The Democrats running for Ohio governor made closing pitches to Northeast Ohioans on Saturday, debating before a standing-room crowd of about 200 in Cleveland Heights.
The four candidates largely avoided taking verbal swings at one another, sticking to the issues that the moderators laid before them. No one brought up former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich鈥檚 disclosure that he had from a group supportive of the Syrian government.
For his part, Kucinich didn鈥檛 directly attack former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray over . But the former Congressman did wear a button marked with the letter F鈥擪ucinich鈥檚 rating from the NRA. Cordray received an A rating and an endorsement from the NRA when he ran for reelection as Ohio attorney general in 2010 鈥� something Kucinich has brought up repeatedly.
Near the end of the debate, Cordray told the audience that he often agreed with his opponents. But he said Democrats can鈥檛 make progress without a winning candidate.
鈥淏ut we have to be able to win,鈥� Cordray said. 鈥淲e have to go out and raise the money, which is hard work. It鈥檚 unpleasant work. But it鈥檚 what you have to do to win statewide races, and it鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been doing day in and day out in this race.鈥�
Asked about a time the candidates had taken on a moneyed interest and won, Cordray pointed to fines the CFPB ordered Wells Fargo to pay in 2016.
Kucinich reminded the audience of his fight to preserve Cleveland鈥檚 public electric utility from a private buyout when he served as mayor in the 1970s. He said he would fight power brokers in Columbus, too.
鈥淎s governor of Ohio, I鈥檒l take on that Statehouse gang,鈥� Kucinich said, 鈥渢he system of lobbyists and big law firms that are responsible for creating a system that鈥檚 taking the wealth of the state and accelerating it upwards into the hands of a few.鈥�
State Sen. Joe Schiavoni said he had pushed in the statehouse for more accountability for for-profit charter schools. In his closing statement, he called himself an underdog in the campaign.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 do catchphrases and I don鈥檛 do slogans,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 work hard, I tell the truth and I get the job done. Every day that I鈥檝e been down in the Ohio Senate, I鈥檝e been working for people, I鈥檝e been listening to people, I鈥檝e been doing people right.鈥�
Bill O鈥橬eill, a former Ohio Supreme Court justice, said he hadn鈥檛 taken campaign contributions . He closed his debate appearance calling for the legalization of marijuana.
鈥淚 cannot walk away from nonviolent offenders being in prison and no one doing anything about it,鈥� O鈥橬eill said. 鈥淎nd I cannot walk away from the state of Ohio ignoring the fact that the time to legalize marijuana is now.鈥�
Moderating the debate were Amy Hanauer, the director of nonprofit left-leaning think tank Policy Matters Ohio, and Ivan Conard. Al Porter, a local activist and internet radio host, and Gabrielle Jackson, the president of the Northeast Ohio Young Black Democrats, also posed questions to the candidates.
