013, I founded the bipartisan Education Funding Caucus in the legislature to hold those
difficult discussions about school funding. Currently there are 21 members, eleven Democrats and ten
Republicans representing, collectively, both chambers. Before we can truly reform our broken funding
system, we must first educate our legislators in a non-confrontational, informational fashion. Ohio needs
a strong public school system to produce students who possess 21st century skills. This can only be
achieved by investing in public education. In addition, I will continue to work with our two major health
care providers (the Cleveland Clinic and the University Hospital systems) to promote a healthier 99th
District. Collectively, we have issues with obesity, diabetes, vitamin D deficiency, and drug addiction
problems--just to name a few challenges. Without a healthy population, we will not be able to lead active
and robust lives either at the workplace or at home. Finally, I will continue to work with our park districts
to promote and enhance our lakes, trails, and preserves. Working closely with the metropark districts of
both Geauga and Ashtabula Counties, we seek to complete the paved bike path to Lake Erie, develop a
bike and bridle path in central Ashtabula County, and preserve parklands in both counties for
outdoorsmen.

3) I will continue to work with ODOT, Division of Watercraft, and private enterprise as we seek to update
and improve our infrastructure. I have been actively involved with ODOT with respect to the St Rt 531
erosion project as it impacts the tourism industry along Lake Erie as well as the impending Rt 20 bridge
replacement project in North Kingsville/Conneaut. Our efforts also yielded fruit when "Ashtabula
County" was imprinted (in concrete) on the Rt 11 bridges over I-90 thus "branding" our county. I have
worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. and Ohio EPA with respect to the Conneaut
Harbor and Ashtabula River dredging projects (now complete). Finally, a million dollar upgrade to our
broadband system was completed this summer by ATT. Our office worked closely with ATT during this
period to provide information and support to those impacted by this work.
In sum, I seek a comprehensive approach to economic development: keep what we have, and develop
that which cannot be outsourced--our lake and our agriculture. By improving our quality of life (think
healthcare, education, parks, etc.) we can draw back some of our millennials who can now work from
home, but are choosing to live where there is affordable housing, quality education, and a sustainable
lifestyle. Our District affords all this and much more.