43
Kasich calls on Ohioans to take initiative on issues
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Gov. John Kasich urged an audience in Columbus on Monday to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. by taking an active role in reducing infant mortality, fighting drug abuse and addiction, mentoring young people and otherwise improving their communities.
Echoing themes that dominated his inaugural address earlier this month, Kasich called on Ohioans to take the initiative and not wait for government or others to deal with issues.
“It’s not for somebody else to do,” he said. “It’s for you to do. ... Martin Luther King said I am going to stand and rise and fix things, I am going to drive change and we’re going to do it from the bottom up, not from the big shots down but from the regular folks on their way up. If you want to honor Dr. King ... it’s our job to become activists, to solve problems, to love, to heal, to help and create teams of people who want to make a difference.”
He added, “This is how we can fix our communities, fix our state and fix our country — don’t wait for somebody else. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, stand up and do something to make this world a better place.”
Kasich offered the comments during a community breakfast in Columbus honoring the late civil-rights leader. U.S. Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and others also offered comments about King and about the challenges facing the city and state today.
On infant mortality, Ohio ranks near the bottom nationally in the rate of babies who die within a year of birth. The state’s overall rate is 7.9 per 1,000 live births, compared with 6.1 nationally, according to statistics compiled by the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation.
Last month, Kasich announced a new state effort to provide more pregnancy-related care and services to women in needy communities.
On Monday, Kasich urged Ohioans to reach out to young women and moms-to-be to ensure their babies are born healthy.
“Let’s try and avoid unwanted pregnancy,” Kasich added. “Let’s try and have more and more babies born into a family situation. Babies born out of wedlock is not the best situation.”
Kasich also called for more mentoring in schools, helping Ohio youngsters prepare for their adult lives and refrain from drug use.
And he urged increased efforts to reintegrate inmates back into communities after completing prison terms.
“In my opinion, if we want to remember Dr. King, we’ve got to remember what motivated him — justice, faith, equality, determination, never giving up,” Kasich said. “Ladies and gentlemen, that needs to be renewed in all of our hearts. We have to march for so many things to save our communities, to save our children, to save our people.”