Stephens looks back at first half of term as speaker

It was just over a year ago when a political name, familiar to Lawrence Countians for decades, pulled off a major upset and became a force in statewide politics.

In January 2023, State Rep. Jason Stephens, R-93, of Getaway, whose district also covers Gallia, Vinton and Jackson counties, was elected as speaker of the House for the state.

Stephens’ win came as a surprise to political observers, as the House Republican caucus had chosen a different pick for speaker, but, when the vote for the full House came, Stephens was able to pull away enough Republican supporters to ally with Democrats in the Chamber and win the gavel.

With a full year leading the chamber under his belt, Stephens spoke with The Ironton Tribune in February about his time on the job.

“We have not had a representative from Lawrence County in the statehouse since 1993,” Stephens, who was appointed to his four-county legislative seat, previously held by the retiring Republican Ryan Smith, said. “Of course, we had good representatives, they just weren’t from Lawrence County. And the last Republican representative from Lawrence County was Oakley Collins in 1974. So it had been a while since a Lawrence Countian had roamed the halls of the statehouse.”

Stephens said one thing he has had to do since arriving in Columbus is introducing the county to others.

“What was really interesting to me was the number of people who didn’t know where Lawrence County is,” he said. “They knew I was from down south when they heard me talk, but they didn’t know exactly where Lawrence County was. We all get those questions – ‘Is that close to Chillicothe or Marietta?’ Just knowing and being able to be a voice for our area — it’s really important and puts us on the map. Were part of Ohio and what makes Ohio great.”

Stephens was born in Lawrence County and grew up as a child “out 775” before the family relocated for his father’s UPS job, living in Belpre, Ohio, Cumberland, Maryland and then Princeton, West Virginia, where he graduated high school. He never severed his ties to the Tri-State though, noting he spent his summers with his grandparents in Rome Township as the family moved around.

Following high school, Stephens attended Lipscomb University in Nashville and, after graduation, took a job with Bankers Trust doing record keeping and handling 401k plans.

“It was a large merchant bank and I was on the corporate track,” he said.

But, when his grandmother retired from Stephens and Sons insurance in Lawrence County, he moved home with his wife, Juli.

“The plans was to start working for the family business as a financial planner and insurance agent,” he said.

And it was shortly after that, in 1997, that he was drawn into politics. He and his wife were attending one of the Lawrence County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinners at the Grandview Inn, when he was approached about running for county commission.

“I was too young to know better and said yes,” Stephens said of his campaign, which took place the following year.

He came in second in a three-way primary that year, but, two years later, he made another run and won the seat, taking office in 2001 at the age of 29.

He recalls that he and Huntington, West Virginia Mayor David Felinton both won on the same night and were featured in local media as the first from Generation X to win office in the Tri-State.

Stephens was reelected two times as commission and, midway through his third term, in 2010, he ran for and was elected as Lawrence County auditor, succeeded the retiring Ray “Moose” Dutey in that office.

He was re-elected two more times to that office and served until 2018, when he was appointed to Smith’s statehouse seat.

Stephens has also served as the county’s Republican executive chair since 2017, having served as vice chair under Dutey for 15 years prior.

When asked why he decided to speak the top spot in the House, Stephens replied, “I think the speakership in especially in any legislative body is extremely important.”

“Ohio is such a large state. It is really important for an area like ours to make sure our voices are heard,” He said. “And my experience in local government gave me the skill set to be able to handle all the things that can come through a government position like this.”

He spoke of how local politics had prepared him for the position.

“From a young age and, for two decades of serving, you learn how to listen and enact things,” he said. “You know how government works — a lot of the laws passed are implemented at county level. County auditors do that and county commissioners do it as well. Having that firsthand knowledge is something we needed in the state. Many years, we would sit in the courthouse and have a bill or a law passed that was adverse to county government one way or the other. I just felt like that voice was needed.”

Initially, Stephens’ election as speaker was a point of contention in state politics, with the state Republican Party even going so far as to pass a censure resolution against him and his supporters.

But, over the following year, that discord seems to have dwindled and House Republicans have shown unity, with Stephens noting they passed 80 percent of the caucus’s agenda.

“I go back to working with people in the Lawrence County Courthouse,” Stephens said of dealing with the atmosphere in the statehouse. “It teaches you how to work with folks you may not necessarily agree with. I know, in my experience there. You work to find common ground and, if you are able to – you put the people first and you’re able to govern in a way that is helpful to the community or the state. I think the way we are able to do those things, whether it is the tax cuts, the budget, the transportation budget or redistricting — just having that stability is important. It’s politics. There’s always noise in politics. That’s why everyone likes to watch it. But we are trying to make Ohio better.” 

Stephens notes that the theme of the House has been “Make Ohio our Home.”

“It’s been a really successful general assembly for Ohio and, in particular, our part of Ohio in Appalachia, whether it is school funding or road funding. And we increased funding for is Medicaid, which is big for our health care. Whether people are on Medicaid or not, it is good for our area. And, at the same time doing that, we’re cutting taxes. Those are the kind of good, conservative policies that make our economy grow, and I think that’s part of reason things have settled down a bit.”

Stephens spoke of misconceptions some may have about Lawrence County and the surrounding area.

“Our area in particular is not as rural as think we are,” he said. “Lawrence County is big enough, being part of Huntington-Ashland area, if where we live was all in Ohio, we’d be the ninth largest metro area in the state. We have big city problems, but small county budgets — and that’s something we’ve always had to deal with.”

Stephens said, while he knew Ohio is extremely diverse, his first year as speaker has re-enforced to him all the state has           to offer.

“I’m amazed every day, whenever I get to travel in Ohio,” he said. “It’s been amazing to see how much stuff goes on, whether it is manufacturing or the financial industry. There are just so many things our nation and world relies on Ohio for — everything from medical equipment to Dum Dum suckers to NFL footballs to pizza rolls that are made in Jackson. We’ve got both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Football Hall of Fame.“

But he says, in these travels, communication is key. 

“I’ve found that people are people,” he said. “It doesn’t take much time to listen. If you can listen, you can find out what the needs are — at any level of public service, whether you’re a school board member or a trustee or county official or speaker of the House.“

Stephens was asked about his proudest accomplishment he oversaw in his first year as speaker.

“Well, I think for our region, it was securing funding for the Chesapeake Bypass and outer belt project,” he said. “That is something our region has been working on for decades. and I think one of the biggest things we’ve been able to do.”

On the statewide level, he pointed to tax cuts.

“We passed the largest income tax cuts in the state’s history, flattening our income tax rates to the 2.75 and 3.5 percent,” he said. “I thought that was really important. Also, we continue to increase funding for our public schools, but we also continued to increase the funding for our technology centers, like Collins Career Technical Center, and getting those career paths available to our young people.”

There is an eight-year term limit on House members, meaning that Stephens can run for re-election to his seat this year and in 2026. There is no limit on the speakership, other than the representative’s own term.

“Absolutely, yes,” Stephens said, when asked if he plans to seek the speakership again when the new general assembly convenes in 2025. “We’re working every day to maintain that leadership and maintain the speaker’s gavel so we can continue to do great things for Ohio.”

He was asked about his legislative priorities going forward.

“One of the things I’ve always believed in, as you continue to manage the budget, if your government stays within budget and you’re keeping those things taken of, the fundamentals, that tends to give opportunities for other things.”

He said the first priority is ensuring the state budget is in working order.

He also cited improving infrastructure as a top goal.

“More specifically, what I’d love to see is we work on our interstate system in the region,” he said. “We’ve got four-lane roads that go all the way to Cincinnati — and State Route 32 and, of course, the Portsmouth Bypass. You’ve got U.S. 23 that goes up to Columbus and, frankly, I’d like to get rid of some traffic lights between here and there, so we don’t have to stop.”

He also cited a local project he wanted to bring movement to.

“We want to continue on the transportation side of things with the Merrick Creek bridge on the north side of the outer belt that would connect Proctorville with Barboursville. That’s a very big thing and we need to get the bypass done first, obviously.”

Stephens said he hopes to announce a series of strategic investments across the state, the details of which are to come.

“We want to try to put those things in place,” he said. “Ohio is in a position of financial strength that we haven’t seen since the 1950s or ‘60s, so we’re able to make some investments in our communities and across the state that are going to continue to bear fruit. It’s an opportunity to really change our state and have some generational change.”

It is that optimism he says he has seen grow over the decades he has served in public office.

 “The one thing different from when I took office 20 years ago and became commissioner — three weeks later, Ironton Hospital had closed, Cabletron had just left. We were facing a real economic crisis, frankly, in Lawrence County, in particular.”

But he said the county was able to turn that situation around.

“We were able to weather that storm with the building of the Duke Energy power plant at the time and now The Point industrial park,” Stephens said. “We have been able to turn our economy around and I kind of judge it by the fact that, when you had a conversation with people back in 2001, everybody talked about ‘back in our day’ and “Back in the ‘70s, it was great.’”

He says the mood has changed, as evidenced by people he talked to at a recent graduation at Collins Career Technical Center.

“I got to speak there this past spring,” Stephens said. “You see a different level of optimism now that I’ve never seen before. Instead of talking about 20 years ago, people are having more conversations about what’s going to happen in a year or two, ‘when I get this job,’ ‘when this road gets built’ or ‘when that comes in.’”  

He says he now sees a focus on the future in the region.

“And that’s really what I’m hoping we can do with the entire state of Ohio,” Stephens said. “And you’re starting to see signs of that optimism and positivity toward the future. It just takes a lot of work, a lot of diligence on the government part to really stay out of the private sector’s way and be an assistant to success where we can.”

Despite his big role in state government, Stephens said he still loves to speak with his constituents back home.

“The great thing about Lawrence Countians, they will tell you exactly how they feel, and that really is a great thing,” he said “Me and my family really appreciate all the support Lawrence County has shown us for 25 years now. It’s really quite amazing. I’m just really proud to live in Lawrence County and want to continue serving Lawrence County as long as I can.” σ