Democrat Cordray courts autoworker votes at Liberty event

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

LIBERTY

Richard Cordray, Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, appealed to autoworker sensibilities as he met with United Auto Workers union retirees Monday.

“I am so proud of the legacy you have created and passed on to those who have come after you, and we want to make sure we preserve that legacy for the state of Ohio for many years to come,” he said.

“We will fight to preserve the auto industry in the state of Ohio as hard as we need to fight, and we will go to Detroit and elsewhere.”

He said his administration as governor will “make the case that the workers in this area are the best in the world.”

“Just give us the chance to make the vehicles and we will make sure that’s a success,” he said.

It was a reference to the two eliminated shifts at the GM Lordstown auto plant in recent years.

He said when GM went through bankruptcy a decade ago, a lot was on the table for local residents — auto plants, dealerships and retirement benefits, for example.

As attorney general, his staff worked “a lot of overtime ... as we worked to make sure Ohio’s interests were protected.”

He did reference another job-related issue before leaving the podium and shaking hands with most of the roughly 400 people in attendance at the Mahoning Country Club.

As Ohio attorney general he also worked to keep Northside Regional Medical Center open following the bankruptcy of its parent company, Forum Health.

“They are closing because the current attorney general, my opponent in this race, [Republican] Mike DeWine, hasn’t lifted a finger to save them,” he said of Northside.

Joshua Eck, DeWine campaign spokesman, said Cordray’s comments show Cordray’s “total lack of knowledge about the attorney general’s office,” because Eck can only think of inconsequential reasons Cordray as attorney general would have been involved in the Forum Health bankruptcy.

It is also an example of Cordray “taking credit for things he has nothing to do with,” Eck said.

When Cordray was asked whether prosecution of individuals such as former Niles Mayor Ralph Infante and recent indictments of former Youngstown mayor Charles Sammarone and former Youngstown Finance Director David Bozanich will help DeWine, he said: “I don’t think so becuase you look at what he hasn’t done.”

He said DeWine failed to stop the loss of jobs at GM or Northside and failed to stop the opiate crisis in Ohio, “which has exploded on his watch.”