John Cranley says Mike DeWine and Republicans launched ‘open season’ on law enforcement with permitless gun c - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley, a Democrat running for governor, said Republicans, including Gov. Mike DeWine, showed disregard for police and first responders in the state by ignoring their analysis and passing permitless gun carry in Ohio.

Cranley made the comments during an appearance on a special episode of Today in Ohio, the daily news podcast from cleveland.com.

“Mike DeWine and too many Republicans have put out this calumny that the Democrats are soft on crime or anti-law enforcement,” Cranley said. “That’s a bunch of bunk. He is anti-law enforcement. He is saying it’s open season on the cops and firefighters in this state.”

Both Cranley and his primary rival, former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, recorded special episodes in which they discussed issues such as job creation, the death penalty and corruption in Columbus.

Below are some of the topics and selected responses from Cranley’s interview. You can listen to the full interview here.

If elected, how do you plan to spur job growth with a potentially adversarial legislature?

Cranley said his jobs plan, which would involve legalizing marijuana and expanding broadband access in Ohio, would create 30,000 jobs a year that pay $60,000. Cranley said the taxes from recreational marijuana, which he tagged at $350 million, along with the $120 million in the state budget for broadband, would pay for much of the programs.

“So by adding all those sources together, and if you issue debt against it, which is what my plan is, you can easily afford $8 billion over four years,” he said. “So $2 billion a year for four years and with those jobs – and I’m happy to send you the background on this – it’ll generate, you know, somewhere in a range of about 20,000-plus jobs each year that pay $60,000 in the areas of high-speed broadband Wi-Fi expansion.”

Cranley also said he would reform JobsOhio to subsidize advanced manufacturing in the state.

“And we’re also going to model, as part of that, a successful program in Michigan to bring advanced manufacturing to Ohio, where they are subsidizing the creation of new advanced manufacturing jobs – which have a median annual income of about $65,000,” he said. “And they’re using about $10,000 per job for permanent location to Michigan, either expansion or creation. JobsOhio is claiming, according to their own website, that they’re spending about $27,000 per job. So I think we can be more efficient, more nimble the way Michigan has been in getting advanced manufacturing. That creates huge savings as well.”

So the manufacturing jobs, which under my plan would be between $10,000 and $15,000 a year, those would be permanent. But the infrastructure investments would be annual allocations and re-upping 20,000 jobs in each of those years.

Cranley was mayor when a mass shooting took place in Cincinnati, and gun laws have only gotten less restrictive since then. Does he have any gun restrictions he wants to introduce and thinks he can get passed through the legislature?

Cranley said he would push for background checks and red-flag laws, though he realized the difficulty a policy like that would face in the legislature.

One measure he said he would take up that could help with gun violence is funding for mental health services, particularly suicide prevention.

He also wanted to build on a gun consortium model he worked on while mayor that would buy weapons for police from companies that invest in “smart gun” technology that is unique to the owner.

“The vast majority of suicides are committed by gun, and the vast majority of urban gun violence are committed … by lost or stolen (guns),” Cranley said. “You know, if I leave my phone at a restaurant, it locks up, and it becomes useless. But guns do not lock up right now because the NRA and the right-wing gun lobby has boycotted gun companies that invest in smart gun technology. What my buying consortium did across the country is start to invest in research and development to create smart gun technology. So that guns will lock up when the rightful owner is not using them.”

Cranley also bristled at DeWine’s broken promises of implementing gun reform following mass shootings in Cincinnati and Dayton. Instead, Cranley said DeWine caved to interests in his parties and signed laws such as stand-your-ground and permitless carry, which police and first responders opposed.

Would he end the death penalty?

Cranley, a co-founder of the Innocence Project, which helps free wrongfully convicted people, said he favored ending the death penalty. He said he would extend a moratorium on executions if elected.

“I don’t criticize Mike DeWine for not having executed anybody,” he said. “I think that’s a prudent approach in light of the fact that I have been personally involved with people who were innocent and faced the death penalty and have been exonerated.”

How would he handle the culture of corruption at the statehouse?

One of Cranley’s main election planks is to fire the commissioners on the Public Utility Commission of Ohio upon being elected. That body was formerly led by Sam Randazzo, a former top lobbyist for FirstEnergy whom the company admitted to paying bribes.

Despite his public stance against corruption, Cincinnati has had its fair share of corruption investigations and arrests, with three members of the city council indicted in recent years.

Cranley said he openly opposed the deals that led to the bribery scandals in Cincinnati.

“In fact, if you read the complaint by the FBI against one of the council members, it talks extensively about how they were being bribed literally to get over my opposition to using taxpayer money to benefit a private interest,” he said.

Cranley also said that he made moves to root out corruption in Cincinnati, such as appointing former Ohio Ethics Commission Director Anne Marie Tracy to make reforms at the city level during periods of non-fundraising during development deals.

Why does Cranley support repealing the gas tax?

Cranley said the reduction would be temporary to curb currently high prices. He said the bipartisan infrastructure package could offset some of the gas-tax losses in revenue for the time being.

“In cases of high inflation, like it is now, I don’t believe that will come at the expense of vital infrastructure in Ohio for two reasons,” he said. “One because of the Biden infrastructure bill. Two, because my plan on the infrastructure piece of it is paid for by taxing marijuana. Which, granted, is a sales tax, but it is a choice that is not required in order for someone to work. So it is a luxury tax, if you will. And I think it’s appropriate to use that kind of money for industry.”

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source: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/04/john-cranley-says-mike-dewine-and-republicans-launched-open-season-on-law-enforcement-with-permitless-gun-carry-law-and-other-takeaways-from-his-today-in-ohio-interview.html

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