Voters in the 33rd Ohio Senate district that comprises Mahoning, Columbiana and Carroll counties will choose between incumbent Republican Al Cutrona and Democrat challenger Martin Hume this fall to represent them in the upper chamber of the state’s General Assembly.

In this important race to fill the final two years of the unexpired term of newly appointed U.S. Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Salem, we endorse Hume. Hume will bring to the post a solid agenda of priorities, a strong background in public, community and legal service and a sincere commitment to serve.

The incumbent Cutrona, who was appointed to replace Rulli, chose not to seek our endorsement. He did not meet with members of the newspaper’s Editorial Board or return a questionnaire about his background and his plans if elected.

We did nonetheless examine his five-year record in the state House of Representatives. He has had some notable successes such as a bill he sponsored to require prescriptions for Schedule II drugs to be filled electronically to cut down on fraudulent possession of opioids. His House Bill 292 created a sales tax exemption for electronic vehicle production parts and another of his measures directs hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds for disbursement throughout the state for economic growth and community development.

But Cutrona’s record also has its dark side. This newspaper was particularly troubled by his introduction of a bill earlier this year that would essentially stomp all over the rights of librarians across the state. His House Bill 622 would “require each board of public library trustees to adopt a policy that prohibits its libraries from displaying matter harmful to juveniles and to withhold public library funds of libraries that fail to do so.”

The bill would have the practical impact of limiting choices for young readers and censoring content that some may or may not deem harmful.

As the Ohio Library Council aptly put it, “Legislation like this can have a significant chilling effect on many of our public libraries and our patrons’ rights to have access to information.”

He also has sometimes pursued a cultural agenda associated with the politics and themes of the more extreme wing of the Republican Party such as measures to outlaw vaccine mandates. Cutrona also has faced legitimate criticism for a $20,000 payment his campaign committee made to a political consulting firm run by his fiancee, Logan Church, and her father.

Democrat Hume carries no such baggage. He describes himself as a “moderate middle” politician who rejects the extremist wings of both major political parties.

“My record is one of working with diverse groups of people,” including Republicans, Hume told members of the Editorial Board.

What’s more, Hume’s priorities if elected better reflect the most pressing needs of Ohio and the Mahoning Valley.

In Youngstown, the largest urban center in the 33rd District, reining in outrageous violent crime rates rises as one of the most urgent needs. It ranks No. 1 on Hume’s list of priorities. With his many decades of service as a prosecutor in Mahoning County and Youngstown, Hume has extensive knowledge in criminal justice that will serve him well in his quest to better protect the public and to guide formerly incarcerated individuals to productive law-abiding lives.

Hume also vows “to make a positive difference in the community by working to promote development, fix roads, expand broadband and make health care more accessible and more affordable.”

Each of those priorities would go far toward making our region more fertile ground for economic and community growth and development.

Hume also impressed us with his vow to work aggressively to reduce property taxes, which have increased astronomically for many Ohioans because of recent mammoth increases in property values. Specifically, he takes aim at reforming education funding for Ohio public schools, which 27 years ago, the Ohio Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional because of its overreliance on property taxes.

“As a senator, I will work on a bipartisan basis to find a funding formula that does not primarily rely on local property taxes and will oppose diversion of funds from our public schools” to vouchers, charter schools and state takeovers of financially struggling districts, Hume said.

Given Hume’s vow to work cooperatively with what most assuredly will remain a supermajority Republican Senate, we will hold his feet to the fire in leading the charge in long-stalled efforts at viable property tax and education-funding reform.

Collectively then, we believe Hume has the right stuff to represent the Mahoning Valley region competently and with potential to enhance the overall quality of life here. As such, we confidently endorse him for the 33rd District Senate seat.