OHIO

In the wake of the article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cleveland Plain Dealer on July 8, 2018, "Mike DeWine, Richard Cordray may have favored contributors when awarding contracts" by James McNair, Green Party Candidate for Governor of Ohio, Constance Gadell-Newton calls for an independent investigation into the campaign contributions received from firms awarded public contracts by Mike Dewine, Attorney General, and Richard Cordray, his predecessor, both candidates for Governor in the Ohio 2018 Governor's race.

As the Green Party candidate, I am the only candidate in this race who does not accept corporate donations, and there is a good reason for this. We must guarantee that the interests of all Ohioans are served by our electoral process. That means as a candidate I will not finance my campaign with money from corporate interests that implicitly seek special access or preferential treatment in the award of Government contracts, and I will never do so. As a prospective Governor, I pledge to never accept corporate donations and to always base appointments and contracts on merit, not campaign contributions. As a Green Party candidate, I seek to strengthen our democracy by representing the people of Ohio, not corporations.

The practice of kickbacks and hookups undermines our democracy and costs the public millions. This pay-to-play system hurts voters as they go to the ballot box and it hurts Ohio consumers. I am calling for further investigation into the apparent “pay to play” practices reported by these journalists. We have got to get money out of politics to ensure that the voters are being represented by people who have the only public interest in mind, not career politicians who just want to be re-elected at any cost. It's time for a change in Ohio politics.

Constance Gadell-Newton will be on the ballot this fall when voters head to the polls on November 6, 2018. Her people-driven campaign platform at ConstanceforOhio.org includes universal single-payer healthcare, reinvestment in local economies and public health, ending for-profit prisons, and rapid transition to renewable energy and sustainable food systems.

A defense attorney and guardian ad Litem in Columbus, Gadell-Newton will be the only woman running for Governor this fall. As a Green Party leader, Gadell-Newton has worked to advance voter rights issues and public interest law for over over 10 years, and has represented countless children and adults in the Franklin County Courts during her career.