I strongly oppose DeWine’s decision to arbitrarily open the state of Ohio on May 1 and put the economy ahead of public health and safety!

He says he’s put together an economic committee of CEOs to implement this plan, but this is not an economic decision.

I’m sure those CEOs want people to go back to work so they can make more money for their companies, but as long as there isn’t a vaccine or a cure, we can’t rush through this recklessly just to protect private profits.

Schools should be closed for the remainder of the school year (Do you feel comfortable sending your kid to school in two weeks?) and businesses should allow employees to work from home, if possible, at least through June — maybe longer, if the virus continues.

Some estimates suggest it could continue through August and re-emerge as the weather turns colder in the fall.

More businesses should be temporarily closed and the state and federal governments should be working to provide ALL displaced workers with basic income, access to unemployment benefits, expanded SNAP food benefits, and medical assistance.

I realize we can’t put our lives on hold forever, but we also can’t rush back to work and risk exposing more victims.

It seems like Republicans are always quick to spend trillions to bail out private corporations but when real people need help, suddenly we’re out of money and it’s all about bootstraps and “the greater good.”

Sincerely,

Ryan Ottney
New Boston
Candidate, Ohio Senate District 14