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DeWine stumps for governor’s job at local plant
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine decided to make the Mahoning Valley one of his first stops after announcing Sunday he is running for governor.
DeWine selected GLI Pool Products on Sinter Court to make the appearance Monday afternoon. Supporters gathered inside the plant as the backdrop to a big announcement: The company will add a third shift in the fall – adding 100 jobs to the 300 the company already has.
“We wanted to come here to kind of celebrate this,” DeWine said to the crowd. “This is a part of the state that sometimes gets forgotten. This is an exciting area. You’ve had an exciting past, but I think you have a very exciting future.”
GLI manufactures swimming-pool products including vinyl liners and custom pool safety covers.
Recently, GLI, which has been in business for 11 years, was named No. 17 in the state of best places to work in the large-manufacturer category by the Ohio Society for Human Resource Management.
GLI President Gary Crandall introduced DeWine and his wife of 50 years, Fran, to the crowd.
“I am just happy to have him come to Youngstown,” Crandall said.
DeWine, 70, is now in the race with other Republican candidates – Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci from Wadsworth and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor.
DeWine discussed the drug problem facing Ohio, saying it’s the No. 1 concern among employers.
DeWine wants to start teaching children at a young age to say no to drugs.
“I think we can do something every year for kids starting off in kindergarten,” DeWine said.” I think if Ohio is going to move forward, we have to bring those kids along, too.
“If they don’t make it, then we really don’t make it. They become a drag on society, and that hurts all of us.”
DeWine has been attorney general since 2011. He has served as Greene County prosecuting attorney, in the Ohio State Senate, in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Ohio lieutenant governor and in the U.S. Senate.
“I’ve known him for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything he’s said or did that I disagreed with,” said Allan Banner, co-chairman for the DeWine campaign in Trumbull County.
“In all that time, I never heard anything bad about him. It was always positive actions. I see him doing a lot behind the scenes,” he said.