Gubernatorial candidate backs opioid plan, not Medicaid plan

April 29--COLUMBUS -- In 2006, Mary Taylor ran against the policies of a sitting Republican governor and landed upright in the state auditor's office, the only survivor of an Ohio massacre of Republicans.

Today, the lieutenant governor runs against the policies of another Republican, her boss, in her bid to succeed John Kasich as governor.

"Do I think the outcome is going to be the same? I absolutely do," she said. "We are going to win."

A key difference this time is she must first get past the party's endorsed candidate, Mike DeWine, on May 8.

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As a part of the Kasich administration, she campaigned for her boss when he sought the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. She has his endorsement for governor.

But she allies herself with President Trump and seeks to put as much distance as possible between herself and some of her boss's policies. In particular, she targets his decision to partner with the federal Affordable Care Act to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 700,000 mostly working adults.

"I'm going to be clear about this," Ms. Taylor said. "There are a lot of Republicans still upset at John Kasich for not going to the (Republican National Convention in Cleveland), for not supporting our president, for expanding Medicaid...But also know that, running from a lieutenant governor position for governor, there was always going to be that challenge to define who Mary Taylor is outside of John Kasich."

Ms. Taylor, a certified public accountant, has held elected office for 17 years as city councilman for the Akron suburb of Green, state representative, auditor, and lieutenant governor.

While in the Ohio House, she bucked House GOP leadership by refusing to vote for a tax hike in 2003. She ran against the policies of Republican Gov. Bob Taft in 2006 and succeeded in being elected auditor by tying her opponent, a rare Democratic "yes" vote for that tax hike, to the unpopular governor.

Doubling as superintendent of insurance, she and Mr. Kasich both opposed Obamacare and the idea of setting up a state-run, online exchange for Ohioans to shop for policies under the law. But the governor embraced Medicaid expansion and has vehemently defended against Republican efforts to undermine it.

"It was his decision to make," she said.

That program would end under a Governor Taylor, she said.

"Mike DeWine is going to keep the Medicaid expansion, which is why he's not going to tell you he's going to get rid of it...," Ms. Taylor said. "And the reason for that is Mike DeWine believes government solves problems.

"Medicaid expansion is not financially sustainable," she said. "It's not, and it's not going to be under a (federal) waiver program either...A good bit of those in that Medicaid expansion are able-bodied adults, and our focus should be on getting able-bodied adults back to work."

She proposes reforming the traditional Medicaid program for the poor and changing state law to allow patients to enter agreements with their doctors for a monthly fee to provide all their primary care.

She would ask voters to approve a bond issue to finance incentives for expanded programming and bricks-and-mortar construction in the private and non-profit sectors to address Ohio's opioid addiction crisis. She has publicly revealed that her sons have struggled with addiction.

"I'm speaking from personal experience," she said. "(Recovery housing is) one of the most critical pieces that I believe is necessary in order for people, in an accountable, safe way, to acclimate back into their communities -- getting a job, going to the grocery store, all the things that you and I do every single day and don't give it a second thought."

To bolster her ticket's conservatative credentials, she picked retired Proctor & Gamble executive Nathan Estruth, of Cincinnati, as her running mate. He would head up a "jobs cabinet" of regulatory agencies within her administration to focus on job creation, particularly among small businesses.

She talks about her role under Mr. Kasich of heading up the Common Sense Initiative, a panel that revisits state regulations impacting businesses.

Despite her own lengthy tenure in state office, she uses Mr. DeWine's 36 years in elected office to paint him as a "liberal," outdated, "establishment"-backed candidate too willing to compromise.

"Mike DeWine is running a campaign where he wants voters to believe he's a conservative and a believer in the Second Amendment," Ms. Taylor said. "In the U.S. Senate, he partnered with Chuck Schumer to roll back our Second Amendment rights. He earned an 'F' from the NRA...Mary Taylor has always had an 'A' with the NRA."

Mr. DeWine, in turn, has questioned her qualifications. As lieutenant governor, she was the subject of unflattering headlines when she was told by Mr. Kasich to repay the state more than $1,000 for use of a state airplane to pick her up or drop her off at an Akron area airport near her home.

"There was no wrongdoing there...," Ms. Taylor said. "Out of an abundance of caution I repaid the dollars for portions of those trips...The trips that I took were for state purposes in the role as lieutenant governor."

And she was accused of not staying on top of things in her own office when it was revealed a key staff member falsified payroll records to be paid for hours not worked.

"We had an individual that I offered flexibility with regard to the schedule because of a family situation," Ms. Taylor said. "Unfortunately, that was not handled appropriately by her.... When I became aware of it, I immediately took action."

A DeWine ad also accuses her of using her office to financially benefit the construction business she and her husband own.

"Not at all surprised," Ms. Taylor said. "Mike DeWine cannot support and defend his liberal record while he's trying to run a campaign as a conservative, so instead what he's doing is lying about me and my family and slandering me on TV."

Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.

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