Democrats react to State of the State speech

SANDUSKY — Gov. John Kasich gave a good speech but some Democrats thought the rhetoric did not match reality.Representative Kathleen Clyde (D- Kent) was in Sandusky Tuesday and enjoyed her time in the city.She appreciates that Kasich took the State of the State on the road and to the communities, featuring them while allowing people to see the government at work."It was great to be in Sandusky," she said.Clyde attended the speech in the evening. "I like the governor personally. He is a good speaker. The rhetoric sounds great, but a lot of the speech does not match what is coming out of the governor's office in Columbus," Clyde said.She pointed to Kasich citing individual examples of economic projects, but failing to mention Ohio is lagging behind many other states in job creation.Clyde pointed out Ohio schools are failing as well, something Kasich failed to discuss in his speech."We were fifth in the country when he took office. A recent report shows we are now 22nd in the country," Clyde said.See the reportAlso at the speech was Sandusky city commission President Dennis Murray Jr. who overall liked what he heard in the speech."I think we are fortunate to have a governor who is intelligent, passionate and driven. He is right about the accelerating disruption that technology will create. Our 25-year old son was impressed that Kasich gets it," Murray said.Kasich spoke of how with JobsOhio the state is attracting business by stabilizing the budget while cutting income taxes "For almost every small business in the state. They're the engines of job growth."But, when it comes to cutting taxes for the sake of cutting taxes, and then saying we have to cut investments even more it is like the guy who shot himself in the foot and complains that he is bleeding, Murray said."That to me is blindly cutting taxes," Murray said.That is the opposite approach that Sandusky and its administrators have taken."We are thriving," Murray said.Clifford Rosenberger, speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, and Larry Obhof, president of the Ohio Senate, sit on the stage while Gov. John Kasich gives the State of the State Address at the Sandusky State Theatre on Tuesday, April 4, 2017.