Two candidates — Republican incumbent Ron Maag and Democrat challenger Mike Kassalen — with differing opinions on the economy and direction of the state of Ohio are vying for state representative of the 62nd District, which covers Springboro, Franklin, Carlisle, Waynesville and surrounding areas in western and southern Warren County.

Kassalen, who lives in Morrow, said he is opposed to many of the bills the Republican controlled legislature has brought to the state in the past two years.

“When Gov. (John) Kasich took office, he came in with Senate Bill 5, voter suppression, redistricting, privatizing everything while, meanwhile, bills for protecting people from foreclosure where shot down,” Kassalen said. “The pattern of what they have presented is very scary. The legislature is basically telling people ‘Hey, I got it made, but if you don’t, then it’s too bad for you’ and that’s not an acceptable answer.”

Kassalen said he wants to work on job creation and ensuring that people are paid a living wage.

“Economy is still the biggest issue of this election,” Kassalen said. “Even though Warren County has a better employment record than the rest of the state, people are still underemployed and out of work.”

Kassalen said he wants to see more attention paid to Warren County from Columbus and bring back resources to the area from the state.

“I realize this is a Republican area,” Kassalen said. “I’ll work with anyone who has a good idea. My opponent votes very partisan. I’m happy to go to both sides of the aisle and work both things out. I’m interested in people, not the party.”

Maag, of Lebanon, is running on not just his own record, but the cumulative total of the Republican controlled House over the last two years.

“In my first term, we (the Republicans) were in the minority and the Democrats accomplished next to nothing,” Maag said. “During my second term, the Republicans were in charge and I was quite proud to serve in this Republican caucus.

Maag noted that when he was sworn in, the state was facing an $8 billion deficit, it’s bond rating was on watch, unemployment was close to 10 percent and the state had depleted its rainy day funds. He said the state is now on the right track, with a balanced budget and one of the top new job producing states in the country.

“Unemployment is down to 7.2 percent — it’s not good enough, but it’s a real improvement considering where we were coming from,” Maag said.

Maag worked on the finance committee where a lot of the work to balance the budget was.

“People have to realize what a big deal it was to do what this caucus did,” Maag said. “We balanced the state’s budget even while eliminating the death tax and reinstating the last of the reductions of state income tax. But it’s not an individual thing. It’s been a group effort.”

If reelected, Maag said he wants to continue to explore the opportunities presented by harvesting the gas deposits in the eastern portion of the state.

“I want to do this in a safe environment and in a way in which we can still get the biggest bang for our buck,” Maag said. “The success of these gas deposits will translate across the whole state of Ohio. People will be able to find a lot of jobs and businesses related to these gas and oil fields. It’s a big deal for the state of Ohio.”