Rep. Phil Robinson holds last of five Ohio Promise Town Halls

State Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon) yesterday evening held a community town hall in Walton Hills as his last stop on the Ohio Promise Town Hall Tour, a statewide legislative town hall series hosted by House Democratic members. The purpose of the tour is to hear from constituents in their districts about their most pressing concerns, answer questions, and discuss the state budget, bipartisan priorities, and a number of recent Democratic-led, legislative wins for working people and families.

“For this town hall, I tried to dive deep into the local concerns of Walton Hills. I will now do my best to help the community resolve these issues,” said Rep. Robinson. “We had great turnout in Walton Hills and I was happy to speak to the members of the community. The Ohio Promise Tour is over, but his won’t be the last of the town halls I do this year though, stay tuned to our office on more updates on this.”

Walton Hills Mayor Don Kolograf kicked off the event with an introduction of Rep. Robinson. The town hall followed Rep. Robinson explaining the Ohio Promise, giving a legislative update, discussing the state operating budget and how it impacts House District 6, his policy priorities in education, workforce development, and gun safety reform, and addressing some local issues of the Walton Hills. The event concluded with an open forum to allow constituents to ask questions to Rep. Robinson and identify community concerns that can be addressed by state government.

The town hall was well received with over 40 constituents attending. Audience members in Walton Hills wanted to know about the HB 6 and the FirstEnergy bailout, school funding, 5G cell towers, high school job training and career development programs, local concerns related to residential group homes and the MGM Northfield Park, and many other issues.

The recently passed state budget was also a major topic of conversation as Rep. Robinson detailed the process itself as well as a number of state budget provisions House Democrats fought for that seek to strengthen local communities and put people first.

Some notable District 6 and Democratic budget wins include:

• Increasing in the Local Government Funds (LGF) and making more funds available to smaller cities and villages with populations under 50,000, which qualifies most of the communities in House District 6. An overall 33% increase for 2020 and a nearly 36% increase for 2021 in total LGF estimated for District 6. That is an estimated at almost $2 million each year total LGF for the district.
• Investing in education, with a 4.8% increase in funding for public school districts and more than $650 million in wraparound services, which include innovative and collaborative ways to support our children and give them the tools they need to succeed.
• Raising the minimum wage for direct service employees base salary of teachers with bachelor’s degrees, strengthening Ohio’s promise that if you work hard, you can get ahead.
• Making college more affordable by increasing funding for Ohio’s College Opportunity Grants for low-income students.
• Putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking Ohioans by passing a tax cut for working people and middle class families.
• Passing a moratorium on Ohio’s failed state-takeovers of public schools.
• Increased funding for the Public Library Fund, Public Defenders, Rape Crisis Centers, and other great programs.

Rep. Robinson previously held four other town halls in August in Solon, Lyndhurst, Chagrin Falls, and Brecksville, OH. Over 120 constituents attended all four town halls.

Rep. Robinson represents Ohio’s 6^th House District, which includes Bentleyville, Brecksville, Broadview Heights, Chagrin Falls, Chagrin Falls Township, Gates Mills, Glenwillow, Highland Heights, Hunting Valley, Independence, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Village, Moreland Hills, Oakwood Village, Seven Hills, Solon, Valley View, and Walton Hills.