A graduate of Ohio University, Phillips sat on Athens City Council where she chaired the Planning and Development Committee.
[1] In a contested race which proved to be undecided on election night, Stewart narrowly defeated Phillips with 51.08% of the vote.
[3] Instead, she faced Athens County Auditor Jill Thompson in the general election, who proved to be a viable candidate.
[8] With Republicans gaining the House majority in 2011, Phillips had remained critical on the majority's plan to eliminate former Governor Ted Strickland's model for school funding, stating, "If we back away from our responsibility, it's going to be local taxpayers or the mom who now has to pay tuition for her child to attend kindergarten."
She also has brought forth concerns that changes to the all-day kindergarten provision would conflict with the state's Race to the Top plan, which has garnered $400 million in federal funding for Ohio schools.