State Representative Shane Wilkin (R-Hillsboro) announced Wednesday that he filed petitions at the Highland County Board of Elections to run for re-election as state representative for the 91st Ohio House District.
The 91st House District encompasses all of Clinton, Highland and Pike counties, and the southern part of Ross County. Wilkin is currently in his first term, and won his election in 2018 with more than 73 percent of the vote.
“While in the legislature, Wilkin has worked hard to serve the people of the 91st House District. Representative Wilkin brought his conservative values to the Ohio Statehouse, voting in favor of the Heartbeat Bill, income tax reduction, and critical infrastructure funding. He has voted for increased school funding and better health care transparency,” a news release making the announcement said.
Wilkin has championed legislation to cut government red tape across the board. He sponsored and successfully passed House Bill 6, a job-saving, cost-reducing energy reform package, which will save more than 4,000 jobs and $500 million in Ohio’s gross domestic product. He has also sponsored House Bill 224, a medical reform bill to help nurse anesthetists and advanced practice nurses do their jobs, and not be bogged down by bureaucracy, according to the news release.
Speaker of the House Larry Householder has endorsed Wilkin’s re-election, saying in the news release, “I strongly encourage the re-election of Representative Wilkin. I proudly endorse him to continue serving the people of the 91st District.”
Householder appointed Wilkin to the House Finance, Public Utilities, and State & Local Government Committees. He serves as vice chairman of the Public Utilities Committee.
Wilkin is a small business owner involved with real estate development. He is a licensed real estate agent and was a past president of the Highland County Board of Realtors. He was also a Highland County commissioner and lives near Hillsboro with his wife and two daughters.
In a separate news release this week, Wilkin said the Ohio House has approved legislation to help communities refinance local infrastructure projects to help save money.
“This is a common sense bill,” Wilkin said in the news release. “It makes government more effective and efficient, and helps reduce costs.”
The legislation was unanimously approved by the House.
The bill will allow the Ohio Water Development Authority to refinance loans when interest rates drop. Currently, the state agency is only allowed to finance projects. The agency helps local governments throughout the state with environmental infrastructure financing.
Wilkin said the idea for the issue stems from his days as a county commissioner.
The measure earned widespread support from state and local officials, including the Ohio Municipal League and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. It now moves to the Ohio Senate for consideration.
In 2018, the Ohio Water Development Authority approved loans totaling $943,669,918 for the planning and construction of water, sewer, brownfield remediation, and solid waste facilities. OWDA funded 380 projects in 84 of the 88 counties in Ohio. These projects replaced aging infrastructure, expanded capacity of treatment plants, and installed technology for better water quality.
For more information, contact Wilkin’s office at 614-466-3506 or [email protected].
