EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Lear runs for Senate — talks property taxes, gun rights, labor costs

State Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, discussed her run for state Senate while also sharing her perspectives in an exclusive Ohio.News interview, tackling property taxes, the Second Amendment and labor costs.

Lear, who currently represents House District 61, is running in the Republican primary for Senate District 19, which includes Delaware, Knox, Coshocton and Holmes counties.

Lear added that she “didn’t want to run for Senate,” but eventually decided to do it because she wanted somebody in the Senate who would “stand firm on conservative principles… and there wasn’t anybody else stepping up.”

Lear reassured Ohio voters that she will not abandon her conservative principles if she wins the race, citing her job at the Buckeye Institute, where she was working on school-choice issues, the charter-school movement and efforts to end Ohio’s estate tax.

“If you’re going to say that you’re conservative, there has to be evidence that you’ve done conservative things… even when you’re not elected,” she said. “You need to do what you said you would do.”

According to Lear, she adopted that way of thinking and, as a result, helped pass the Protect All Students Act, which prohibited shared K-12 and college bathrooms and locker rooms for males and females.

“We were able, against all odds… to get that bill amended,” she said.

Lear also mentioned property taxes, noting that many people simply cannot afford them. She used Delaware County as an example, saying its residents are struggling with property taxes despite the county’s reputation as a place where rich people live.

“People who own their homes and paid off their mortgage a decade or two ago” cannot afford the high tax bills, she said.

Lear said she initially threatened to vote against the state budget until “there was something in it for my property owners,” referring to a recent “$4.2 billion in property tax relief.”

Lear then shared her frustration, noting that Ohio politicians are not very concerned about passing bills to protect people’s Second Amendment rights.

“I’m not seeing much concern down in the legislature, except from a handful of us,” she said.

Lear mentioned that she is co-sponsoring legislation to strengthen stand-your-ground protections and supports the Second Amendment Preservation Act, arguing that this act is needed to shield Ohioans “from government overreach” and federal regulations.

Lear pointed out that “the safest places in America are the places that have broad protections for gun owners,” using Chicago as an example of a place that, despite having strict gun laws, has high crime rates.

She also discussed union-linked prevailing-wage requirements, saying the system inflates government construction costs by “20% sometimes more,” which burdens local taxpayers.

“I didn’t run for office because I was looking for a career,” she said about the lack of her long-term political ambition. “I don’t intend to run for office forever… I just want to do my job and then go home.”