AFP Ohio — Buckeye Blueprint Endorsement
AFP Ohio is proud to announce its endorsement of Caleb Stidham for Ohio House District 89 in the November election.
Caleb Stidham is the Republican nominee for Ohio House District 89, covering Erie, Ottawa, and Huron Counties. He currently serves as Erie County Treasurer and Chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, and he’s made property tax relief his top campaign priority, drawing on his experience cutting taxes and delivering results as county treasurer.
Economic Opportunity
Stidham supports building on Ohio’s newly enacted flat 2.75% income tax with further cuts, while overhauling what he views as an inefficient and outdated local tax structure — pointing specifically to property taxes and the municipal income tax system as ripe for reform. He views the H.B. 6 bailout scandal as appalling, and while he doesn’t rule out targeted economic development incentives, he believes any incentive should be narrowly tied to the legitimacy of the business, the real necessity of the incentive, and its actual impact on jobs and investment. He also wants to shrink the state workforce through attrition, tighten oversight of public benefit programs like Medicaid and food stamps, and require greater legislative review before unelected state agency bureaucrats can impose new rules on job creators.
Energy Abundance
Stidham supports building on the free-market reforms in House Bill 15, believing the free market can regulate price if it’s allowed to work and that government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers in the energy sector. He also backs streamlining permitting for energy infrastructure projects like pipelines, power plants, and transmission lines, and would likely oppose any new mandates or hidden charges that would reverse HB 15’s reforms and raise costs on ratepayers.
Freedom in Education
A strong supporter of school choice, Stidham backs letting parents opt out of their local public school and redirect that funding toward private school, homeschooling, co-ops, non-chartered schools, or hands-on learning options — and he wants to see the legislature build on the progress it has already made expanding choice. For public schools, he wants funding tied to outcomes and a sharper focus on ensuring districts operate efficiently.
Modernizing Government in Ohio
Stidham believes Ohio’s nearly 4,000 political subdivisions create unnecessary fragmentation that increases property tax burdens, duplicates services, and drives up compliance costs. He supports state incentives for regional and shared services — like fire, EMS, and school administration — especially in shrinking communities asking a smaller pool of taxpayers to fund the same layers of government.
AFP Ohio is proud to endorse Caleb Stidham because his record as Erie County Treasurer, paired with a clear, detailed vision for cutting taxes, shrinking bureaucracy, and expanding freedom for families and job creators, reflects exactly the kind of leadership Buckeye Blueprint priorities call for in the Ohio House.
