The following reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board of The Miami Student
In one week, voters from across the state of Ohio will go to the polls and make an important choice about who will lead Ohio for the next four years. Their choices are a Republican ticket of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and a Democratic ticket of Richard Cordray and former Congresswoman Betty Sutton.
This is a choice Ohioans should not take lightly, and it is certainly not a choice we took lightly.
After careful consideration of each ticket qualifications and policies, the editorial board has chosen to endorse Richard Cordray and Betty Sutton for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the State of Ohio. Cordray and Sutton have strong policies to improve healthcare, solve the opioid epidemic and end gun violence in Ohio communities.
Richard Cordray was born in Grove City, Ohio, and for almost three decades, has been a prominent figure in Ohio politics. He has served in the Ohio House of Representatives, as Ohio Solicitor General, Ohio Treasurer and Ohio Attorney General, and in 2012 he was appointed by President Barack Obama as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
His running mate, Betty Sutton, was born in Barberton, Ohio. She has served on the city council of Barberton, in the Ohio House of Representatives and as a congresswoman from Ohio's 13 district.
Cordray supports the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Sutton voted for the law while in Congress. Cordray has made healthcare a central point of his campaign through his promise to expand Medicaid and protect healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions. This summer Cordray challenged DeWine to protect citizens with pre-existing conditions by intervening in a lawsuit against the ACA, which was supported by 20 Republican attorneys general.
Along with protecting those with pre-existing conditions, Cordray and Sutton's plan to improve healthcare includes improving the exchange rate to provide consumers with more choices, lower costs and expanded access across the state. They also plan to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to protect Ohio's children.
As opioid deaths continue to rise in Ohio, Cordray and Sutton have prepared a plan to fight the epidemic. This plan includes implementing a "state of emergency" in Ohio for the local, state and federal government to take control of the crisis. Their plan also includes making treatment and preventative care more affordable for the addicted. Cordray believes Medicaid expansion is the key to fighting this crisis, as expanded Medicaid would help the poorest areas of Ohio, which are most affected by the crisis.
In the wake of recent mass shootings in Pittsburgh and in Cincinnati's Fountain Square, the issue of gun violence is more relevant than ever for voters and candidates alike. Recent data from the CDC found over 1,500 people in Ohio died from gun violence in 2016 alone.
While it is worth noting that Cordray himself has gone back and forth on the issues of guns (in 2010 he received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association), his campaign has laid out a strong plan for passing common sense gun laws. This plan includes universal background checks, a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines and bump stocks and raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21. Cordray and Sutton have also advocated for the implementation of an "Extreme Risk Protection Order," so a court can temporarily bar a person's access to a gun if they are proven to be a danger to themselves or others.
Because of plans to act on healthcare, opioids and gun laws, we have chosen to support Cordray and Sutton for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. We believe they offer the best plan to support and protect Ohio.
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We believe the DeWine-Husted ticket does not back the right policies to support Ohioans. DeWine has been endorsed by the NRA and has openly supported arming teachers in schools. As attorney general, DeWine sued against the ACA and did not use his position to protect those with pre-existing conditions. While his plan to fight the opioid epidemic is thorough, it does not place enough emphasis on lowering treatment cost for the areas most affected.
We believe that the Cordray-Sutton campaign has the best policies for Ohio citizens. Under their leadership, we believe, the state will flourish.
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