Kaptur blasts governor, Issue 2 at rally

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur speaks Tuesday at the No To Issue 2 rally on the north lawn of the downtown library. THE BLADE/LISA DUTTON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo on Tuesday called for not only the defeat of ballot Issue 2 but for a recall of Gov. John Kasich as well, during a rally with labor leaders.

About 80 people, most of them local public sector union leaders, participated in the rally on the lawn of the Main Toledo-Lucas County Public Library to urge a big voter turnout against Issue 2 in next Tuesday’s general election, or in early voting.

Passage of Issue 2 would enact Senate Bill 5, a bill aimed at restricting collective bargaining for state and local government employees. The measure would ban public employee strikes, require public employees to pay a certain percentage of their pension and health-care costs, prohibit supervisory employees from collective bargaining, and bar public employee unions from negotiating for staffing and class size levels.

Miss Kaptur, a Democrat, called for Mr. Kasich, a Republican and staunch supporter of Issue 2, to be recalled, because of an incident in which he referred to a law enforcement official as an “idiot.”

“The first opportunity we will have to express that view [governor recall] is by defeating Issue 2 by the widest margin possible from one end of this state to the other,” Miss Kaptur said.

“For sure we know he hates Ohio highway patrolmen,” she said of Mr. Kasich. “For any governor to have an attitude about public security and our police officers around this state and our highway patrolmen that would even allow him to say that word says to me that recall can’t come too soon.”

Randy Desposito holds a sign that reads "AFSCME says Kasich hates Ohio" at a labor rally Tuesday. THE BLADE/LISA DUTTON Enlarge | Photo Reprints

As an example of the dangers of being a police officer she cited the shooting of Sandusky police officer Andrew Dunn when he tried to stop a suspect March 19.

Mr. Kasich apologized in February for referring in public comments in January to an officer who had arrested him in 2008 for a traffic violation as an “idiot.” The police officer who ticketed Mr. Kasich for failing to pull over for an emergency vehicle was a Columbus city police officer, however, and not a state highway patrolman.

Miss Kaptur told the rally that workers’ rights took a long time to be attained and should not be discarded.

“Collective bargaining just means that you have a voice in your working conditions and you have a right to express your opinion on the wages, on the benefits, that are associated with your job,” Miss Kaptur said. She said she has already voted “no” on Issue 2 and urged her listeners to vote early and then get family and friends out to vote.

Recall of the governor is not possible in Ohio because it is not addressed in either the state Constitution or the Ohio Revised Code, according to the Ohio Bar Association Web site.

Rob Nichols, spokesman for Mr. Kasich, said the federal deficit has grown by $993 billion and that “Toledo has lost 15,700 jobs.”

“With that sort of record, it’s clear that improvement, change and progress aren’t really her bag. If what we’ve done in the past has worked so well, Ohio and Toledo wouldn’t be in the shape they are in. New ideas and new leadership are needed to get Ohio back on track,” Mr. Nichols said.

Miss Kaptur is running for re-election to her 9th District seat in 2012 and is facing U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) in the Democratic primary and — if she wins the primary — Republican Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher of Springfield Township in the general election.

Mr. Wurzelbacher declined to disclose his personal opinion on Issue 2, saying Ohio voters will decide the issue.

He said the 10th Amendment to the Constitution allows states to try out different ideas and policies “without a one-size fits all solution that’s mandated and shoved down our throats by bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.”

“Ohioans, not Harry Reid, not Nancy Pelosi, should be allowed to decide how to solve Ohio’s problems and that is exactly what we are going to do this Nov. 8th,” he said, referring to the Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate and House.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said that he hoped Miss Kaptur was “not engaging in the same sort of corruption as Congressman Kucinich.” He alluded to a published report in The Plain Dealer Oct. 21 that Mr. Kucinich had broadcast his opposition to Issue 2 using his official congressional email and Web site, which was an apparent violation of House rules. The newspaper reported that Mr. Kucinich removed the Issue 2 stance from his Web site but could not recall the emails that had been sent.

Steve Fought, spokesman for Miss Kaptur, said her staff is careful to avoid politicking on the official Web site.

Mr. Kucinich’s office did not return requests for comment.

Contact Tom Troy at tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.