The Democrat who wants to be Ohio’s next governor says the state needs to repair its roads and bridges, make sure all of the state has access to broadband and invest in public transportation.
Richard Cordray says he wants the state to issue a bond package to allow it to borrow money to make improvements to roads, bridges, broadband and public transit. But he emphasizes that effort won’t involve a tax hike.
“We just banked a $670 million surplus at the end of the fiscal year. We have the new Supreme Court ruling on sales taxes on internet purchases that’s going to be a windfall for state revenue. We do not need tax increases at this time. That’s off the table as far as I’m concerned," Cordray says.
Cordray says details on the cost and scope of the plan would come after comprehensive study. In a recent public forum, Republican Mike DeWine said he’d appoint a blue-ribbon task force to come up with an infrastructure plan and ways to pay for it. And he didn’t rule out tax increases if those were recommended. In a written statement, DeWine’s campaign notes he has support from some business and building trade organizations that work on public construction projects.
