Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley has just sent a proposal to Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley “challenging” her (wording per a press release from his campaign team) to a series of debates ahead of the Democratic primary for Ohio governor.
Cranley says his campaign will be reaching out to Whaley to facilitate the debates and “welcomes host organizations such as tv stations, public radio stations and civic club institutions for these debates, and also welcomes invitations,” according to a release.
Both Cranley and Whaley are running to become Ohio’s next governor in 2022 and will face off in the Democratic primary in May to see who will make it on the ballot next November.
“Ohioans can’t afford more corrupt Republican leadership that has led to a shrinking middle class,” Cranley said in the release. “Democrats need to win next year’s election in order to restore incomes, our health, and our individual freedoms, all of which Governor DeWine has made worse. To do that we must make sure we elect the strongest possible nominee. A series of debates in which Mayor Whaley and I can share our vision for Ohio’s future and our records in our respective cities will help ensure voters have the information they need to make a good choice next spring.”
Cranley officially threw his hat into the gubernatorial ring in August.
Cranley’s campaign largely is framed around Cincinnati’s population and civic “comeback,” as he calls it, compared to Ohio’s downswing as a whole in recent decades. According to the video and his campaign website, Cranley is running on a moderate platform around middle-class job creation, small-business growth, human rights, and education and infrastructure improvements, among other issues.
Key among his issues is criminal justice reform, which includes addressing wrongful convictions and finding solutions to poverty and mental illness rather than incarcerating individuals. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Cranley co-founded the Ohio Innocence Project in 2002 at the University of Cincinnati, which uses DNA to prove the innocence of wrongfully convicted individuals.
The platform also includes legalizing recreational marijuana to fill Ohio’s tax coffers. Cranley long has been an advocate for weed and has tweeted that he supported state and national Democrats’ focus on making cannabis a priority.
“If we legalized marijuana, we could invest that tax revenue right back into our communities,” Cranley said in July of this year. “We could rebuild our roads and fund public education. We could expand healthcare for our communities.”
Whaley announced her candidacy in April and shares many of Cranley’s platform issues, which makes some Democrats nervous about an expensive primary battle. Both Cranley and Whaley say they are friends.
Read Cranley’s full letter to Whaley below:
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