Quality Education

As your state representative, I led the charge to restructure the Cleveland Municipal School District. House Bill 525 will provide the foundation for stronger schools, increased learning opportunities, and a brighter future for Cleveland’s children.

I will continue advocating for expanded access to early educational opportunities and more parental involvement in our schools. I will advocate for fairer funding of our public schools. We must find a common taxing mechanism for all school districts so that no school system suffers from a lack of resources while others flourish. I also support increasing investments in our state colleges while capping tuition to keep costs down, so that all Ohioans have access to higher education.

Affordable Health Care

Currently many Ohioans are benefitting from Medicaid expansion which allows them to receive the quality health care they deserve. My priority is to protect coverage currently available to Ohioans as well as making sure that costs are not unaffordable.

As your state senator, I will continue to promote important legislation that will increase the availability of comprehensive health insurance coverage for Ohio's uninsured workers and their families.

Jobs & Economy

Throughout my tenure, I championed economic development and job creation initiatives. As the sponsor of the renewal of the third frontier program, over $494 million was invested in northeast Ohio, creating jobs and attracting businesses to the area. I negotiated a $200 million agreement for African American and female contractors with Ohio State University during their Phase I construction project and was responsible for over $400 million in contracts for African Americans, minorities and female owned construction companies during the construction of Ohio’s four new casino’s.

As your state senator, I will continue advocating for initiatives that foster job creation, set up public investment in economic development and enhance our ability to educate our future workforce in addition to promoting job retraining programs designed to assist citizens who have been forced to change careers.

Criminal Justice

As your Senator, I’ve have proposed “Ban the Box” legislation in Ohio would ban the box from private sector applications. Also, this measure is still in committee my efforts have resulted in an Executive Order by the Governor in Ohio “Banning the Box” on all application on state government applications.

There is much more that must be done. I have proposed policies which would prohibit individual boards and commissions from denying an individual a professional license unless the crime was substantially related to the occupation or license the individual is seeking; I’ve proposed legislation, that would require the automatic sealing of the official records in a case in which a person is found not guilty of an offense by a jury or a court, is the defendant named in a dismissed complaint, indictment, or information, or against whom a no bill is entered by a grand jury.

Our Neighborhoods

Ohio's foreclosure rates are the highest in the nation. Foreclosure creates problems for families and the community. Families face a significant number of issues when forced to abandon their homes. Our communities suffer from reduced property values, fewer sales, reduced investment in nearby properties, and a reduction in the financial support for our local school systems. These abandoned properties are havens for criminal activity. Our local governments are also forced to spend public dollars when abandoned houses need to be boarded up or torn down -- dollars that could be used for other essential services.

As your state senator, I will continue to promote and support initiatives that create safe and healthy, and viable communities.

Women's Health

For over forty years, multiple Supreme Court decisions have consistently reaffirmed a woman’s right to make the personal decision to end a pregnancy and continued by saying that states cannot prohibit common abortion methods. As a state legislator, I have fought tirelessly against the regressive attacks on women and their physicians. I wholeheartedly support and encourage the mental health and well-being of women. I continually fight for a woman’s right to access medical procedures that they and their doctors deem necessary. I support Planned Parenthood and other trusted health care providers because they perform vital services and offer numerous resources to women in our community.

Source: Williams for Ohio.com