Members of the state House of Representatives have a responsibility to represent a diverse group of constituents.

Tedd Nesbit thinks his unique career path makes him an ideal candidate to do that.

The Grove City native worked as a television news anchor, a truck driver, and a human resources manager before getting his law degree.

“My unusual career path does make me perfectly qualified for this position,” he said. “I’ve been a blue collar worker up through an advanced degree. And I understand how hard it is in the current economy.”

Nesbit said he can relate to a variety of constituents, and wants to use his experiences to better represent them.

“I look at this as a way to give back to the community and be an advocate for this area,” he said.

Natural gas drillingNesbit is a big supporter of the natural gas industry. He said drilling is a major economic boost for many people.“Our local people get a lot of money for it,” he said of drilling.He wants to help produce more qualified workers for the industry through various programs, including those at vocational schools and community colleges.“The companies are bringing in workers from Texas because we don’t have them trained right now,” he said.Nesbit said he thinks fracking in gas drilling needs to be done in a safe manner, and supports initiatives that would make drillers disclose the chemicals they use in the process.“The bottom line is, let’s keep it safe and make money off it,” he said.

EducationNesbit said he does not think the state needs to increase funding for education.“The state spent more money on education this year than ever before,” he said. “We’re spending $14,000 per pupil.”Nesbit said instead of how much is being spent, the state needs to look at where the funding is going.“The real question is can we spend it better,” he said.Nesbit said he would fight to eliminate overhead in the education system, and would put control of education back in the hands of local officials.He also said better economic development would lessen the burden of education.“We need to grow the economy so that we don’t have to cut the budget,” he said.

Pension reformNesbit said he does not believe the state should change or alter any pension benefits for individuals already in the system.“I don’t believe they can be touched,” he said. “We need to tackle the problem with people coming into the system.”Nesbit said new employees should be enrolled in a 401k system rather than set benefits.He also said more contributions from the employees may be necessary.

Tax reformNesbit said one of the main points on his platform is tax reform.“I think property taxes need to be reduced or eliminated,” he said. “At a minimum for the seniors.”Nesbit said the state likely would have to raise both sales and income tax.He said he believes sales tax should go up by 1 percent.“I would want to keep (the increases) as low as possible,” he said. “Rather than raising taxes, the state should focus on reducing spending.”

DrugsNesbit said his background as a lawyer gives him insight into issues with drugs because “a high percentage of what clogs our court system is related to addiction.”Nesbit said, “Simply incarcerating drug addicts is not a solution to the problem.”He would favor drug testing welfare recipients, but warned it could cause problems.“Say we drug test a woman and she fails, but she has three kids at home,” he said. “Then what do you do?”

AgricultureNesbit said he is theoretically against state programs that reward farmers for keeping their land for agricultural use.“I don’t like to see the government interfering with the private sector markets,” he said.However, Nesbit said he understands the importance of keeping farmlands and would not actively fight against the process.