Given the various questions I get after my speeches across the state, I wanted to provide clear answers on a few issues that have come up regularly. My aim is to continue to shoot straight with Ohioans so you know exactly where I stand on the issues. Obviously, my 12-page detailed agenda available at www.ohiomatt.com lays out my “bold colors, no pale pastels” plan for Ohio covering many of the big issues. Here are my thoughts on three more issues.
Public Sector Collective Bargaining: The right-to-work plans detailed in my agenda DO NOT include the public sector; rather, my focus is strictly on passing private sector right-to-work legislation. After Ohio’s legislature passed Senate Bill 5 (SB5) and Governor John Kasich signed it in 2011, with $42 million in funding, public sector unions successfully overturned SB5 with a strong majority. While SB5 went too far by including police and fire, I supported SB5 and worked hard to pass it and sustain it. Just as President Franklin Roosevelt believed, I still believe public sector workers should not be unionized given the lack of a true opposing party across the bargaining table and that our ability to keep taxes low is hamstrung by the ever-increasing pay and benefits received by government workers.
Nonetheless, I also believe Ohioans spoke with a loud and clear voice that they supported public sector collective bargaining for government workers. Thus, I have no plans to take up that issue should I become governor in 2027. Frankly, given my aggressive plans, our hands will be more than full getting the items detailed in my agenda done. We simply will not have the bandwidth for another big fight with government workers, especially our public safety allies. Thus, if you work for a government entity in Ohio, you can rest easy that your right to collectively bargain won’t be challenged during my administration.
Smart Meters, Sovereign State Banks, and Other Issues: As noted above, our agenda for Ohio is already very aggressive and packed with big items that won’t be easy. As a review of my plans shows, I’m a conservative who believes in freedom, prosperity, and devolving as much power as possible to the people or, when necessary, a government entity as close to them as possible (i.e., local government over state government over federal government with no supranational organizations ever undermining our sovereignty). As I’ve said publicly, I will commit to looking at other issues not on my detailed agenda as time allows, but my agenda items will always come first for my administration. As I’ve also said publicly, if an Ohioan finds someone else better to champion an issue not on my agenda, then they should support that candidate. I’m simply not a career politician who will tell everyone what they want to hear. I have a well thought out agenda and plan to enact it or die trying. If you like that agenda, then I’m your guy.
Intel and Other Government-Backed Projects: I have long opposed government or quasi-government entities using taxpayer funds to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. I also have long opposed engaging in the bidding wars by states to “win” projects by large corporations. I believe Establishment politicians love such an approach because (1) it isn’t their money; (2) they suffer no consequences when the projects fail as many do; (3) it sets them up for jobs, consultancies and/or boards of director slots once their political careers end; and (4) it allows them to avoid doing the real, harder work of reforming government to make their state economically attractive to businesses. Why fight the tough fights on enacting right-to-work, slaying regulations, eliminating/lowering taxes, building key infrastructure, etc. when you can just pay a company like Intel $2.1 billion to come to Ohio?
Like most Ohioans, I hope Intel pans out, but it is a company in crisis that is bleeding cash and market share every quarter. As I say publicly, it is a company of yesterday, not the company of tomorrow Ohio should be targeting by doing the tough work to make Ohio’s business environment the best in America. The more we do to create a state—all eight-eight counties, not just the ten counties around Cincinnati and Columbus—that is truly pro-business, pro-worker, pro-prosperity, and pro-family, the easier it will be to attract and to grow businesses here without resorting to massive government subsidies and tax abatements that merely rob Peter to pay Paul.
In other news, we continue to make headway in reaching all eighty-eight Ohio counties by July 2024. Please see the pictures below for the latest upcoming events. Special thanks to our superstar volunteer Lizzie Keach Mango for taking over my scheduling activities. She is hard at work making sure we reach our goal well before July 2024. As of today, we have secured events in thirty counties, which is more than one-third of the way to our goal and its only been 99 days since we started!!!! To schedule an event, you can email Lizzie at MAYER4GOVERNORADMIN@proton.me.
In case you missed it, see my latest policy report "Ohio’s Political Leaders Must Acknowledge that Status Quo Simply Isn’t Working for Ohio" in which we racked and stacked all fifty states on three core pieces of jobs data. The report shows which states are doing well, which states are doing okay, and which states are doing poorly. Unfortunately, Ohio doesn't fare well across the three metrics.
Similarly, U.S. News and World Report issued its annual Best State Rankings. Ohio came in 34th. As I start my speeches: “How long must we sing this song?”
For those who haven’t had a chance to attend one of my speeches, you can watch my whole speech along with questions and answers from my recent speech to the Dublin Republican Club. Thanks to DRC President Bill Jacob for having me speak at their first event of the year and Roy Wagner for videotaping the event. You also can listen to my weekly spin on the Bruce Hooley Show where we discuss the latest jobs data; the Biden Administration's crazy, left-wing agenda; and stopping politicians from milking the system.
Lastly, as lay out in my “bold colors, no pale pastels” agenda and note in all of my speeches, Ohio will serve as the national voice on reinvigorating the 10th Amendment principle of competitive federalism should I become governor. I firmly believe we now have a U.S. Supreme Court with a 5-3 majority ready to restore the primary role of the states in our federalist system. This recent news on a big case on the issue of Congress’s power to delegate its legislative function to the executive branch is a major step in that direction. You should watch this case carefully in the coming months.
Please pass this note along to other Ohioans you think would like to break with the status quo and move Ohio to the head of the pack. Enjoy the warm weather and sun this weekend—just my threat of a Executive Order on temperatures in Ohio pushed Mother Nature to fix Ohio’s recent cold weather problems:-) Bold colors, indeed.