Kasich stumps for GOP in Ironton

When a train horn blew as it got closer to The Depot restaurant in Ironton on Friday, Gov. John Kasich abruptly stopped talking. He turned his ear toward the back of the building and as the train rumbled past.

“I love that,” Kasich said as he listened to squeaks and shrills of the passing locomotive. “They say you can’t get jobs here. That’s jobs. That’s money going by here.”

The Depot was filled to capacity with people listening to Kasich conjure support for he and fellow Republicans as Nov. 4 draws near.

When Kasich and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor took office in January 2011 Ohio was faced with an $8 billion budget deficit, Taylor said. Ohio’s credit was at risk of being downgraded and 350,000 jobs had been lost in the private sector.

“Things have gotten better in Ohio and I hope you can feel it,” Kasich said. “We went from a loss of 350,000 jobs in the state to a gain of 250,000 jobs. We have a $1.5 billion surplus. Some people want to spend that surplus, but we’re not going to.”

Gov. Kasich has cut taxes by $3 billion since taking office and offered a 75 percent tax cut for small businesses, Taylor said.

Kasich also iterated that while in office Ohio’s unemployment rate is down to a six-year low of 5.6 percent.

“Ohio is back on track,” Taylor said. “We are better off than we were three and a half, four years ago. We are reaching out, asking for your help because we want Ohio to stay on this path. We know Ohio can, but it’s going to take the re-election of a very good governor and strong leader; and that’s John Kasich.”

Continuing the fight he has begun, Kasich said, can’t be done if he’s not in office.

“Put the yard signs up for us and make a few more phone calls,” he said. “Drag people to the polls, early vote, whatever needs to be done because Mary and I are counting on you to get out the vote. On election night I want my kids to be able to say, ‘Daddy, you did a great job, people appreciate it and they sent a resounding message of thank you. And when you’re away and you got to work hard and you can’t see us all the time, we know you’re doing good.’”

Taylor said she would be working to the last minute.

“I am going to work on Election Day,” she said. “Are you guys going to work on Election Day? Put up signs and continue to call your friends and neighbors and knock on doors and do all the things that are going to matter.”

Doing whatever it takes to get people out to vote is what needs to be done, Kasich said.

“Election day is 18 days away,” he said. “For you folks who live in an apartment complex and they will not let you put a sign in your window, put it there anyway and pay the fine. For those that just bought the new F-150 and your afraid if you put a bumper sticker on it that it will tear off the paint. Tough. Put it on there anyway.”

Being elected to another term, Kasich said, will give him more time to work toward things about which he feels strongly.

“Lets’ take our families, communities, state and country back,” Kasich said. “It’s worth fighting for and we’ll be part of it.”

Rep. Ryan Smith (R-93), state Sen. Joe Uecker (R-14) and Taylor spoke prior to Gov. Kasich.