Former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton will run for governor of Ohio.
Sutton, a Democrat, represented Ohio’s 13th Congressional District until partisan mapping pitted her against Republican Jim Renacci of Wadsworth in 2012. The district became comfortably conservative and Sutton lost.
In 2013, President Barack Obama made her administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., where she promoted international trade and manufacturing in upstate New York.
In 20 years, Democrats have won the governorship only once. Sutton, who has won city, county, state and federal campaigns, said it’s time to stop “giving tax breaks to the most privileged and powerful in our society” and “stand up for working men and women in Ohio.”
Sutton, who in 2013 considered but did not run for governor, criticizes Ohio job growth, which has trailed the national average under Gov. John Kasich. She said she would work to replenish local government funding slashed by budget-balancing state Republicans, who have controlled both chambers in the legislature under Kasich.
“As governor, I would shift the priorities of this state back to the people. It really does matter where you aim. And I would focus on priorities that help working Ohioans,” she told the Beacon Journal.
“It’s time for a change in priorities in Ohio,” she continued. “There are certainly not enough jobs or opportunities for the people of our state. And if there are jobs, people are working longer for less.
“So it’s jobs, jobs, jobs.”
The daughter of a boilermaker and library clerk, Sutton, 53, grew up in Barberton, where she was elected to City Council while studying law at the University of Akron after earning a bachelors degree from Kent State. She later served on Summit County Council, was elected to the Ohio House in 1992 and the U.S. House in 2006. She lives in Copley Township with her husband, two stepchildren and two rescue dogs.
Critical race
At this earliest stage in the 2018 gubernatorial race, candidates are entering or refusing to join the race on an almost weekly basis.
Whoever becomes governor will lead her or his party as the decade ends, and the party in control will reshape electoral maps to ensure future success at the polls.
The 2018 race also could shatter Ohio’s highest glass ceiling.
Ohio’s only female governor, Nancy Hollister, served for 11 days between the governorships of George Voinovich and Bob Taft. Betty Montgomery, an Ohio state auditor and Ohio attorney general, dropped out of the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2006.
But Sutton isn’t the only woman, or Summit County resident, running. Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, a Springfield Republican, has Kasich’s support.
And there’s Renacci, who hasn’t ruled out a run for governor.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents half the urban core of Summit County, said last week that he will not run.
Crowded fields
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman is the only other Democrat in the race, at this point.
Other Democrats who may run include Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (who campaigned in Akron for Hillary Clinton), former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams (also an Obama administration appointee), former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (who heads the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and, by stepping down to run for governor, would let President Donald Trump replace him) and Dennis Kucinich (a 70-year-old former congressman who in 2012 considered moving to Washington state to run for Congress there).
“I’ve even heard Jerry Springer,” University of Akron political professor David Cohen said of interest in the gubernatorial race.
For the list of Democrats, there’s talent and experience but little name recognition, Cohen said.
“I think Betty Sutton, when she jumps in, I think she’ll instantly be a front-runner for the Democrats because she has name recognition, especially in Northeast Ohio,” Cohen said.
“And she’s already run a race for Congress with a huge field. She knows how to raise money, and labor likes her, which is big on the Democratic side.”
On the Republican side, there may be too many household names.
A bruising primary between Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Taylor could become a “lineup of heavy hitters” should Renacci and Secretary of State Jon Husted also run, Cohen said.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .