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Candidate Neuhardt stops in Valley to blast Kasich policies\
BOARDMAN
Sharen Neuhardt, Democrat Ed FitzGerald’s lieutenant-governor running mate, said Gov. John Kasich’s economic-recovery policies have benefited only the wealthy.
The Republican governor is to deliver his State of the State address Monday.
Neuhardt, a Dayton-area business lawyer, and FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive, started a three-day “Real State of the State” tour Saturday. Her first stop was at the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s endorsement meeting at St. Luke Parish Hall.
“The real state of the state is working-class Ohioans, middle-class Ohioans, the working poor are not seeing a recovery,” she said in an interview with The Vindicator. “They’re more frightened about what they see. They don’t see a way out, and that’s the truth. Whatever John Kasich is going to say in the State of the State can’t change what the average voter knows in his or her own mind about how bad things are in Ohio.”
Chris Schrimpf, Ohio Republican Party spokesman, said, “Since Gov. Kasich took office, 170,000 private-sector jobs have been created, and incomes are going up at twice the national rate. This is a sharp contrast from the last Democratic administration who saw Ohio lose 400,000 jobs on their watch. Gov. Kasich has reduced taxes by $3 billion, benefiting all Ohioans, and significantly reduced taxes on small businesses.”
Neuhardt said Kasich’s tax decisions help the rich, while “the rest of the state has suffered through an additional sales-tax increase.”
Kasich is expected to discuss tax reform, vocational education for middle schoolers and increased efforts to combat prescription drug and heroin abuse during his speech in Medina.
Neuhardt also said Kasich and the Republican-controlled state Legislature “ought to be ashamed” of the budget they passed that cuts access to women’s health care.
Schrimpf said the budget increased funding for breast- and cervical-cancer screenings, and for the first time created a dedicated funding stream for rape-crisis centers.
For FitzGerald to be successful in his gubernatorial bid, Neuhardt said the heavily Democratic Mahoning Valley needs to strongly support him.
“We’re working really hard, but we cannot do this without you,” she said.
FitzGerald selected Neuhardt as his running mate last month after state Sen. Eric Kearney of Cincinnati withdrew in December because of backlash to large tax debts owed by him, his wife and his businesses.
Neuhardt has never held elected office, having unsuccessfully run for Congress in 2008 and 2012.