The table in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall on Second Avenue had nameplates for both Ed FitzGerald and John Kasich Wednesday night. The left side seats were reserved for FitzGerald’s supporters, the right side designated for Kasich’s. The Governor’s spot at the dais remained unoccupied through the evening and Democrats spilled over into his empty fan section.
With early voting begun and less than a month to Election Day, Democrat Ed FitzGerald’s campaign is touring the state, debating Kasich in absentia, highlighting the Governor’s somewhat historic refusal to debate his challenger. Each stop is set up as a town hall forum, with attendees asking unscripted and unsanctioned questions of the Cuyahoga Co. Executive – and presumably the Governor, if he happens to show up.
“This is kind of unique in that we don’t ask people to write down their questions and then we pick out the good ones. We just let people come and we make it a very public event and we let them ask their questions totally unfettered,” said FitzGerald campaign press secretary Lauren Hitt. “It’s just sort of meant to be a best replacement as we can do for the lack of debates. We think it’s important for people to still get the opportunity to ask him tough questions.”
FitzGerald spoke for about 15 minutes on a wide range of topics where he and Kasich have profound differences. Invoking the Reynoldsburg teacher strike, he insisted that Ohio needs an education system with smaller classroom sizes, an emphasis on early childhood education with a de-emphasis on standardized testing and a system that “leads people somewhere beyond high school.” He spoke in favor of raising the minimum wage, restoring the week of early voting lost in the recent Supreme Court decision and discredited the Governor’s claims that the economy has recovered. FitzGerald pointed out that all states suffered job losses in the 2008 recession, and all states have seen jobs return, but usually in the form of low-income employment.
“If his standard for himself is correct,” said FitzGerald of Kasich, “it would mean that every governor was terrible in 2008 and every governor was great in 2014.”
From there, the candidate accepted questions from the audience. Though unscreened by the campaign, the audience of supporters supplied a predictable amount of praise. The tougher questions FitzGerald faced were primarily focused on the effectiveness of his campaign, which floundered so much over the summer that it was listed among of the “Worst campaigns of 2014” by Politico. One attendee asked if Ohioans could expect any FitzGerald television ads before Election Day. FitzGerald replied that TV ads are very expensive and admitted that his campaign is “absolutely underfunded.”
FitzGerald told his supporters that instead the campaign will focus on grassroots organizing in the face of poor poll numbers and limited funds.
“There’s a universe of folks out there who don’t agree with John Kasich,” said FitzGerald. “We just need to have conversations with those people.”
A question about campaigning on integrity in the face of character attacks led FitzGerald to harshly criticize the Columbus Dispatch, whose coverage of the campaign he called “grossly unfair,” adding, “I feel sorry for the people of Columbus” for only having one daily newspaper.
On the subject of integrity, FitzGerald also cited his time as an FBI agent in Chicago fighting public corruption, and lamented that Ohio has a political system “absolutely awash in money.” The candidate promised to launch a “huge initiative” against public corruption if he is elected governor.
“I wouldn’t say it’s completely broken,” said Fitzgerald of the political system. “But it’s very much flawed.”
The candidate was also asked about gun control, saying he believes gun buyers should be submitted to a background check “100 percent of the time” and calling efforts to enact a “Stand Your Ground” style law in Ohio a “mistake.” On the Reynoldsburg teacher strike, he criticized Governor Kasich for not influencing the disputing parties to negotiate a solution. When asked about the housing crisis, he insisted that communities should have the resources to demolish vacant buildings and pointed out the negative impact that housing and food insecurity has on childhood education.
So far, the FitzGerald campaign has held forums in Lore City, Zanesville and now Columbus. Akron, Mahoning-Trumbull, Bowling Green, Cleveland and Dayton can also expect visits from the Democratic challenger – and the incumbent’s empty chair – in the remaining days of October.
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