Cincinnati mayor officially enters governor's race

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Aug. 11—COLUMBUS — Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley formally entered the Democratic race for governor Tuesday, handing Ohio voters a scorecard for how he should be judged.

He promises $500-a-year checks directly to each Ohio household from an Alaska-like energy dividend, creation of 30,000 jobs each year paying at least $60,000, and legalization of marijuana to invest in roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

But he insists these are not the "platitudes and false promises" that he contends, in a campaign launch video, have come from Republican politicians.

"It's very specific," Mr. Cranley, 47, said in an interview with The Blade. "People have talked about the middle class in Ohio, but what have they done? These are $500 checks to families. We're going to do a jobs guarantee, $60,000 a year to 30,000 people. It's specific. If I don't deliver, I won't run [for a second term]."

Nearing the end of his second term as mayor, Mr. Cranley has been acting a lot like a gubernatorial candidate for months, but Tuesday marked his formal entry into the race. So far, the fight for the 2022 Democratic nomination appears to be between him and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.

The winner would take on Gov. Mike DeWine or one of the Republicans who are trying to flank the incumbent from the right. Ohioans haven't elected a Democratic governor since Ted Strickland in 2006.

While the Democratic contest appears to be between the mayors of two major southwest Ohio cities, Mr. Cranley said he has developed relationships in Toledo.

"Two years ago, I went on a boat out into Lake Erie," he said. "My plan to invest in clean water was directly inspired by that. I want to expand H2Ohio not by a couple hundred million [dollars], but by a couple of billion."

He ties the issue of controlling fertilizer runoff from farm fields to expanded access to broadband and wireless technology through which modern farmers would be able to use smart tractors and other equipment.

While he generally supports Mr. DeWine's H2Ohio program to help fund farmers' efforts, Mr. Cranley said the investment is not big enough.

"It's pennies on the dollar what he's done," the Cincinnati mayor said. "Lake Erie is an incredible asset that has to be protected for fishermen, wildlife, recreation, and clean water. What's needed is billions, not spare change."

The video released Tuesday through which Mr. Cranley made his campaign official starts out pessimistically, tying Mr. DeWine to the Statehouse bribery scandal and controversial fellow Republicans.

It depicts a photo of the governor with former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who is awaiting trial for his alleged role in a $61 million bribery scheme ultimately aimed at enacting a $1 billion bailout of two nuclear power plants owned by what was then a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp.

Neither Mr. DeWine nor anyone else in his office has been charged.

Cincinnati has had its share of corruption allegations in recent months involving its city council, but Mr. Cranley said ties cannot be made to his office as Democrats have tried to do with Mr. DeWine.

The difference, he said, is that he opposed the legislation at the heart of the Cincinnati scandal, while Mr. DeWine signed House Bill 6, the bailout law.

"I have a track record of success," Mr. Cranley said. "Cincinnati is growing after 60 years of the population shrinking, which is extremely rare. People need hope. Ohio needs a comeback. I've led a comeback. Mike DeWine's career has been synonymous with decline. Mine is synonymous with a comeback."

Cincinnati has a charter form of government through which the mayor shares power with a city manager, unlike Toledo, which has a strong mayor who is the chief executive officer of the city.

In reaction to Mr. Cranley's announcement, Whaley spokesman Courtney Rice said, "Nan looks forward to continuing to discuss her accomplishments and leadership style with Ohioans across the state. As voters learn more about her story, her values, and her track record as mayor of Dayton, we are confident that they'll continue to support her."

Ohio Republican Party Executive Director Justin Bis said, "Ohioans need look no further than John Cranley's mayoral record to know what kind of governor he would be. Cincinnatians face the third highest homicide rate per capita in the nation and suffer from sky-high poverty rates, double Ohio's. Like fellow Democrat Nan Whaley, John Cranley failed the very people and city he was elected to serve in pursuit of a bigger job."

Mr. Cranley obtained a degree in philosophy and political science from John Carroll University near Cleveland before going on to receive both a law degree and a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard University.

He co-founded the Ohio Innocence Project and served as its director for five years at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He said the project worked to release 33 people who'd been wrongly convicted.

He served on city council from 2000 to 2009 before twice running unsuccessfully for Congress, losing both times to Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot. Mr. Cranley was elected mayor in 2013 and was re-elected four years later. He is barred from seeking another term this year.

"Ohio and the Midwest have been in decline for decades," he said. "Under one-party Republican rule, Ohioans are paid an average of 87 cents on the dollar [compared to the nation]. That was the story of my childhood. Cincinnati was shrinking, too. I believe in comebacks.

"Republicans like to quote Ronald Reagan: 'Are you better off?'" Mr. Cranley said. "The average Ohioan is worse off since Mike DeWine got into politics, since Republicans took over the state. The average Cincinnatian is better off since I became mayor."

To deliver on the promises that he expects Ohioans would grade him as governor, he banks partly on legalizing recreational marijuana to help pay for infrastructure investment and the creation of 120,000 good-paying jobs over four years.

But there is already an attempt to legalize cannabis in Ohio through a voter-initiated petition effort that could first try to force the state legislature's hand before going directly to the November, 2022, ballot. Should that initiative become law, it would earmark for other purposes much of the $350 million to $500 million a year in new tax revenue Mr. Cranley projects.

First Published August 10, 2021, 7:24am