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Brown to stay in Washington; Decides against run for Governor

Sherrod Brown, (D-Lorain) who was considering a run for Ohio's Governor in the 2006 election cycle has decided instead to continue in the United State's House of Representatives. In an e-mail sent in the morning on Tuesday, May 3, 2005, Brown writes, "I believe my talents are best employed in Washington - to work on Medicare, Social Security, health care, and trade policy." Following is the full text of Brown's email:

When I was a boy growing up in Mansfield in the 1960s, I knew Ohio was a great state. We made cars and produced steel. We knew there was opportunity for young people on our farms, and in our small towns and large cities. In those days, we believed that Ohio built America.

Ohio has a history of producing America's leaders. We are home to seven presidents and the Wright Brothers. Thomas Edison and Paul Dunbar grew up in Ohio. Our state is the birthplace of Bill Gates and Toni Morrison.

But our political leaders have failed us and allowed our state to decline. When I went to Ohio State University twenty-five years ago, state government paid most of a student's tuition. Today, students pay up to seventy-five percent of the cost at our state's universities. As the federal government has cut Perkins and Stafford loans and grants, higher education is markedly less accessible to middle-class and working class students. Regrettably, Ohio leads the nation in the number of 18-to-35-year-olds who leave our state for greener pastures. Today, the average Ohioan makes less than the average American.

The Taft-Blackwell-Petro-Montgomery team offers little for the state's future. They have mismanaged state government, failed to prepare our state for new economic challenges, and allowed our state to fall further and further behind national education standards.

Ohio has experienced more job loss than any other state in our nation. One out of five manufacturing jobs has disappeared in just the last four years. The corruption in state government rivals that of the Crofter's scandal of the late 1960s - a scandal that drove Republicans from power in a clean sweep of state offices. The priorities of Republican leadership today have gone equally astray.

Governor Taft - and President Bush - have sent us a budget that tells us a lot about their priorities. A budget is a moral document. Similarly, a family budget tells us a lot about a family. If a family goes to fancy restaurants and takes expensive vacations, but is not able to provide for college for their children, it speaks to their values.

The president's budget, and the governor's budget, speak volumes about a government's priorities and our leaders' values. Tax cuts for the most privileged. Cuts in education and health care. Subsidies for the politically connected. Cuts in programs for the elderly and most vulnerable.

Governor Taft is slashing Medicaid services for Ohio's elderly and most vulnerable: dental services, nursing home care, and doctor's visits for children. Ohio Republicans in the General Assembly are contemplating more cuts in health are. Republicans in Washington are unwilling to help.

I have traveled Ohio extensively and thought long and hard about returning to state government as a candidate for governor. Everywhere I go, I hear people say, "Ohio needs a new direction." Republicans are as dissatisfied as Democrats. Independents wonder why Republican government has failed, and ask why Democrats have not offered an alternative.

As I have met with hundreds of individuals and groups to discuss the state of Ohio, I have been overwhelmed by the rich pool of talented people willing and wanting to become engaged in our recovery. Many of these people are already in public life - elected officials, support staff, volunteers, and candidates. Most are in the private sector. Across the board, increasing numbers of Ohioans are becoming engaged in turning the results of the failed policies of the past decades into a new vision for Ohio. I intend to work with all the groups and as many of the individuals as possible. I will be actively involved with developing policies that will rebuild economic viability, promote healthy and secure environments, and establish thriving communities across Ohio.

In the end, though, I believe my talents are best employed in Washington - to work on Medicare, Social Security, health care, and trade policy.

The president's attempts to privatize Social Security must be met with firm resolve. Fifty percent of Ohio seniors would fall below the poverty line without Social Security; a program that is too important for too many people to subject it to the risky investments of Wall Street.

As the senior Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, I am leading the charge on protecting Medicaid. One out of four Ohio children get their health insurance from Medicaid. 70 percent of nursing home care is provided by Medicaid. Congressional Republicans have targeted Medicaid for a $60 billion cut, compromising the quality of nursing home care and putting the health of hundreds of thousands of Ohio families at risk. Benefits for veterans, including soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, are being trimmed so that Congressional Republicans can cut taxes on stocks and dividends that will go mostly to the wealthiest one percent of Americans.

And Congress is about to consider the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will put more Ohio jobs at risk in the global economy. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has asked me to organize the campaign to defeat CAFTA when it comes to a vote later this year. CAFTA, a dysfunctional cousin of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will do nothing to stop the hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs, and will accelerate the outsourcing of good-paying American jobs to low-wage countries.

No matter who is Ohio's next governor, he or she will need a strong Medicaid program, will need to restore America's and Ohio's positions as a leader in public education, and will need to re-build Ohio's manufacturing base. The right Congressional action on Medicaid, education, CAFTA, and manufacturing policy will have a huge impact in helping to build a better Ohio. What we do in Washington will make that much easier - or considerably more difficult.

As I continue my work in Washington, I will work to build the Ohio Democratic Party. My campaign staff and I have met with dozens of groups around the state that want to set Ohio in a new direction, several candidates who will be outstanding officeholders, and hundreds of citizens who love Ohio and think our state can do better.

I believe that I can best contribute to Ohio's rebound as an active member of Congress, and an active participant in rebuilding a vibrant Ohio Democratic Party.

I am deeply grateful for your ongoing support and continued dedication to improving Ohio.

Sherrod