The race for the 33rd Ohio Senate District seat is an unusual one — it wasn’t supposed to be on this year’s ballot and neither the incumbent, Republican Al Cutrona of Canfield, nor his challenger, Democrat Marty Hume of Youngstown, ran in a primary.

The seat became open when Republican Michael Rulli of Salem won a special June 11 election for the then-vacant U.S. 6th Congressional District seat and resigned from the state Senate position the next day.

The winner will serve the remaining two years left on Rulli’s term. The seat will be on the ballot again in 2026.

Cutrona, an Ohio House member for four years, won a 4-2 vote June 13 in an internal Republican political struggle to be his party’s nominee on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The Republican Party chairs and secretaries of the three counties in the 33rd District — Mahoning, Columbiana and Carroll — voted that day.

Cutrona got the backing of those from Mahoning and Carroll counties, while state Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbiana, got support from the two in Columbiana County.

Cutrona was sworn in June 26, the last day the Senate met. The Legislature isn’t scheduled to meet again until after the election.

The district favors Republicans by about 9.5% based on statewide partisan voting results during the past decade.

Hume was among five Democrats who sought the party’s appointment. When the four other candidates withdrew, the party selected Hume.

Hume has unsuccessfully run for judicial seats on the Youngstown Municipal Court in 2019, Girard Municipal Court in 2011 and the 11th District Court of Appeals in 1998.

Cutrona was appointed in May 2020 to the Ohio House, replacing Don Manning, who had died, and went on to win elections in November 2020 and November 2022.

Cutrona said one of his major accomplishments is “the incredible amount of funding brought back to our region and our community,” including $22.3 million in the state’s recent One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund and the capital budget.

Pointing to a column in The Vindicator, Hume said Mahoning County received less money than it should have from the state based on population.

Cutrona said per capita, Mahoning County received the ninth most funding in One-Time Strategic and capital funds when it has the 13th largest population among Ohio’s 88 counties.

LIBRARY BOOK BILL

Hume said of Cutrona, “I see an extremist. He’s proposed banning books from school libraries. I believe it’s a First Amendment issue. I want children to read books. I don’t want to be banning them. Obviously, there is a role for the school administration in making sure that pornography or other things entirely inappropriate don’t get into the schools, but I don’t believe they’re in there now or that the persons responsible for determining content are not capable of making those decisions.”

Cutrona said, “The only thing I’m extreme about is my passion for the community and the work I’ve done in the district.”

Cutrona introduced legislation in the House in June to prohibit public libraries from allowing those under 18 to borrow or view materials deemed “harmful to juveniles” without parental consent.

“The library bill has nothing to do with banning books and it’s concerning that my opponent would make such claims,” Cutrona said. “It would keep books in the library, but would give parents consent.”

The “harmful to juveniles” definition in Ohio law, updated April 4, 2023, is “any material or performance describing or representing nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sado-masochistic abuse in any form.”

Cutrona’s bill would permit anyone to file a complaint over material believed to be “harmful to juveniles” with the state library board, which would investigate whether the library is complying with the requirements. Public libraries found in violation would have their state funding withheld.

“I’m not an extremist in any way, shape or form,” Cutrona said. “I’m extreme about my passion about my district and that shows with the work I’ve done and the bills I’ve passed.”

Hume describes himself as part of the “moderate middle that looks to solve problems rather than needlessly create issues that serve to divide the community.”

Cutrona said if he wasn’t the state senator “it would be detrimental to the community. You’d place a senator in not the minority, but the extreme superminority. You’d hear nothing. I have a record to stand on. I have a track record of four years of success and hope to have the same success in the next two years of the term.”

During Cutrona’s first full term in the Ohio House, he passed more bills than any other member.

That includes a bill to require prescriptions for Schedule II drugs to be filled electronically to cut down on fraudulent possession of opioids.

PROPERTY TAXES

Cutrona said, “Addressing the issue of property tax is by far my top priority. It’s a major issue for my constituents.”

Cutrona wants to pass legislation that provides relief for those on a fixed income, including senior citizens, and for military veterans as well as change how property valuations are determined to make it fair for homeowners.

Hume said homeowners pay too much in property taxes because of the state’s overreliance on local property taxes and rather than properly fund public education, the Republican-controlled state Legislature has “diverted funds from the public schools by supporting private charter schools and expanding school vouchers at a cost of over $1 billion to Ohio taxpayers.”

Hume plans to work on a bipartisan proposal to find a funding formula that does not primarily rely on local property taxes and propose legislation to limit tax hikes due to increased valuations for owner-occupied homes.

Cutrona and Hume want to focus on reducing crime.

Cutrona, chief operating officer for the Northeast Ohio Infectious Disease Institute, said, “We have to address crime and the fentanyl and sex trafficking coming through our state. We need to give law enforcement the tools it needs.”

Hume, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor for 23 years, said Ohio’s prisons are overcrowded and “we must make sure that we have sufficient prison space to hold violent dangerous offenders as is necessary to protect the public.”

In Mahoning County, a reentry court exists where a team of probation officers and local professionals supervise offenders released from prison, he said.

“We need to expand programs like the reentry court to try to balance the number of inmates with the available prison space,” Hume said. “However, if overcrowding persists, we may need to build additional prisons to enhance the safety of our community.”