Kenny Yuko, candidate for State Senate 25th District

Yuko, 63, is a 17-year resident of Richmond Heights. He served as District 7 State Representative from 2005 to 2012.
If elected, Yuko said he would like to focus on economic development projects, education and “anything and everything” that will improve quality of life of the constituents.
“With plants closing, employers downsizing, combined with the need to attract new families to reside in vacant homes, it has become  imperative that we create opportunities to fill abandoned buildings and clean up vacated work sites to attract businesses,” Yuko said.
He said children make up “30 percent of our population, yet they are 100 percent of our future.” He said from early childhood education to college education, he wants to provide the best opportunities for success.
“We must assist the parents and invest in the lives of our children from early childhood learning programs to compete with their classmates on the same level,” he said.
“Let’s look at our ‘rainy day fund’ as a means to address infrastructure challenges — from bridge replacements to pot hole repair. Revenues from Racinos could go to update our schools to provide our teachers an environment that encourages both learning and staying in school.”
As a State Representative, Yuko said he brought jobs with his casino legislation, as well as revenue for all 88 counties.
“In fiscal year 2013, Lake County received $2,599,000.51,” he said.

Kenny Yuko election questionnaire by The News-Herald