This election, it’s not just the economy and jobs candidates are campaigning on.
“The opioid and heroin overdose epidemic flooding our communities has developed into a pressing impediment to job security and the standard of living Ohio residents deserve,” said state Rep. Anthony Devitis, a Republican from Green.
Devitis views the heroin crisis as a threat to Summit County’s economic livelihood. “The core of the problem is addiction,” he said, promising “more extensive and focused rehabilitation program” if re-elected.
His opponent, Mogadore Councilman Bobby McDowall, couldn’t agree more.
“Every community in Ohio has been impacted by this crisis. People are dying,” he said.
Along with educating youth and making the opioid antidote naloxone widely available, McDowall said: “We also need to recognize that addiction is a disease, not a character flaw or personal shortcoming. We must provide better treatment options to those who are suffering from an addiction. Anyone who wants to get better should be able to get into a treatment program promptly.
The 36th Ohio House district, a string of Akron suburbs that stretches from Portage Lakes to Cuyahoga Falls, isn’t the only corner of the county battling with addiction, a central issue this year as heroin and pain pills laced with drugs strong enough to sedate elephants are killing humans by the hundreds.
A Beacon Journal survey of candidates seeking office in Columbus and Washington, D.C., shows a parallel spike in those concerned about overdose deaths in Summit County. Along with discussions about improving education, making health care affordable and jump starting the economy, more than a third of the 18 local candidates who responded to the survey singled out the opioid epidemic.
Drug problem
Joining Devitis and McDowall in pledging to address the opioid epidemic were two Republicans (Ohio Rep. Kristin Roegner of Hudson and Ohio Senate candidate Jonathan Schulz of Tallmadge) and three Democrats (state Rep. Greta Johnson of Akron, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights and retired police commander Roy Rich, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs in Ohio’s sprawling 7th congressional district).
Roegner said the heroin epidemic is “gaining momentum” in Ohio. She vowed to continue bipartisan efforts to expand access to the life-saving opioid antidote naloxone (or Narcan) and to support legislation like the Good Samaritan Law, which went into effect last month after receiving unanimous support in the Ohio House.
Her Democratic opponent, Hudson Councilman Casey Weinstein, named education as Ohio’s top problem. He criticized the state for shifting public school funding to profit-driven charter school companies.
Schulz, a 30-year-old father of two, said: “It will take a multipronged approach to battle [the opioid epidemic], including the balance of rehabilitation versus prison time, funding programs in our communities that work against the spread of heroin and the creation of a drug education program in our middle and high schools, which is currently nonexistent.”
His challenger, Vernon Sykes of Akron, said boosting access to early childhood education and college affordability could “maximize potential” for generations of Ohioans, helping them to prepare for jobs and “make better personal choices like being drug free.”
In Congress, U.S. Rep. Fudge has proposed the Breaking Addiction Act and supported the Treat Act, each expanding drug treatment options. Johnson said if re-elected to the statehouse she would push leaders to declare a state of emergency, provide more funding and propose a special joint committee to explore solutions.
Tough on trade
Three candidates — a Republican, a Democrat and a Green party member — are going after unfair trade.
“We need to prevent multinational corporations from outsourcing jobs overseas,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who also pushed for tax credits and loans for small businesses.
“In addition,” said Ryan, a longtime trade critic, “we need to end the unfair practice of currency manipulation, which has cost the United States millions of jobs.”
“A good start would be to repeal the North American Free Trade Agreement, Central American Free Trade Agreement and the other disastrous trade agreements that our elected officials wrongly passed,” said Andrew Jarvi, a Green party candidate from Youngstown who, along with Democrat Michael Wager, seeks to unseat U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce.
Joyce deviated from the big-business wing of the Republican Party, which has historically supported open trade. He said flat wages and rising health care costs are squeezing the middle. Along with advocating infrastructure spending, Joyce attacked China, saying, “our manufacturing base is eroding because of bad trade deals and China’s currency manipulation.”
Joyce, a Trump supporter agreed, with Ryan, a top Clinton surrogate.
“We need to end these bad trade deals and get tough with China,” Joyce said.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .