3 candidates, 1 incumbent run for Ohio House District 47 seat

Butler County voters will choose between three candidates for one two-year term in the Ohio House of Representative race for the 47th District.

Two candidates are running for the first time – Democrat Jordan Haire and Libertarian Jason Purviance – while incumbent Republican Diane Mullins is running for a second term after being elected in November 2024 and serving since Jan. 1, 2025.

District 47 encompasses the cities of Hamilton and Oxford, as well as Hanover, Oxford, Reily and Fairfield townships.

During an event co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oxford and the Menard Family Center for Democracy on Oct. 7, Haire and Purviance were asked about their platforms and priorities.

Jordan Haire

Haire, the Democratic candidate for the 47th District, told attendees she’s a wife, mother, small business owner, mental health counselor and Butler County native. She’s the youngest of six children who grew up in the Catholic faith and said she values human dignity and service to others.

Haire said in her past 13 years as a trauma specialist, she’s sat with hundreds of clients of all backgrounds, “and the one thing that I have learned, and that they all have in common, is that the systems that were meant to support us in this country are failing us over and over again.”

“Broken systems make it impossible for us to thrive, let alone survive,” Haire said, pointing to figures regarding Ohioans’ abilities to pay bills and obtain health care. “Ohioans are tired. We’re tired of the lack of affordability. … We are tired of the lack of affordable health care, I am tired of our public education not being funded constitutionally. … We are tired of the lack of accountability.”

Haire pointed out Mullins’ missed sessions during her term amid personal health issues. According to reporting by the Journal-News referencing records from the Ohio House Clerk, Mullins missed 42 of 104 committee hearings total, and 13 of 14 voting sessions following her health complications.

“I want to show up in this community,” Haire said. “I want to be accessible.”

Haire told attendees some of the issues that are important to her center on education. Haire pointed to the state not fully paying the Fair School Funding Plan while continuing a private school voucher program that has been ruled unconstitutional by two courts.

She also pointed to legislation which restricts levies for school districts, saying funding for education is “one big, big thing for me.” She also pointed to Flock cameras and Medicaid as being two of her priorities.

“All of (the state’s) money is not put in the priority of the people of this state. I want to change that,” Haire said. 

“I teach people that every day, as a therapist, … how to change your thoughts and not (see) black and white,” Haire said. “We need somebody that knows what pain looks like. We need somebody that knows exactly what that system is going to do to one of our neighbors.”

Jason Purviance

Purviance, the Libertarian candidate for the 47th district, told attendees he is a resident of Fairfield Township, a husband and a father of a child in the Fairfield School District. He currently serves on the township’s board of zoning appeals and is employed as an aircraft mechanic.

In previous roles, he said he has traveled to various customer sites around the world.

“This is the work ethic that I'll bring to this job: attention to detail, (a) standard of work that does not waver because the room might be uncomfortable, and I have the ability to work with anybody in the room,” Purviance said. 

Purviance said his guiding principles for how he would represent the district if elected include protecting individual liberty, lowering taxes and not allowing additional taxes unless taxes are cut elsewhere, not allowing subsidies or bailouts for wealthy or connected businesses and “no more distraction.”

“You control your life, your choices and your property. The government should not, or should stay out of peaceful conduct,” Purviance said. “We'd like to see decisions stay as local as possible.” 

Purviance said he is the accident prevention team lead at work and is used to communicating safety issues from employees to management.

“There needs to be more representation face to face here in the district,” Purviance said.

He said what sets him apart from other candidates is that he’s paid for his campaign entirely on his own.

“I'm not asking; actually, I've turned down donations for my campaign. I did not seek endorsements. I am truly asking for your vote,” Purviance said. “I'm not asking for any PACs (political action committees), any corporation to endorse me. So, if I am elected, you will get me. You won't get a party. You won't get a company. My vote won't be bought by anyone, but it will be earned by you.”

Purviance said he’s running because the 47th District needs “a real voice.”

“We've had a lot of elected officials that are held by donors, endorsements or by the political party, and we need somebody that is going to be able to hold this seat and be able to speak for you,” Purviance said, adding he’s already laid out a guide for how he would operate as a representative if elected. 

Diane Mullins

Mullins, the Republican candidate for the 47th district, was not in attendance at the Oct. 7 event and did not respond to several attempts by the Oxford Free Press to contact her and her office before press time Oct. 28.