Democratic candidate for Ohio governor John Cranley spoke at the Dayton Firefighters Activity Center on Thursday. The former mayor of Cincinnati was endorsed by Dayton Firefighters Local 136.
Cranley said he grew the economy and reduced poverty in Cincinnati, and hopes this experience will appeal to Republicans and independents. If elected, he plans to give Ohioans an annual dividend by taxing energy companies, noting that two Republican-controlled states currently offer an energy dividend.
“We're going to do what they do in Alaska and North Dakota, take those great God-given resources that were put under the feet of this land and make sure that the people of Ohio benefit from the profits,” he said.
Cranley’s running mate is Ohio state senator Theresa Fedor of Toledo who has served in the General Assembly for 20 years. Addressing human trafficking in the state would be one of her top priorities as lieutenant governor, she said. As a state senator, she introduced legislation to expand record expungement for trafficking survivors.
“Why are we arresting the survivors or victims of human trafficking?” she said. “They were forced to do those crimes. So why should they be punished and not have the ability to get a job, get a driver's license, to have a college degree because of that?”
A WYSO investigation discovered, since 2020, a majority of the human trafficking victims identified during the Ohio Attorney General’s sting operations were in fact arrested or charged.
Cranley is running against former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley for the Democratic nomination. Kraig Robinson, president of Dayton Firefighters Local 136, said the fire department in Dayton is underfunded and that his concerns fell on deaf ears when Whaley was mayor.
“[Cranley] is using his ARPA money for fire staffing, and he's doing everything he can,” he said. “John has made a commitment to fire. We're the third local in Ohio to endorse him behind Columbus and Cincinnati. We're proud of that.”
Courtney Rice, a spokeswoman for the Whaley campaign, said Nan Whaley made public safety a top priority as mayor.
“As President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, she was instrumental in helping to pass the American Rescue Plan, which provided much needed funding for Dayton's firefighter and police recruit class and a new joint Police-Fire station, as well as other crucial investments in our community," she said.
This week Whaley announced that she had selected Cuyahoga County council member Cheryl Stephens as her running mate.
