Lifter by trade representative by choice

Scott Charland is running for Ohio Senate District 19 which includes Delaware, Coshocton, Holmes, and Knox Counties.  

Scott has been a strength and conditioning coach for over 25 years.  He was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at The Ohio State University and the Head Strength and Conditioning coach at Saint Louis University, Temple University and Butler University.  He currently works in health care as a Manager of Human Performance.  In this role, he oversees 23 strength and conditioning coaches from the High School, Collegiate, and private sector.  

Scott is running to make Ohio’s public schools stronger, to implement stronger protection of Ohio’s natural resources, and to enact strong working class economic policies.  Scott believes that politicians have lost sight of who they should really be serving, the working class and underrepresented, and have instead focused almost entirely on helping the wealthy and large corporations.

Scott is active in the community and serves on the Orange Township Parks Advisory Committee and is an active volunteer for the Ohio Nature Conservancy, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, Friends of the Lower Olentangy (FLOW) and the American Red Cross.  

Scott and his wife Tonya have been married 25 years and have a son who attends Ohio State University and a daughter in the Olentangy School District.  He is a former national and state champion powerlifter.  Scott received his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and his master’s degree in Education from the University of Alabama- Birmingham.

Policy positions

  • Strong Public Education

    School vouchers are decimating public education in Ohio.  Each year, over 1 billion dollars is stolen from public school children to pay for the children of wealthy families to attend private schools.  These private schools have no regulations on the teachers they employ, and the schools can discriminate against the children they accept.  If these vouchers cannot be overturned in the courts, I will introduce legislation to change the application process.  Instead of the private school submitting the application, I will require all parents, along with their children, to apply in person for these “scholarships”.

  • Protecting Natural resources

    There are over 200 data centers in Ohio, making Ohio fifth in the nation in total data centers.  Data centers impart a terrible environmental toll.  From the destruction of the forest and farmland needed to clear the site, to the enormous amounts of water required to cool them, and the massive amounts of energy they use, and thus pollution they create, the environmental toll is not worth the potential “benefits” they bring.  

    Further, noise and light pollution emitted by these monstrous facilities affects the mental well-being of their residential neighbors and makes their property value almost worthless.  It is not enough to repeal the tax break data centers receive, nor is it enough to require them to generate their own power, Ohio must put a ban on all future data centers.

  • wealth tax

    Ohio currently has a 2.75% flat tax rate on income over $26,050.  This means that a worker making $30,000 pays the same effective tax rate as an individual making $10,000,000 per year.  I will introduce legislation to enact a 5% wealth tax on all income over $1,000,000.  By law, the revenue generated must be spent on helping Ohio’s affordability crisis.  The tax would be used for the following.  Raising initial public-school teacher and counselor salary to $60,000.  Providing free school breakfast and lunch to all public education students.  The remaining money will be used to pay off medical debt for all Ohioans.  

  • Working class economic policy

    The minimum wage in Ohio is $11/ hour.  It INCREASED to this number on January 1.  While corporations record higher profits each year, the working men and women of Ohio are being left behind.  I will introduce legislation to raise the minimum wage to $20/ hour and tie that number to inflation.

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