Whaley Campaign Event | Photo by Jamie Naylor | The Wright State Guardian
Nan Whaley, former Mayor of Dayton, is running for Ohio Governor and brought the platform back to Dayton for an event on Thursday.
Background
On Oct. 20, 2022 at the Communications of America Local 4322, Whaley led an event for the campaign.
Whaley was the Mayor of Dayton for eight years, served as President for the United States Conference of Mayors and is the founder of the Ohio Mayors Alliance. Whaley attended the University of Dayton for an undergraduate degree and received an MPA from Wright State University.
Whaley is running with Candidate Lieutenant Governor Cheryl Stephens, who served as the Mayor of Cleveland Heights and Cuyahoga County council member.
The event
According to Whaley, a personal reason for running is that communities across the state deserve better.
The mottos “Ohio Deserves Better” and “The Debates Ohio Deserves” filled the room.
Whaley took the crowd through the policy agenda with a focus on working families, education, abortion rights, inner-state politics and gun regulation.
During a discussion about abortion rights and the Aug. 4, 2019 Oregon shooting that occured while Whaley was mayor, the gubernatorial candidate commented on the importance of the race.
“This race is personal for me,” Whaley said.
Whaley also is a firm believer in protecting abortion access and wants to put Roe v. Wade in the Ohio Constitution.
Whaley, if elected, wants to cut accidental overdoses through providing long-term care for people with addictions and destigmatizing addiction. Whaley also wants to hold people accountable, cut pharmacy costs and cap insulin rates at $30 per month. Whaley would also like to implement the “One good job pledge,” by investing $65 million to help Ohioians find work and keep the money in Ohio.
Whaley is a big believer in stronger background safety checks.
“9 out of 10 Ohioians believe in stronger background safety checks,” Whaley remarked.
According to Whaley, redistricting is another big priority. Whaley stated that 73% of Ohio voters voted for redistricting, but no fair lines were drawn up.
“[Mike DeWine] had voted for districts that were deemed unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court,” Whaley said.
Other priorities include renewable energy, health care that puts patients first and the decriminalization of marijuana.
“I believe in the power of Ohio voters, and I believe in democracy. And, frankly folks, it’s going to take a working class woman from Dayton to get the job done,” Whaley announced.
During the event, Whaley answered a series of questions from both people online and those in the room.
The first question asked was from online about how Whaley will engage with Ohioans to make sure Ohio is a great place to live for all of its residents. The next question was about how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has impacted Ohio thus far and how Whaley will utilize these pieces of legislation as governor.
Other topics included teacher burnout, the Oregon district shooting and gun safety, ethics reform, corruption, the first energy scandal, equal job access and career preparation, health-care afordability and accessibility, abortion access and marijuana legalization.
The Wright State Guardian asked Whaley about supporting colleges and universities after the pandemic.
“So, we need to make college more affordable in this state. 15 years ago, the state covered around 60% of the funding cost for schools and now, it’s like 70% on families. So, we need to make it more affordable, and also the state needs to step up their support of state institutions,” Whaley stated.
Whaley further explained the importance of these changes.
“That’s really important as we’re coming out of the pandemic, frankly, because we need to make sure we have higher [education] as a key part and the state has to invest in it, in a way that also incentivizes the schools to keep it affordable for families,” Whaley concluded.
Whaley’s opponent, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, did not attend the event and was unable to comment.
