Baker seeks second term in statehouse
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published Feb. 10, 2010

Nan Baker

Saying that jobs is the top issue across the Westshore as well as the state, Nan Baker formally announced her bid for re-election to the 16th District seat in the Ohio House of Representatives Feb. 2.

Baker, who with her husband, Craig, owns Cricket Yard Equipment, a lawn mower sales and service business, said she would continue to advocate for small business owners in a second term.

The ranking Republican member of the House’s Economic Development Committee points to 10 job-related bills she helped assemble in consultation with state business leaders. Eight of the bills are now before committees, she noted.

One of the proposals would give businesses a $2,400 tax credit for hiring previously unemployed workers. Another would grant five-year tax credits to Ohioans who receive a baccalaureate degree.

The tax credits will create new jobs, Baker argued. Any government revenue lost through the tax breaks would more than be made up for in taxes paid by newly employed workers.

“Any new job created is contributing,” she said.

Baker said she has seen several well-intentioned bills proposed that would harm small business owners through burdensome regulation or mandates. In response, she has backed bills that will make doing business in the state easier for small entrepreneurs.

“I think I’m a good proponent for small business,” Baker said.

One bill she introduced would enable businesses the option of offering paid time off in place of overtime compensation.

Another bill she backed would create an online small business resource center to serve as a clearinghouse of information related to commerce in Ohio.

Baker said she is passionate about raising awareness of jobs-related legislation.

Even though the unemployment rate in the Westshore suburbs may not be as high as the rest of the state, Baker said many of her constituents are worried about losing their jobs.

“It is an overriding anxiety that exists,” Baker said.

Many others in the area are underemployed or have been forced to take pay cuts, she added.

Baker, who defeated incumbent Jennifer Brady in November 2008, said her previous experience on Westlake City Council and the Westlake Board of Education was good preparation for the statehouse.

However, the state legislature is set up to operate in a more partisan way than such local bodies, something she has learned to accept. But it’s been frustrating to be in the minority party, she said.

Had Republicans been in the majority, Baker believes they would have acted sooner and more decisively in working to create jobs.

Baker also believes Gov. Ted Strickland has not provided effective leadership of the Democrats in the legislature.

The Democrats also did not act soon enough to prevent a huge budget deficit, she said. To plug the $851 million deficit, the Ohio Legislature voted late last year to delay a planned 4.2-percent cut in the state income tax. Baker, who voted against delaying the tax cut, saw the delay as a tax increase.

Thus far, no Republican candidate has come forth to challenge Baker for her party’s nomination. On the Democratic side, Fairview Park Councilwoman Peggy Cleary and educator and former journalist Rosemary Palmer, a resident of Bay Village, have announced they are seeking Baker’s seat.

On the Web:

• Rep. Baker's official House Web site
• Nan Baker's campaign site

Previous West Life articles:

• Cleary running for 16th House seat (Jan. 20, 2010 issue)