Ohio Democrats aren’t waiting for the Republicans’ first primary debate to offer their opinion on the candidates that will gather tomorrow night in Cleveland. One group is giving a thumbs down to Gov. John Kasich and his education policies. Congressmen, state representatives, and union leaders from Ohio held a pre-debate teleconference to argue that the Republican party is leading Ohio and the rest of the country in the wrong direction.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and Congressman Tim Ryan brought up Kasich’s most unpopular move: Senate Bill 5, that sought to strip collective bargaining from police, firefighters and teachers. The bill was overturned later in a referendum. State Rep. Teresa Fedor brought up the scandal over scrubbing grades for charter schools saying the failure to pass charter reforms will lead to “more unscrupulous practices.” “He gave tax breaks for the top income bracket and shifted the funding of education to the local elected school board," she said. "On top of that, there was has been a real effort in expanding vouchers statewide and also expanding our failed charter school system.” Kasich for his part hasn’t said much about the issue, but did accept the resignation of the official involved. Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke said Kasich’s goal has been to privatize education and reward campaign donors who run charter schools. “Time and again, Republican budgets continue to take away money from the public schools so they can increase money for vouchers and increase money for failing charter school programs,” he said. On the 50 th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, State Representative Alicia Reece said Kasich and fellow Republicans have gerrymandered Ohio to such a degree that it has taken away the power of the vote for many people.