Many have asked why Ed FitzGerald, Democratic nominee for governor, has not campaigned rigorously. In fact, some people I have talked with do not even know the name of the Democrat opposing John Kasich. So what is the bottom line? Why isn't the governorship of Ohio a heated race?
Well, this seems to be the big reason ...
Incumbent Republican Governor John Kasich's campaign has coasted after Ed FitzGerald, was beset by revelations that he did not have a valid driver's license for nearly five years, including when he was mayor of a Cleveland suburb and was allegedly driving alone in taxpayer-paid vehicles.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports "what's even more damning than the report's confirmation that FitzGerald drove on the job without a valid license, is FitzGerald and his aides evasive responses to investigators and the destruction of records that would have aided the investigation."
According to the responses, "FitzGerald states there was never a time when he did not have a driver's license. Instead, he merely allowed his license to expire." And, FitzGerald and his aides were repeatedly evasive about when and how often FitzGerald drove county vehicles or his own, while doing county business.
(Jeff Darcy, "Ed FitzGerald Looks Even Worse in IG Report: Editorial Cartoon." cleveland.com. Plain Dealer. November 02, 2014)
Ed FitzGerald
Rasmussen Reports say the troubled Democratic gubernatorial candidate has now fallen 20 points behind incumbent Republican John Kasich in Ohio’s gubernatorial contest. This is amazing considering just two years ago, Governor Kasich was an unpopular Republican governor who had been rebuked by voters when they overturned his move to restrict collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions.
It never ceases to amaze me how politicians believe they can dupe the public. To say FitzGerald has been a disappointment is gross understatement. First, he experienced poor fundraising. Then, a suspicious report surfaced that he was found by police in a car at 4:30 a.m. on a Saturday in 2012 with a woman who was not his wife. Finally, as a result of this investigation, the "driver's license" debacle turned into major news.
Just in case anyone cares, here are the candidates reported stands on various issues.
Education: Do you support increasing funding for K-12 education?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald:Yes
Education: Do you support the effort to standardize and increase school standards under the Common Core initiative?
Kasich: Yes
FitzGerald:No
Education: Do you support providing vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Kasich: Yes
FitzGerald:No
Education: Do you support increasing funding for higher education?
Kasich: No (State funding of higher education has dropped 18% over the past five years. Kasich signed 2014 bill with new funding formula based on graduation and course completion rates rather than on student attendance.)
FitzGerald:Yes
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald:Yes
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald:Yes
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald: Unknown
Healthcare: Do you support the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald:Yes
Healthcare: Should your state accept federal funds so Medicaid will cover people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line?
Kasich: Yes
FitzGerald:Yes
Marijuana: Do you support efforts to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana?
Kasich: No. Also opposes medical marijuana
FitzGerald: Supports medical marijuana
Minimum Wage: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Kasich: No
FitzGerald:Yes
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Kasich: Yes
FitzGerald:No
Joanne Grehan
Ms. Joanne Grehan was part of an Irish trade delegation to Cleveland at the time and attended events with Mr Kenny that week.
Ed FitzGerald says he was one of two designated drivers for the visiting group on the night in question. He said there were problems getting the delegation back to hotels after a social event.
He says Ms Grehan is a family friend and both deny anything inappropriate took place.
FitzGerald said he pulled into the car park to get his bearings and that they talked. While police approached the vehicle, he said everything was fine and “it didn’t even amount to a situation that resulted in a traffic ticket."
Married mother of one Ms Grehan issued a statement in which she said there were was “absolutely no basis for the unfounded speculation and nasty innuendo which surrounds reporting of this issue.”
And so it goes ...
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