Democratic gubernatorial candidate picks running mate, again

January 18, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald named a Dayton-area Democrat as his choice for lieutenant governor Friday, a little more than a month after his first pick stepped aside due to tax bill issues.

Sharen Neuhardt joins the ticket with hopes of unseating Republican incumbent John Kasich. She is a licensed attorney who had two unsuccessful runs for Congress, losing to Steve Austria in 2008 and Mike Turner in 2012.

Neuhardt has been a frequent critic of GOP-backed abortion restrictions and women’s health issues, appearing at a Statehouse rally last year. She also was active in President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

The FitzGerald campaign announced the new running mate in a fund-raising email to supporters, calling Neuhardt the “daughter of a police officer and sales clerk” who was the first member of her family to go to college.

“It’s through Sharen’s life experience that she shares my commitment to bolstering the middle class and restoring economic security to Ohio families — and my impatience with our state’s lackluster economy,” FitzGerald wrote in the announcement. “She is a steadfast champion of women’s health and shares my outrage at the current governor’s attempt to dictate to women what should be private medical decisions and restrict access to critical health care services.”

Youngstown Mayor John A. McNally said: “Like me, Sharen returned to her hometown to live, work and raise a family. Sharen has served her community and knows the importance of helping small business to create, retain and expand employment. I know that she will use that background as lieutenant governor to help Ohio gain jobs, not lose them.”

A formal introduction is planned in Dayton today.

Neuhardt replaces state Sen. Eric Kearney (D-Cincinnati), FitzGerald’s initial running mate, who dropped out of the race after continued news coverage of tax debts related to a business he and his wife own.

The Ohio Republican Party quickly criticized Neuhardt’s selection.

“FitzGerald failed his self-declared first major test of picking his running mate two months ago when he selected someone who failed to pay his employees’ Social Security and Medicare taxes and allowed his campaign to mislead the public about it,” GOP spokesman Chris Schrimpf said in a released statement. “Today FitzGerald is putting in the third-string backup to his original choice which only reinforces what we learned two months ago, that he simply doesn’t have what it takes to lead a state.”

The Ohio Democratic Party has endorsed FitzGerald as its choice to face Kasich in November, but one other potential candidate is considering challenging in the primary.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune is positioning himself for a potential run against FitzGerald.