Update On Governor Highway Signs

In my seemingly nonstop Quixotic quest to get vain politicians to stop wasting taxpayer money by needlessly putting their names on highway signs, I thought I'd provide an update of the 2018 Ohio gubernatorial campaign.  At this point, I've emailed or called all the primary candidates that I could track down.

Of course, none of them have responded.

This is because:

a) politicians are vain and want their names on highway signs;

b) campaigns are busy;

c) they think I'm a crank;

or d) all of the above.

Ah, well, soon the primary will be over, and I can concentrate on fewer candidates.  Maybe then, I can email and call instead of one or the other.  My hope is, of course, some journalist or state representative will pick up the cause, and I can go back to just exclusively writing about silly stuff such as comic books and rock music.  Until then, the quest continues . . .

Here's what I have done so far.

Democratic Candidates

Dennis Kucinich/Tara Samples - Emailed/ No response

Analysis - I like Dennis, but he is undoubtedly an egomaniac, so I don't see him going for this, though, like all candidates, he should.

Bill O'Neill/Chantelle C. Lewis - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given that O'Neill once printed all his campaign material in his own garage, I would have expected he would be all about saving money, but so far, it's crickets from Geauga County.

Paul E. Ray/Jerry Schroeder - Couldn't find any contact information

Analysis - If you run for governor, at least get a Go Daddy website or something.  Given this candidate has no chance, I didn't bother following up.

Joe Schiavoni/Stephanie Dodd - Emailed/No response

Analysis - If I were this guy from the Youngstown area, I would have held a press conference on I-80 in front of the Ohio border and pointed at Kasich's and Taylor's names on the sign and then the closed rest stop immediately after it and drawn the implication about misplaced budget priorities.  This guy is probably running just to get wider name recognition, but if you can't recognize the mileage you could get from a cheap political stunt like that, maybe you shouldn't bother running next time anyway.

Richard Cordray/Betty Sutton - The email bounced back, so I called and left a voicemail.

Analysis - This guy seems like he has pennypinching potential, but if you can't get your website email working, should I really trust you with running a state government?

Larry Ealy/Jeffrey Lynn -  See Ray/Schroeder above.  Supposedly, Ealy is a former male stripper.  He should have done a striptease by the Welcome to Ohio highway sign outside Cincinnati and said he would strip out unnecessary spending.

Green Party

Constance Gadell-Newton/Brett R. Joseph - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given that she's running unopposed, maybe the campaign is on cruise control until the fall, but this was still a disappointment.  The previous Green Party candidate earned my vote by being the sole candidate to pledge to do away with the governor's name on the Welcome to Ohio highway signs.

Republican Party

Mike DeWine/Jon Husted - Emailed/No response

Analysis - Given the pissing match over who is most primitive going on right now, DeWine should have beaten up Taylor over this fiscal responsibility issue.  After all, her name is currently on the signs.

Mary Taylor/Nathan Estruth - Couldn't find any contact information.

Analysis - Given that Taylor's name is up on the signs currently, I didn't hold much hope here, but one would think she would have an email or phone number listed on her campaign site.  Apparently, you can give her money, but otherwise she doesn't want to hear from you.