Smith Responds to Governor's State of the State Address

Today, state Senator Kent Smith (D-Euclid) issued the following statement in response to Governor Mike DeWine’s State of the State address.

“During Governor DeWine’s State of the State address, he acknowledged Ohio’s gun violence problem, yet did not announce his support for any common sense gun safety legislation such as universal background checks,” said Smith. “Ohio has a housing problem, yet the Governor announced no plans to make any significant investments in addressing Ohio’s rising housing costs and increasing unaffordability.

Most importantly, Ohio has a corruption problem and Governor DeWine refuses to address it, despite it getting closer and closer to him.  It is now clear that DeWine, Husted and their core staff were all involved in helping FirstEnergy turn around their balance sheet at the expense of every day Ohioans. Mike DeWine has done nothing to stop the corruption tax that Ohio residents continue to pay.”

Following the Governor’s State of the State address, Senate and House Democrats held a joint press conference to highlight their legislative priorities to make Ohio the best place to live, work and raise a family. These priorities include providing economic relief to working families, rooting out and preventing government corruption, solving Ohio’s housing crisis, expanding access to health care, fostering public safety through commonsense legislation, supporting the state education system, protecting the environment, and ensuring all Ohioans are treated equitably and fairly.

Watch the full Democratic response here.