Ohio gubernatorial candidates square off in second debate


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By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Democrat Rich Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine took shots at each other, questioning the other’s effectiveness during the second Ohio gubernatorial debate between them.

Monday’s debate between the two candidates was more subdued than the first one Sept. 19, primarily because of the town-hall-style nature of the second debate in Marietta. The first debate was in Dayton and allowed more interaction between DeWine and Cordray.

The third and final debate will be next Monday in Cleveland.

The latest polls show a statistical dead-heat between the two.

Perhaps the most interesting moment occurred when they were asked about the lack of public discourse in politics.

Cordray, a former attorney general and state treasurer, said: “A lot of this poor tone and divisiveness and pitting people against each other and blaming and scapegoating is coming out of Washington, and I want to stand for something different here in Ohio. I want to stand for politics we can respect and be proud of. I want to be able to stand for reaching across the aisle and [getting] things done. By the way, over the course of this campaign, I’m increasingly optimistic we can reach across the aisle and I can work with the Legislature.”

DeWine, the current attorney general, said: “Throughout my career, I’ve pulled people together. My experience has been when people work together they can get things done and solve problems. I’m a problem-solver, but I don’t solve the problems by myself.”

DeWine and Cordray gave examples of how they worked with officials in the other political party to address issues.

DeWine said he worked with a Democratic prosecutor in Cuyahoga County to resolve the backlog of untested rape kits in that county that led to the indictment of more than 700 people.

“I’m the one on the stage that has had a long track record of getting these things done, making things happen,” he said. “My commitment to you, the voters of Ohio, [is] I will pull people together, Democrats and Republicans, when I’m governor of the state of Ohio.”

Throughout the debate, Cordray questioned whether DeWine was being truthful.

“People can’t lie their way to public office in Ohio,” he said. “That’s not the right answer, and the voters will be the judge of that.”

During his opening statements, Cordray said: “His campaign should carry a warning from the surgeon general: electing Mike DeWine as governor will be hazardous to your health.”

The two were asked questions about the Second Amendment, education, energy and health care during the debate.

Both also said if the Legislature approved a so-called “right-to- work” bill, that would make union membership optional, they would veto it.

“This is not a debate or a fight that we need,” DeWine said.

They were also asked about the controversial Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, an online charter school that closed in January. Before that happened, the state paid $1.07 billion to ECOT between 2000 and when it closed – even though its graduation rate was among the worst in the state.

DeWine said: “We took action after the Department of Education found that ECOT was not following the law. We are going after not only ECOT, but the people who are behind ECOT.”

Cordray said: “There is a lot of accountability here that was lacking” by the Republican-led state government regarding ECOT.