The 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election will
      take place on November 6, 2018, to elect
      the next Governor of Ohio. Incumbent
      Republican Governor John Kasich is
      term-limited and cannot seek re-election
      to a third consecutive term. Among what is
      currently a crowded field of candidates is State Sen. Joe Schiavoni, democrat who lives in
      Boardman. Without a lot of name recognition
      throughout the state, early polling displayed by Wikipedia shows Sen. Schiavoni, Richard
      Cordray and Betty Sutton among the favorites
      to gain the Dem nomination for Ohio Governor. On the GOP side of the ledger, the
      favorite seems to by Ohio Atty. General
      Mike DeWine. Here’s some excerpts from
      around Ohio and what ‘they’ are saying about
      Joe Schiavoni.
     
      From Mounir Lynch | Opinion Editor
      University of Cincinnati News Record
      Ohio state senator Joe Schiavoni, a Democrat from (Boardman), is the youngest candidate in the race at age 38. He is a new face for many who are familiar with Ohio Democrat politicians, which, for me, is a much-needed aspect in this election. As I stated before, Ohio Democrats tend to have the same faces on the ballot every time, and it is causing them to lose crucial state races. In the near future, Democrats need to prove that they are the ones that actually stand up for working class, rural Americans in regions like Youngstown and southeastern Ohio in general. The people of Youngstown love Schiavoni, and most of his funding for his state senate campaign came from labor organizations. A young, fresh face from a blue-collar area could be a game changer for Ohio democrats. I find Schiavoni very, very exciting.
     
      By Dan Williamson
      Columbus Monthly
      Joe Schiavoni (Democrat): Two-term Ohio state senator from northeast Ohio
      Favorite Ohio Governor: Ted Strickland. “Here’s the thing: I only know two. Ted Strickland and John Kasich are the two Ohio governors I know.”
      Signature Issue: Increasing employment by investing in job training.
      Case for His Candidacy: “I got put into this job when I was 29, and I don’t go around acting like I have all the answers to all the problems. What I will do is go out and listen to people and learn their issues.”
      Path to the Nomination: Schiavoni capitalizes on his Capitol Square connections to raise campaign money, and Democratic voters are attracted to his relative youth and authenticity.
      Fun Fact: Like his father and his three younger brothers after him, Schiavoni was a Golden Gloves boxer at Boardman High School.
      In His Own Words: “The House and the Senate are not going to flip Democrat even if I win, so I’m going to have to keep building relationships with the other side
     
      From Seth Richardson
      Cleveland.com
      Schiavoni said any rumors of him dropping to a different race should be considered squashed. He added that he planned to be a newer voice for the party while Cordray is a retread.
      “I have respect for the work he’s done, but he represents the same recycled candidates we’ve seen the last two or three times,” Schiavoni said. “I’m giving people something new to believe in and the campaign is based on the needs of the people.”
     
      From Kentwired.com
      Sen. Joe Schiavoni, the youngest candidate in the race at 38 years old, is a Boardman native and a former Senate minority leader. He’s been a state senator for eight years, and stepped down as minority leader to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.
      In Schiavoni’s statement announcing his candidacy, he criticized the Republican field for their actions. He touts strong relationships with various labor unions, and the bulk of his fundraising for his 2014 senatorial campaign came from such organizations.
      Schiavoni said he wants to focus on Ohio’s infrastructure, public education system and the opioid epidemic. He’s taken particular issue with a Repbulican-led small business tax cut, which kept around $1.1 billion from state coffers in 2016, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
      “I have said for months that tax cuts should not be a priority when our schools are not adequately funded and our state is facing the worst public health crisis in decades,” Schiavoni told The Toledo Blade.
      Schiavoni released a job growth plan he would implement as governor that would repeal the small business tax cut put in place by the GOP.
      Schiavoni has also introduced a plan in the Senate to invest $50 million in public transportation and work with educational agencies to develop programs to meet workforce demands.
     
      By Daniel Strauss
      politico
      Ohio Democrats have been waiting and watching Richard Cordray’s moves for months, trying to figure out whether he was going to return home to run for governor. Now, with his dramatic departure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, they may have gotten their answer.
      Cordray’s decision to resign as director of the CFPB — and simultaneously thumb his nose at President Donald Trump by appointing his successor at the agency — has managed to create the kind of buzz around his prospective bid that most candidates can only dream of.
      Even so, Cordray’s noisy exit from Washington is no guarantee of success back home. The Ohio governor’s race is already a crowded affair — if Cordray runs, he would be the sixth Democrat in the contest. And within his own party, potential rivals are already laying out the lines of attack.
      Democratic state Sen. Joe Schiavoni says Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general and state treasurer, isn’t exactly a fresh face.
      “He’s been in Washington for how many years?...I think as attorney general I think he did a decent job but at the end of the day when I’m traveling around people want something new,” he said. “They don’t want to see somebody that’s been in politics for 30 and 40 years just running for another position. So I’m just saying that’s what I’m hearing. I think that rings true.”