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Zach Stepp
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Zach Stepp (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Ohio House of Representatives to represent District 55. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Stepp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Zach Stepp was born in Lakewood, Ohio. He obtained an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago in June 2018. His professional experience includes working as a government and public sector strategy consultant and as a U.S. Congressional campaign manager. He has also held other various jobs in local and national politics. Stepp is a member of the Sierra Club, the NAACP, and the North Coast Chamber of Commerce. He is also a guardian ad litem in the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Ohio House of Representatives District 55
Incumbent Gayle L. Manning defeated Zach Stepp and Dale Stein in the general election for Ohio House of Representatives District 55 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gayle L. Manning (R) | 56.1 | 34,200 |
 | Zach Stepp (D)  | 43.8 | 26,682 | |
 | Dale Stein (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.1 | 56 | |
| Total votes: 60,938 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 55
Zach Stepp advanced from the Democratic primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 55 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Zach Stepp | 100.0 | 8,862 |
| Total votes: 8,862 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 55
Incumbent Gayle L. Manning advanced from the Republican primary for Ohio House of Representatives District 55 on April 28, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gayle L. Manning | 100.0 | 5,737 |
| Total votes: 5,737 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
To view Stepp's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2020
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 16, 2019 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Zach Stepp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stepp's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I grew up in a working-class family in Sheffield Village. I am a graduate of Cleveland's Saint Ignatius High School and the University of Chicago. Professionally, I am an Advisory Consultant in EY's Government and Public Sector Practice, where I have supported clients in the Department of Defense. I spend my free time keeping up with Cleveland sports (Go Browns!), volunteering for disadvantaged youth as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, and running in the Lorain County Metro Parks.
Last year I decided to move back home and run for this office because I believe our state and nation desperately needs a new generation of smart, competent, and compassionate leaders to move us forward. We need more elected officials who put families and workers ahead of special interests and personal politics. It is my hope that by putting families and workers first, we can restore Ohio's promise of better jobs and brighter futures for all of our children.
- Good, high paying job opportunities for all of our kids so that Ohio's young people can live the American dream right here at home in Ohio.
- Our kids are our best investment. We need good quality public primary education in every Ohio community, regardless of zipcode, AND to have college programs without the burdens of crippling student loan debt.
- No Ohioan should go bankrupt because they get sick. We need state level protections for those with preexisting conditions and prevent insurance and drug companies from taking advantage of the sick and elderly.
I am most passionate about empowering Ohio's young people and giving our kids every single opportunity possible to succeed. As a kid who grew up with free school lunches and who got to see a doctor and a dentist because of Medicaid, I'm a living example of why every investment we make in Ohio's children is a good one. For every kid that we can prevent from going hungry, there's another Ohio child that is more empowered to make something of himself or herself.
Our schools and teachers are those who inspire kids every day. Yet they are held back by a broken (and unconstitutional) school funding model, excessive testing requirements, and a misguided report card grading system. We need to empower teachers to be teachers and when kids make it through the primary education system, we need to ensure they have good opportunities to pursue the trades or a higher education that is not going to saddle them with debt. And more importantly, we need to ensure that our kids have the academic and job opportunities to succeed and live the American Dream right here at home in Ohio.
Our schools and teachers are those who inspire kids every day. Yet they are held back by a broken (and unconstitutional) school funding model, excessive testing requirements, and a misguided report card grading system. We need to empower teachers to be teachers and when kids make it through the primary education system, we need to ensure they have good opportunities to pursue the trades or a higher education that is not going to saddle them with debt. And more importantly, we need to ensure that our kids have the academic and job opportunities to succeed and live the American Dream right here at home in Ohio.
Good elected officials need to have determination. They need to have fire in their belly. Legislating and coalition building is not easy. If you are not fully determined and have the conviction to see things through, change simply will not happen. It's not just important to figure out which candidate you align best with, it's important to figure out which candidate will use their platform to fight for you and your family.
I uprooted my life and moved back home to Ohio because I felt a profound sense of duty to give back to the community that gave so much to my family when times were tough. I know that when I was a kid growing up in Lorain County, I would never have had the opportunities in my life if I didn't have people who believed in me and gave me a chance. I know there are kids growing up right now in the same place that I grew up who need an advocate.
I hope to get to Columbus and enact public policy that lifts up kids and families by giving them more opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about: giving our kids better opportunities than we had ourselves. We've got a lot of work to do to make sure that kids in every zip code have that same opportunity for success.
I hope to get to Columbus and enact public policy that lifts up kids and families by giving them more opportunities. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about: giving our kids better opportunities than we had ourselves. We've got a lot of work to do to make sure that kids in every zip code have that same opportunity for success.
My very first job was in the local Five Guys restaurant. I started working there when I was 16 and was there for two years, working my way up to Assistant GM before I moved away to college. It's in this job that I developed a strong work ethic and ultimately, I believe, what propelled me to the University of Chicago.
At Five Guys I learned what it was like to work on my feet all day and ingrained in myself a profound respect for people who work in service or labor-intensive jobs. My typical day involved waking up at 6 am to get to school in Cleveland, finish up classes by 3:00, head to Five Guys for my 4:00-11:00pm shift, then stay up until my homework from school was done for the next day. I'd often only get 5-6 hours of sleep. Some days were tough, but in the end, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
At Five Guys I learned what it was like to work on my feet all day and ingrained in myself a profound respect for people who work in service or labor-intensive jobs. My typical day involved waking up at 6 am to get to school in Cleveland, finish up classes by 3:00, head to Five Guys for my 4:00-11:00pm shift, then stay up until my homework from school was done for the next day. I'd often only get 5-6 hours of sleep. Some days were tough, but in the end, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It's incredibly well written and reminiscent of a very divisive time in American history, with even more grave consequences than we have today. It's a story of rivals coming together, guided by good leadership, to make the country better and is a book that every student of American history should read.
I do think it's important for legislators to have a background in government so that they understand how state budgets and departments operate. I've worked in politics at the state level and have worked in federal Departments with budgets even bigger than the state of Ohio's. That experience certainly makes me more capable when I'll be asked to vote on budgets and provide oversight for how state Departments operate.
With that being said, experience is not a magic pill that makes you an effective legislator. In fact, experience in a broken system breeds complacency with that system. It's very important that we cycle in new perspectives that can help solve problems of the state in a different way and that bring a new sense of urgency to tackling problems. For me, that perspective is a focus on the powers of data and how data can make governments both more efficient and more effective.
With that being said, experience is not a magic pill that makes you an effective legislator. In fact, experience in a broken system breeds complacency with that system. It's very important that we cycle in new perspectives that can help solve problems of the state in a different way and that bring a new sense of urgency to tackling problems. For me, that perspective is a focus on the powers of data and how data can make governments both more efficient and more effective.
The state of Ohio's greatest challenge will be attracting and retaining young people. Brain drain is a serious economic problem that has all kinds of downstream impacts on our quality of life, jobs available in the state, and state and local revenue streams. We need good public policy that is focused on investing in our young people to give them the skills and education they need to compete in the 21st-century economy. Then we need to keep those young people here with great job opportunities that allow them to live out the American Dream right here at home in Ohio.
In 2019 Ohio was estimated to be the 6th most moved from state in the country. It's time we start confronting this as an economic and political problem and implement some state policies to reverse the trend.
In 2019 Ohio was estimated to be the 6th most moved from state in the country. It's time we start confronting this as an economic and political problem and implement some state policies to reverse the trend.
Sherrod Brown was elected to the state legislature when he was still in college. Even back then he was a champion for working families, just as he is today. Workers always come first. He's thoughtful, works hard, and is down to earth. All things I strive to be like.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 9, 2020
Current members of the Ohio House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Jason Stephens
Majority Leader:Marilyn John
Minority Leader:Dani Isaacsohn
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Latyna Humphrey (D)
District 3
Ismail Mohamed (D)
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
Allison Russo (D)
District 8
Anita Somani (D)
District 9
Munira Abdullahi (D)
District 10
Mark Sigrist (D)
District 11
Crystal Lett (D)
District 12
Brian Stewart (R)
District 13
Tristan Rader (D)
District 14
Sean Brennan (D)
District 15
Chris Glassburn (D)
District 16
District 17
Mike Dovilla (R)
District 18
Juanita Brent (D)
District 19
Phil Robinson (D)
District 20
District 21
Eric Synenberg (D)
District 22
Darnell Brewer (D)
District 23
Dan Troy (D)
District 24
Dani Isaacsohn (D)
District 25
Cecil Thomas (D)
District 26
Vacant
District 27
Rachel Baker (D)
District 28
Karen Brownlee (D)
District 29
Cindy Abrams (R)
District 30
Mike Odioso (R)
District 31
Bill Roemer (R)
District 32
Jack Daniels (R)
District 33
Veronica Sims (D)
District 34
Derrick Hall (D)
District 35
Steve Demetriou (R)
District 36
Andrea White (R)
District 37
Tom Young (R)
District 38
Desiree Tims (D)
District 39
Phil Plummer (R)
District 40
Rodney Creech (R)
District 41
Erika White (D)
District 42
Elgin Rogers (D)
District 43
Michele Grim (D)
District 44
Josh Williams (R)
District 45
Jennifer Gross (R)
District 46
Thomas Hall (R)
District 47
Diane Mullins (R)
District 48
Scott Oelslager (R)
District 49
Jim Thomas (R)
District 50
Matthew Kishman (R)
District 51
Jodi Salvo (R)
District 52
Gayle Manning (R)
District 53
Joe Miller (D)
District 54
Kellie Deeter (R)
District 55
Michelle Teska (R)
District 56
Adam Mathews (R)
District 57
Jamie Callender (R)
District 58
Lauren McNally (D)
District 59
Tex Fischer (R)
District 60
Brian Lorenz (R)
District 61
Beth Lear (R)
District 62
Jean Schmidt (R)
District 63
Adam Bird (R)
District 64
Nick Santucci (R)
District 65
David Thomas (R)
District 66
Sharon Ray (R)
District 67
Melanie Miller (R)
District 68
District 69
Kevin Miller (R)
District 70
Brian Lampton (R)
District 71
Levi Dean (R)
District 72
Heidi Workman (R)
District 73
Jeff LaRe (R)
District 74
Bernard Willis (R)
District 75
Haraz Ghanbari (R)
District 76
Marilyn John (R)
District 77
Meredith Craig (R)
District 78
Matt Huffman (R)
District 79
District 80
Johnathan Newman (R)
District 81
James Hoops (R)
District 82
Roy Klopfenstein (R)
District 83
Ty Mathews (R)
District 84
Angela King (R)
District 85
Tim Barhorst (R)
District 86
Tracy Richardson (R)
District 87
Riordan McClain (R)
District 88
Gary Click (R)
District 89
D.J. Swearingen (R)
District 90
Justin Pizzulli (R)
District 91
Bob Peterson (R)
District 92
Mark Johnson (R)
District 93
Jason Stephens (R)
District 94
Kevin Ritter (R)
District 95
Ty Moore (R)
District 96
Ron Ferguson (R)
District 97
Adam Holmes (R)
District 98
Mark Hiner (R)
District 99
Sarah Fowler (R)
Republican Party (65)
Democratic Party (33)
Vacancies (1)
