Mayors from the 30 largest cities in the state have laid out an agenda they’d like to see Ohio’s next governor and new legislature follow.
The Ohio Mayors Alliance wants a home rule compact and a new state fund to benefit local governments. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says cities have lost important state dollars while, at the same time, he notes more than 86 percent of the wages in the state are in Ohio’s metro areas.
“So think about this, for the past 18 years, Ohio city metros have accounted for all, all of the state’s job gains and 87 percent of its economic output gains," Ginther says.
The mayors also want a state level Office of Drug Policy to deal with the opioid crisis. And they want the state to revamp its transportation infrastructure.