OMA on Election 2018

On August 1, the OMA-PAC board of directors formally endorsed the Mike DeWine-Jon Husted ticket in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

The board’s endorsement of DeWine-Husted was based on the ticket’s focus on the economy, workforce development, jobs, education, opioids/substance abuse and strengthening communities. The decision also reflected the candidates’ deep knowledge of and wide experience in state government.

Earlier in the year the OMA-PAC board of directors endorsed candidates in the two Supreme Court of Ohio races, Justice Mary DeGenaro and Judge Craig Baldwin, due to their depth of experience and judicial philosophies.

Finally, the OMA board of directors opposed Issue 1 for these key reasons:

– Ohio’s manufacturers care deeply about the safety of their employees. Issue 1 has the potential to undermine workplace safety due to new relaxed criminal drug sentencing laws. If Issue 1 passes, Ohio will have some of the country’s most lenient criminal drug laws. With drugs already posing a significant challenge in the workplace, manufacturers need laws that protect, not endanger, workers and their workplaces and productivity.

– The amendment would make it more difficult for judges to connect offenders to rehabilitation services.

– In Ohio, criminal sentencing reform should be accomplished in statute via the state’s legislative processes. Issue 1 would inappropriately enshrine criminal sentencing in Ohio’s Constitution. The Ohio General Assembly could not pass laws to change Issue 1. Only another constitutional amendment and statewide election could modify Issue 1.

Here is OMA’s comprehensive, non-partisan Ohio Election Guide.10/22/2018