Members of congress receive evaluations every two years, U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, told a room of constituents at the Akron Press Club.
She hopes to receive a favorable review this November — and spend another two years in Washington, D.C., because of it.
Sykes has represented Ohio’s 13th District, which includes parts of Portage and Stark counties and all of Summit County, for the past four years. The seat has been held by a Democrat for the past 50 years. She faces Republican challenger Carey Coleman, of Northfield, to retain her seat for a third term. Coleman spoke at a similar forum hosted by the Akron Press Club on Oct. 13.
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“One thing that I have heard and I’ve seen on this campaign trail is people want someone who cares deeply about them — political grandstanding is not welcome here in Ohio’s 13th District,” she said on Oct. 15, looking at tables of supporters in The Bank at East End. “And it’s why I’ve been focusing on all of you and the constituents of Ohio’s 13th as I’ve been serving as your congresswoman.”
Sykes highlighted a number of bills and amendments she has introduced or supported to address corruption within the public body, place guardrails on artificial intelligence and address damage she said has been wrought by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
As a member of the minority party in Congress, many of those legislative efforts have been uphill battles, she said. Some have languished in the House and others remain stuck in the Senate despite garnering enough bipartisan support to make it to the other chamber. But the tide of those battles could turn if Democrats gain a majority of seats in either chamber after November’s election.
If that happens, addressing cuts to supplemental food benefits, restoring Affordable Care Act tax credits and reducing or rolling back cuts to Medicaid would be her priority.
That priority will take work to ensure representatives are meeting the public’s needs, she said, while lowering costs of goods and services.
Sykes at forefront of housing issue in Democratic work group
If Democrats become the majority party in the U.S. House, Sykes has already pledged her support for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, for speaker.
Sykes is part of a work group on housing, she said, looking at ways to help lower the cost of housing for renters and buyers across the country.
“Most people struggle with the cost of housing more than anything else,” she said.
Asked what would happen if House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, refused to seat a Democratic majority, Sykes said legislators are prepared for the challenge, including contracting lawyers across the country and checking constitutional rules.
“There is nothing more important in our democracy than to see an exchange of power without violence, unlike what we saw on Jan. 6,” she said. “Because of Jan. 6, many of us have learned lessons, and in the end we’ll be far more prepared for any activities to undermine the results of the election.”
Even if the Democrats remain the minority party, bipartisan efforts to help her district were nothing new, she said.
Sykes gave an example of the effort to bring all of Green under one ZIP code — a two-decade battle to stop splitting the suburb between five different ones. That action needs congressional approval to move forward.
The need for an act of Congress to give 27,000 people the same ZIP code required Sykes to work across the aisle with U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, to add the measure into another bill.
Moving that legislation forward required Sykes to go against the wishes of her party, she said, and gather votes to pass the legislation to the Senate.
“It was one of those times where I stuck my neck out, and, for most people, a ZIP code bill would probably not be that big of a deal, but if you talk to the people in the City of Green, it is,” she said.
Data centers, AI a campaign issue on both sides of aisle
Asked about data centers and the potential for federal action to curb them amid Ohioans’ concerns about their size, increased energy costs and the secretive nature their development can take, Sykes felt the decision on data center locations rests with the communities that potentially house them.
Nondisclosure agreements have shielded some developers from scrutiny when working with local officials on projects, she said — drawing ire at the state and federal levels. Ohio legislators have introduced legislation to limit village and county officials’ abilities to sign non-disclosure agreements and to require monthly and yearly water consumption reports from the sites. Both bills remain in the Ohio House.
“We should not allow for that type of secrecy for the government,” Sykes said, adding that Congress should discuss regulations around infrastructure, including the potential to require closed-loop cooling systems to prevent used water from reentering waterways.
Touching on artificial intelligence, Sykes called for regulations at the federal level rather than leaving companies to police themselves.
During a hearing with tech companies prior to Congress’ recess, Sykes asked industry leaders if they believed AI could regulate itself and keep communities safe. Each person, she said, reported that they trust their own company’s abilities to do so — but did not trust their competitors.
There are also discussions surrounding liability for AI attacks, whether “kill switches” should be required for AI models and how the industry should be taxed.
Sykes is also fighting against the use of AI in determining whether Medicare will cover some procedures.
Ohio is one of six states to pilot the initiative, which runs through 2032. The software will make it more difficult for individuals to access healthcare, she said, further increasing costs.
District 13 is ‘the birthplace of champions’
The costs of healthcare, food, gas and groceries are at the top of constituents’ minds — and politicians’ platforms on both sides of the aisle.
If reelected, Sykes pledged her continued support of the district’s untapped potential: its people.
“We have students in our public school systems who have a lot of potential but may not be able to get the opportunity because our schools are underfunded,” she said. “We have a lot of children who are brilliant learners and quite creative, but we need to ensure that they have after-school programs and access to the arts and education that allows them to find their potential and their pathway to success.
“When I talk about this district being the birthplace of champions, I mean these young people who will find that pathway — whether it’s as entrepreneurs or educators or business owners — to be their own champions, to be a champion for this community and this country.”
Early voting is available at the Summit County Board of Elections through Sunday, Nov. 1. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
