The following is a presentation of FCB Faith. This is Keeping America First with Bishop John T. Coates and Reverend Jeff Jemison on FCB Faith. Greetings, I'm Bishop John Coates and you are listening to Keep America First, co-host by the one and only Pastor Jeffrey J. Jemison. So on today, we have an absolute terrific guest that I know that you're going to enjoy. Her name is Denise D'Angelo Steele, and she's a candidate for Ohio's 10th district in the Ohio House of Representatives. Good day. Hello. Thank you. Thank you for having me today. Well, it's so good to have you as a guest. I just want to open up with really asking We ask all candidates that decide to run for office, and that is what inspired you in the very first place to run for the Ohio House of Representatives? And maybe you can go into what experiences you feel that you have that prepared you to serve the people of your district. Yes, thank you. Thank you. I always appreciate an opportunity to share with folks why I'm on this journey and what we're going to do to make some improvements around Ohio, I feel like. So yeah, I'm Denise D'Angelo, and I'm running for the House District 10 here because, you know, years ago, I have three lovely sons. They're amazing. And I was a mom of three living through COVID, and it really opened my eyes to all of what's going on, right, outside of our house, which led me to Being on the school board. So I'm on the school board in our district. I have always been a part of helping my kids coach their teams, volunteering with the PTA. I do a lot of church and school activities, but it just wasn't enough. So I ran for school board and I won back in 2023. So all of these experiences have led me to where I am now, now running for the state house because, you know, we want more for our kids, right? We want to be able to help them in all areas. I was able to do that. I was helping with their teams. Okay. I'm coaching. We're helping. We're doing these things, helping PTA. Okay. I'll be on the school board or helping making tremendous experiences for our kids. You know, we took cell phones out of our schools before it even became a state law. We did it a year in advance and we're already seeing the benefits of that, but I want to do more. There's more we can do. There are some Ohio vice codes that are a little outdated and as a state representative, that's one of the things that I'll be able to do. And it's kind of got me on this path, right? Like taking that next step, doing, doing better each way we go. So I can go on forever and ever. Let's talk about the 10th district. Let's talk about the 10th district a little bit. Can you give us the, the boundaries of the district and kind of tell us something about, um, about it, about it. Yeah. Born and raised in this district. We are in house district 10 is on the Southwest side of Franklin County. We're on like the southwest side of Columbus. So my district covers a portion of the west side of Columbus, all the way over to German Village, and then down all the way to the south end of Columbus, and then all of Grove City. So we have a lovely pocket of a few different communities that I cover. Okay, and so you serve on the school board then of the Southwestern School District, is that correct? Yes, in Southwestern City Schools. Yeah, we are the fifth largest district in Ohio. In the second largest district in central Ohio. So it's a, it's a pretty nice size district. Okay. You, in November comes, you get successfully elected to office. You, um, do whatever you can to prepare as a, as a incoming new office holder. January, you're sworn in. What are the top two or three issues that you hope to address, um, when you enter into the state house and what specific actions do you intend to take on those issues? Yes, those are good questions. You need to have a game plan, right? You got it. We got to be ready to hit that ground running. And I think, I think we, I want to, I know that it would be a lot of seats changing here in January. So I got to keep an open mind about who's going to be where and what's happening. But for me, one of the first things that I'll be talking about, we have to have that tax conversation. We need to talk about taxes. We cannot be taxing people out of their homes that they own. And this is going to be a big conversation all in itself because taxes include so much of how Ohio functions. You know, it's how our schools, how our first responders, our community spaces are taken care of. And there's a way to fully fund all of these things without taking the money away from the property owner, right? Well, the House has been struggling, the Ohio General Assembly has been struggling with this property tax issue for some time and can't seem to come up with a solid solution. So, you know, you'll be a freshman. Yeah, being that freshman, I think sometimes you've got to have that fresh look, right, that fresh perspective. They have been hovering around this tax topic for a very long time. And I'm a path of least resistance, right? I don't think God has us here on this earth to be struggling every step of the way. There is a way to make this work. There are formulas being talked about. They're not formulas that I've come up with. So I'm not, you know, I don't have all the details, but there is a way other states are doing it. It's not like it's unheard of, right? Making these changes. making the tweaks to the taxes, reducing the property taxes a little bit, maybe increasing the sales tax a little bit. And it's not dramatic. You do not have to increase sales tax by 20% to cover the revenue from property taxes. I think we've all seen that formula already out there. But yeah, I think sometimes you need that fresh perspective. Some of those questions, I love asking questions. I think by asking the right ones and some key ones, we'll get people... thinking beyond where they are right now. But it's been, in my opinion, it's been way too long. We know it's an issue. We need to talk about it and actually get something done. It's all out there. What are we waiting for? What's your wish list for committee assignments? Yeah, I would like to be on the education committee, in case we haven't expressed that enough yet. Education is huge. Our educational system is so key. When you have safe, effective learning environments for our students and they're thriving, your community is going to see that, right? Your community is going to thrive from that experience, from having those effective school systems. And so that's going to be a committee I would like to be on. There are so many, so many committees. I know I don't want to, I don't want to make the mistake of trying to get on too many, right? I'm always very eager. I'm always ready to jump in and help out everywhere. But that one, you know, I have a, a license from the medical board. You know, I'm a massage therapist. I have my own practice. I'm kind of all in all the realms. So in addition to education, I think I'll mesh with any other committee they choose. Okay. You'll say you'll make it work, huh? Yeah, that's kind of the point there. Like, I think it'd be fun. Like, there are ones that like, yeah, I could see being on that one. But at the same time, it'd be kind of nice to be out of my comfort zone, right? And bring a different perspective to some of those. Mm-hmm. With being a state representative, there are defined responsibilities that you have, you know, in the actual office. There's a bully pulpit associated with the office, as well as your constituents might call you for various reasons, be it if their trash hasn't been picked up, or they may call you on school district issues. How do you plan to funnel all of those calls that you get that have absolutely nothing to do with being a state representative. Yeah, you know, that's, I don't mean to laugh at all. That is a very honest question. And that's a real thing. You know, being on the school board right now or whatever, if I was a PTA president of a school or being the coach of a team, you will get asked every question possible, which is fine because, you know, Do I know the answer? Am I not? But I will find somebody who does. And so I was just asked today, actually during lunch duty, what do you do? What's going to happen? And someone else said, well, they're going to ask you questions and they can help you with, they did say with your trash. So that's why I'm like, I have to laugh. It's so true. What am I going to do? You know, it's all about connections, right? Communication is so key in this day and age. And If you can, I welcome all the phone calls and all the emails, even if it's not my department, because chances are I can find out pretty quickly what avenue you need to go down to find your own answer. And sometimes, you know, when so many questions, I think it's nice to be aware of what questions are being asked, because maybe there's a certain area that there's so many questions on, then we need to go and revamp that area. Does that make sense? It makes sense. Yes. To so many of your future constituents, you will be their only link to the entity called the state of Ohio. Okay. Yeah. And individuals, businesses, et cetera. How would you work to bring state resources to economic development, jobs, and other opportunities back to the community in your district. It's going to be checking out all of those, the state funding, the grants, all the grants, the capital improvement grants that are available. And not only will I be working on those, but I'll also encourage different organizations around town, like, hey, there are ways to bring money into the area and help you achieve your goals. And I can't wait to share those all the information with the folks here. It's keeping that connection with them, you know, making sure working with small businesses, again, in the workforce educational department, making sure that our tech programs, we have a really great career academy here in Southwestern City Schools. We're very blessed with our career academy and we are making great, great strides in that area, but we can always do more, right? We need to bring it more out to our, expand it to our other high schools. And I want to say, I wish we had that for Every school system in Ohio needs to have these career tech programs in their buildings. And, you know, being a part of the community, being a part of the community and going to every church, going to every organization and letting them know, hey, these resources are available to you and sharing that. Because I think sometimes we just don't know what's even available. And I know, right, people kind of retire out of their positions. And so maybe they might take that knowledge with them. Again, being the new person on the block, I can bring kind of revitalize that area. OK, kind of wrapping everything up. You know, the question is, why must you be elected? Why should the voters of the 10th district elect you and how can they get involved with your campaign or reach out to you? Yes, these are great questions and very important questions. So I do feel I'm the right person for this job. I do feel like I'm the right person to represent House District 10. I'm active in the community. I know I'm saying this over and over again, but I do have a good baseline, a good sense of what folks want here in Ohio, because I'm not just in one area, right? I'm in all of the, whether it's at the church, it's at the schools, it's at the parks, I'm I hear from a lot of folks and we all want the same thing with the taxes and the data centers and things like that. So I feel like I, with the knowledge that I have me being your elected official, I'll be ready. I'm not going to, I'm not going to lose lag time. Right. And not knowing when I'm going to contact you or you're going to get involved in your campaign. How can they do that? Yes, they can get involved. I have a website. It's Denise D'Angelo.com and there's information on there. I'm on Facebook at D'Angelo for Ohio and, That's a great way to get in touch with me. I'm again, always looking forward to people reaching out. And one good thing I want to mention about your vote for me is going to be a vote for, I'll be in the majority, which means that I will have that stronger voice that my vote will go further, right? Being a part of that majority. And that's, that's key, right? It's a super majority. It's a, it's a super majority. And that's, and that's a very good point. Listen, Thank you, Denise D'Angelo Steele, for your time today, and may God bless you and your campaign. I'm Bishop John Coates, and on behalf of Pastor Jeffrey Jemison and myself, we thank you for taking the time to listen to Keeping America First. Until next time.
