CLEVELAND (AP) -- The top Democratic official in Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County has officially entered the campaign to challenge Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) in next year's election.
County Executive Ed FitzGerald kicked off his campaign Wednesday in a crowded Cleveland ballroom, describing the Kasich administration as lobbyist-directed, cutting school aid and backing tax policies that benefit the rich.
FitzGerald plans to repeat the announcement later in Columbus and Cincinnati.
The 44-year-old former FBI agent and Lakewood mayor calls himself a reformer who helped restore integrity to a scandal-ridden county government in Ohio's most populous county.
FitzGerald must fend off critics who seek to use his designation as Public Official 14 in a corruption probe to tarnish his tough-on-crime message. He was never a target and was not charged.
AP-WF-04-24-13 1735GMT
Pictures Courtesy: FOX8 Cleveland
County Executive Ed FitzGerald kicked off his campaign Wednesday in a crowded Cleveland ballroom, describing the Kasich administration as lobbyist-directed, cutting school aid and backing tax policies that benefit the rich.
FitzGerald plans to repeat the announcement later in Columbus and Cincinnati.
The 44-year-old former FBI agent and Lakewood mayor calls himself a reformer who helped restore integrity to a scandal-ridden county government in Ohio's most populous county.
FitzGerald must fend off critics who seek to use his designation as Public Official 14 in a corruption probe to tarnish his tough-on-crime message. He was never a target and was not charged.
AP-WF-04-24-13 1735GMT
Pictures Courtesy: FOX8 Cleveland
