Meet Joy Bennett running for Ohio House of Representatives in District 56
When asked why she decided to run for this position, Joy put it simply: “Enough people asked me to run.” She has experience running for city council back in 2019 and leading petition drives, so she is familiar with campaigning and what it takes. The current district representative is reaching their term limit, so the open seat made her decision even easier. She says that overall she feels hopeful about her decision to run as a state representative!
Joy is consistently working on finding out what the people in her district need. She let us know that many of the people she has spoken to are concerned about the direction their state is going in. Just last year, her city council voted to become a “sanctuary city for the unborn,” despite massive community outcry. Joy led a successful referendum against the abortion ban which was overturned. Ohio’s governor signed a 6-week “heartbeat bill” hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. This ban will lead to many babies being born into situations where they won’t receive the care they need. One of Joy’s main priorities is making sure Ohio children and their families have support like family leave, healthcare, quality schools, and abuse/mental health services. Joy told us that there is only one abuse center in her area and it doesn’t receive state funding. She aims to change that.
Many parents in her community are working hard while still barely scraping by, yet don’t qualify for government aid. Joy wants to fund programs that give everyone the opportunity to live good lives. While some legislators are caught up in generating inflammatory headlines and news stories, Joy will work on solving real issues. Joy says that Ohio’s public schools have been under- and unfairly funded for years. She supports a bipartisan bill that still needs permanent passage to implement a fair constitutional school funding plan.
Joy wants you to know that Ohioans are very proud of their state. Lately, the state has slipped in ratings across the board, and she wants to correct that. Her slogan is “It’s about we, not me” and that says it all. Joy aims to truly be a public servant who is focused on the people in her district and ready to meet their needs any way she can.
Something unique about Joy is that she plays the electric bass! It all started on the Sunday before Easter when Joy’s church needed a bass player so she took on the challenge. One week later, she was playing for her church and community members. She also has two dogs and two cats who (occasionally) get along!